You can tell a lot about a person by what they wear, as much of their personality can be read through their clothing and sense of style. This kind of branding is incredibly important for any individual or business to get right, but Bemidji’s own Cool Threads provides local businesses an opportunity to do just that.

“We offer screen printing and embroidery, both retail and wholesale. We do wholesale business in roughly a 50-mile radius of Bemidji,” explained Cool Threads owner Gary “Ziggy” Zerott. “Pretty much everything you see in here that’s embroidered, whether it be caps, stocking caps, the mittens, all of that is embroidered here.”

The store offers its scan printing and embroidering services to local business in the Bemidji area. The items they’re best known for is BSU merchandise, with Zerott estimating the store’s inventory to be roughly 75% BSU apparel, and the remaining 25% being Bemidji Lumberjack merchandise.

Cool Threads offers a wide array of customized apparel and accessories, from shirts and to drink cozies to hats and anything else a company or a BSU fan might desire.

“It seems like we’re always coming up with new things,” explained Zerott, “And I just tell my helpers, who are phenomenal, I say, ‘Okay, I’ll order it, you find out where we’re gonna put it.

That sense of camaraderie with Cool Threads’ employees, and the community as a whole, is one of the main driving forces behind the company.

“I try to make it a fun atmosphere and they all, at least, tell me they love working here, they tell me that on payday, anyway,” joked Zerott. “But I like to think we have a good time every single day here, that and the customers makes it pretty rewarding.”

Cool Threads has done a majority of their work within the Bemidji area, but they have on occasion provided products for clients in the Twin Cities.

By — Justin Othoudt