Carbon Colors opens second location

New apparel shop focused on screen printing, embroidery

DRACUT >> Carbon Colors is celebrating nearly 15 years as Dracut’s “One Stop Print Shop” by opening its second location in town.

Now, if you have a commercial or digital printing job — for instance, a sign or direct mailer — your “One Stop Print Shop” will still be at the store at 1327 Lakeview Ave. And if you have a screen-printing or embroidery job, you’ll make your one stop be at the new location, Carbon Colors Apparel, in Bridgewood Plaza, 1794 Bridge St., Unit 28.

Dracut Economic Development held a ribboncutting ceremony for Carbon Colors Apparel on Jan. 26 at the former site of The Top Half Screen Printing and Embroidery, which had been located at the plaza since 1987.

Ann Tinnirella, owner of Carbon Colors and Carbon Colors Apparel, says The Top Half and owner John Gordon have helped her over the years with larger embroidery jobs.

“John’s been very good to us,” Tinnirella says.

After about 40 years in the business, Gordon recently started to think about retirement, at least from owning a shop.

“John approached me about a year ago and asked if I’d be interested in taking the shop over, and I said I’d love to,” Tinnirella says.

Gordon has agreed to stay with Carbon Colors Apparel as the operations manager.

“We’re real fortunate he’s staying,” Tinnirella says. “When it comes to screen printing, John knows it all.”

Josh Bergeron has moved from the Lakeview Avenue location to take over as production manager at Bridge

Street.

Tinnirella has already made some changes in the new shop, including adding a six-head embroidery machine to add to the four-head machine and two one-head machines, increasing the capacity and speed for printing.

Throughout her 15 years in Dracut, Tinnirella has become wellknown not just for the quality work Carbon Colors produces but for her work in the community.

She was selected in 2013 by the Massachusetts

Commission on the Status of Women as one of the Commonwealth’s Unsung Heroines — “women who don’t always make the news but truly make a difference in the communities, businesses, or volunteer endeavors.”

“There is nothing more rewarding than to give back to the local communities that have given me so much,” she says.

Find more about Carbon Colors and Carbon Colors Apparel at carboncolors.net.

PHOTO BY DRACUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT From left at Dracut Economic Development’s Jan. 26, 2023ribbon-cutting ceremony for Carbon Colors Apparel are Jerome Thomas, director of Veterans Services; Alison Genest, chair of the Board of Selectmen and Economic Development Committee; Town Clerk Jayne Boissoneault; Jennifer Kopcinski, member of the Board of Selectmen and Economic Development Committee; Town Manager Ann Vandal; Carbon Colors’ Josh Bergeron, Ann Tinnirella, Jake Tinnirella, Taylor Jackson, James Cruz, Eric Molloy and John Gordon; and Jenniffer Rogers, member of the Economic Development Committee.