56 ;i Vi n 't Herald '• Lantern' - Disfcitch' 3 July '95

Jerry Klaus: He has An Affinity for T-Shirts

By BECKY BERNSTEIN COURT HOUSE - Jerry Klaus lives in T-shirts After screen printing 5.5 million a year, why shouldn't he? The 34-y ear-old is the owner of Ocean Atlantic Textile Screen Printing.

Inc. (OATS), located in the old Keuflel and Esser <K&E> Plant on Main Street. He sees all shapes, sizes, styles, and colors of T-shirts come and go from his company, and loves every minute of it. "live always had an affinity for T-shirts." Klaus

fie said. "There was a shorl er period my wife wistfully in looks back on when she s. could buy my clothes." of That was when he dressed m in suits and ties to visit and ?s impress prospective OATS customers, he said, f- Now he believes his stanis dard of dress and appearance. from his shoulder-length blond hair and untamed beard, to his jeans and T-shirt, is an asset to his sales. He said that people are impressed with his service if they can say. "Hey. the guy can do good work even if he does look like that." i ASTRO AND BEGONIA. ? the two hefty German r Shepherds that follow 1 Klaus everywhere, add to l the laid-back style he presents. His happy-go-lucky moods seem to affect the employees and inI fluence their smooth flow of production. "I really try to instill a spirit in the people so they know they are working for the company, but that they are also working for themselves." he said. The good company rapport Klaus so strongly urges is easily seen within his plant He has a joke for each employe as he passes by and his overflowing spirit and energy seem to heighten their spirits. The company usually obtains orders from its 4- nationwide sales representatives. A constant stock of T-shirts of all colors and sizes is kept to fill the orders. If there are enough shirts in inventory and the screens are ready, the printing can begin The shirts are rotated on the printing machine and one color is screened on at a time. The shirts are then dried, folded. packed, and sent on their way. KLAUS COMES from a family of entrepreneurs. For 50 years his family ow ned Palmer Chevrolet in Ocean City. "I was always brought up with the idea that you had to work for yourself." he explained "I am a hip pie. but I am one cif the staunches! capitalists you'll ever meet " After graduating from Villanova. where he majored in business administration. Klaus took over a T-shirt shop on the Ocean City boardwalk for his pregnant sister-in-law. "I immediately fell in irt n

love with the idea of being in control." he remembered. Fascinated with the screen printing process, he began doing some of his own screen designs. He learned that a friend of his future wife. Joan, was a sign painter and asked her to do some designs with him HIS FIRST BREAK came through another friend who worked at the Golden Nugget Casino in Altantic City. The friend led him to people who were interested in screen designs. On his first visit to the casino, he sold all 17 of his proposed designs and received an order for 12.000 screened shirts. Klaus said the casinos gave him his first boost into the business after he moved off the boardwalk and started a printing plant, in 1981. However . the seasonal work left Klaus with nothing to do and not much income in the winter To increase business he asked himself. "What do I have that will sell and who will buy it? Ultimately, if you're good, you can find an audience somewhere " Klaus began the search for his audience in department stores He would look at tags of T-shirts in these stores and call the makers to see if they would be interested in his screens. Once he said he remembered dialing the wrong number but still making a sell "It's out there. " he stressed "There are tons and tons of opportunities out there " K L A C S REMEMBERED one of his first jobs at the Ocean City company He had been working all winter on small orders for the Sands Casino. One Wednesday it told Klaus it needed thousands of shirts by Monday. The managers wanted to split the job between Klaus and another printer, but Klaus wanted the whole assignment. At that time he had only one press to screen the shirts. "How are you going to do it?" the managers asked. "Just give me 15 minutes." he replied. He called the largest Tshirt maker he knew. Union Underwear in Kentucky. Union said it could

; supply the shirts so Klaus t told the managers he could do the job. ■ With an $85,000 check • from the Sands in his i pocket to buy the shirts, he and his wife flew to Keni tucky that evening. The couple rented a truck and drove for 24 hours back to N£w Jersey. They arrived at 5 p.m. Thursday and worked around the clock until they met the deadline. He. his wife, and his few employes survived the rush. "In fact," he said, "all of the workers from that incident are still here except for one." A FURTHER BOOST to his business occurred in the summer of 1982. A salesman asked him if he wanted to buy any T-shirts. "I'll buy your T-shirts if you buy prints." Klaus answered. The salesman had good contacts which brought Klaus accounts with K-mart. Sears, and J C Penney 's. Continued progress has followed Klaus since he moved OATS into the K&E building this spring. "We've moved our Tshirts in every state." Klaus smiled Many printing orders also go to South America and Europe OATS has printed popular concert T-shirts for Phil Collins. Tom Petty. Prince, the Cars. Tears for Fears.

