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Spotlight - KC Hruby
At CYRK, KC became fascinated with the technical nuances of the trade. He completely immersed himself in everything involved with the screen-printing process. He studied everything from various thread constructions of screen mesh, to particle sizes in plastisol resins. In 1993, CYRK added a Research and Development division by hiring Nike's Mike Beckman. KC's position was to liaison what was being developed in R&D into production. Mike had invented a new ink that he called High Density. This new ink and printing process laid the foundation for what is now referred to as "dimensional printing". This new style of printing inspired KC to start learning the design applications being used by CYRK's artists. "I can remember having to beg, borrow, and steal copies of Photoshop and illustrator." "I bought a little Apple Performa computer for the house and I spent every spare minute at home figuring out how to design in these programs". Because he approached art from a printers perspective, KC was able to design and separate graphics that were truly conducive to efficient printing. Adding art to his skill-set enabled KC to do some things he had been thinking about for a while. One was to create a screen-printed shirt that showed an image from one direction and a different image from another direction. This resulted in the development and patent of "Process for achieving a lenticular effect by screen-printing" US patent #6,000,332. "My experience at CYRK is such a big part of where I am today." "In the 10 years I worked for the company, CYRK went from 14 million in annual sales, to nearly 750 million in 1998." In 1999 KC accepted a position with Silkworm inc. a full package printer in Charleston SC as Director of Research and Development. At the time they were doing a tremendous business with ADIDAS and were looking to expand on their customer base as well. KC's primary focus there was to develop technique boards for their customers to design into. One of their new customers was Ecko Unlimited. When developing for Ecko, KC would often use the artwork of their logo to show various techniques that he had developed. On a couple of occasions, they chose to incorporate some of KC's "study" prints into the line as-is and they became top sellers. Soon, KC was approached by ECKO with the position of Director of Research and Development in South River New Jersey which he accepted in 2000. "Jumping over to the wholesale side of the industry was probably one of the most important moves I've made. Ecko was a perfect match for me. Marc (Ecko) didn't care about what everybody else was doing, All he cared about was good art, that was cleverly embellished." This was a philosophy that KC adopted and incorporates into his work today. In 2003, KC was approached by NYC based Nesi Apparel Group, with an opportunity to head up their tee and graphics program. Nesi had obtained the license for Shady Limited, which was the new apparel endeavor for Detroit rapper Eminem. "Working with an apparel legend like Vinny (Nesi), was an amazing experience. I was able to truly get a 360º view of the wholesale apparel industry." In 2005 KC struck out on his own and founded Hruby Kreativne LLC. A Massachusetts based graphic and embellishment / design and development company. He currently works with brands and artists around the country specializing in creating and developing innovative graphics and embellishment techniques. "Companies are finding tremendous value in what we are able to offer as an addition to their apparel lines. A well executed graphic onto a garment is appreciated by the consumer and is ultimately a positive reflection on that brand. Our objective is to simply add value in whatever it is we do." KC Hruby Casey Hruby Casey Ruby KC Ruby Casey Rooby KC Rooby Casey, KC, Rooby, Ruby, Hruby, Kenneth Hruby, Ken Hruby |
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Hruby Kreativne || 17 Kondelin Road || Gloucester || Massacusetts || 01930 || 978.281.2251 |
At age 17, KC Hruby started his career in screen-printing by printing conductive circuits for a membrane keypad manufacturer. In 1988 he took a job with promotional manufacturing giant CYRK inc., pulling shirts off a press on 2nd shift. The company was printing shirts for brands like Reebok and Fila. KC quickly learned how to run a machine and trouble shoot problems on press. Before long he was the go to person for difficult and complex orders.