> and Journey. Klaus said I Prince liked one of OATS prints so much he used it as a sleeve cover for his single. "Take Me With You." OATS also is printing for Swatch Watch Co., which, according to Klaus, is on its way toward becoming a way of life like Ocean Pacific. PROBABLY THE oddest printing request came to Klaus from a country in South America which wanted shirts screen printed for upcoming elections. "We put a bid in," laughed Klaus, "but we never heard from them so I assume they didn't want us." The OATS president said that watching his company grow has been very rewarding, but not just in dollars and cents. He enjoys the feeling that "from nothing you made something. Making money can't be all there is." he said. "If that was the case I'd quit." Klaus believes that all people have the ability within themselves to make great successes of their lives. He thinks the Carnegies and Henry Fords are people who saw that. "I am a yuppie." he admitted. "I just don't wear Calvin Kleins ."

CARA Seeks Cape Women's Shelter

SEA ISLE CITY The first annual fashion show fundraiser of the county chapter ot CARA (Coalition Against Rape and Abuse, drew more than too to the Dead Dog Saloon here last Wednesday The show was entitled Folkware. Metals, and Fibers A Fashion Showing of Wearable Art " Anna Sue Courtney and Nelson - Amy introduced 22 local models — men. women and " children C A R A . o p e'r a t e s a 24-hour hotline (522.6489) to advise and counsel the victims of sexual and physical abuse Mrs. Juanita Battle, counselor for CARA. would like to see Cape May County build a women's shelter similar to the one in Atlantic City. CARA hopes that the Freeholders will allot funds to build a shelter in the new Crest Haven Complex THE MONEY raised by the fashion show will be used to provide shelter and sustenance in motels (and often in the homes of volunteers) for women and children who have had to flee from violent husbands and fathers According to Mrs. Battle. CARA has provided shelter for more than 55 women and children in Cape May County just since April "We're not talking about isolated incidents." said Mrs Battle "Rape, sexual terrorism, battering, and child abuse are facts of i everyday life in this county i and in other parts of the ■ country For too long. ; women have tolerated or i concealed these horrors out > of some misguided sense of \ shame or guilt I "BUT THE enthusiastic \ turnout tonight and \ CARA's. rapidly growing : memebership proves that < •he dark ages of collective t

ignorance are past Women care — these women care and they will no longer i permit violent and brutal men to violate their own bodies and those of their children " Mrs. Battle said that the I rape abuse statistics cited by Robin Morgan in her recent book. Anatomy of Freedom, were correct : According to Ms. Morgan, in the USA. one out of three women will be raped: one half of all wives are victims of battering; a woman is raped every three seconds ; a woman is beaten every 18 seconds; one out of four women experiences sexual abuse before she is 18 years old: nine out of 10 women endure sexual harassment at their jobs "Any woman or adolescent who is a victim of sexual or physical abuse can call us at any hour of the day or night at 522-6489. and receive good advice from a trained counsellor." said Jade Deignan. one of the show's organizers "Our mailing address is CARA. P.O Box 43. Cape May Court House. N.J. 08210. I'll also be glad to talk to anyone who stops by "The Solar Wind" in Stone Harbor " "You need not be a victim to enroll in CARA. nor should membership in CARA be in any way considered proof that you or i yours have been abused." Mrs. Battle concluded A considerable part of our function is preventive — to I educate and inform women and children, and lift the s veil of silence that conceals \ so much domestic violence welcome any aware, intelligent. caring men and who'd like to work r with us to make this county a safer, saner, more civiliz- C ed place to live for everyone."

fPl £ i if iBj MODELS FOR A CAUSE— Variety of fashions is presented at benefit show for Coalition P Against Rape and Abuse in Sea Isle City. Left. Greg Mayer of North Wildwood wears a s suede jacket and sports thin leather tie; center. Karen Maiorana of ( lermonl graces Edwardian bridal gown; right. Frank Kruk of Seavilie relaxes in British walking shorts. ti

* ly ♦ he ^ ,d ~ \ ^ 1 I i Mi l ■ f>- — ^KMMr& j MM JERRY KLAUS - AN AFFINITY FOR T-SHIRTS Dor" Ward

S?V ? ? ~ s"Phl'". "2- gets the sand washed from his feet by mom. Mrs. Michael Poserina, Holland Pa after they spent a morning on the beach near the Cane May Pom, state Park. The family is visiting Mr. and Mr, Edward Poserina. Bayside Village. Villas.