Making T-Shirts, Preserving Memories and Much Much More. It’s All Possible At Big Frog

From left, Giiiko of Tha Slab Bois and Latasha Turner check out the T-shirt they made for an upcoming concert as Big Frog owners Danita Baham and her husband Claude look on.

SNELLVILLE — Perfect, cool, neat. Those three words uttered by customers in describing their in-store experience would be music to any small business owners’ ears.

They were also exactly the words Tha Slab Boiz used to describe their experience making T-shirts Tuesday at Big Frog, Custom T-Shirts & More, located at 1905 Scenic Highway in the Presidential Markets Shopping Center (near the Carmike Cinemas and Panera Bread).

Why were the Lithonia-based and hip-hop-rapping Tha Slab Boiz visiting Big Frog? They had a concert the next day in Birmingham and wanted to wear T-shirts advertising themselves while performing. Along with their graphic designer Latasha Turner in tow (she designed and photographed the logo), for $47.67 all three patrons left Big Frog with a different sized T-shirt of their own with Tha Slab Boiz logo and art emblazed on the front. If things go well in Alabama, the group could be back to buy more T-shirts to sell to their growing number of fans. Or maybe they’ll sell posters or drink coasters. Or coozies. In this 21^st century technological age, you’d be amazed the number of items memories or art could now be printed upon.  

That’s only part of the beauty of the Big Frog, Custom T-shirts & More store – they make what you want when you want. Need 50 T-shirts, no problem.  If you only need one shirt at first, then maybe 50 later, also no problem. Only need one? That’s cool, too. Whatever the order, Big Frog will turn it around in 24 hours or less while doing everything in-house. They can even help design the art you want using one of their two graphic designers and computer stations. Or you might bring your own art or photos into the store on a thumb drive. It’s really up to the customer, and the cost for either service is the same. Just be prepared to have fun putting something onto something else that means something to you. It truly is memory preservation at its finest and you can put that memory onto just about anything. Puzzles, blankets , towels and pillowcases were just a few items mentioned in addition to T-shirts.

“Your imagination is your only limitation,” said co-owner Danita Baham in describing the Big Frog experience. “You can have a T-shirt that means something to you in 20 minutes.” To listen to Baham describe the technology used to accomplish this so quickly, click here.

Long gone are the days of the iron-on print T-shirt from the county fair that surely would crack, peel and wrinkle the first time it went through a wash cycle.

“It’s neat seeing what they can do and how quickly the end product turns out,” said Anna Swindle, who handles some public relations for Big Frog. “It’s clean, it’s flat, the T-shirt doesn’t crack or peel. It really is different.”

Co-owner Claude Baham, Danita’s husband, said another differentiating factor that makes Big Frog stand out from its competition is its low pricing.

Claude Baham prepares a T-shirt for printing at Big Frog. The printer and technology used keeps the T-shirts from fading, cracking and peeling when washed.

“The easiest people to sell to are the people who’ve bought shirts before because they’re used to paying set-up fees, used to paying artwork fees and used to paying minimums,” Claude said. “When you tell them we don’t have these things, it’s easy. We are the only place where you can come in and do that.”

Big Frog can do what it does for any individual and just about any group, too. Shiloh High School’s Robotics Club had its finals T-shirts waiting for pick-up when this reporter visited. Work had also been done for various local sports teams and cheerleading squads. Big Frog has also printed things for theatre groups, churches, small businesses and family reunions.

You can have an idea of your own, but you don’t really need one at this direct to garment printer.

Claude, a former Chief Information Officer for Allied Automotive, also said the printing technology used is green, meaning no harsh chemicals are used in the printing process. The technology has the capability to produce 16 million different colors.

“Everything is garment dye which electronically bonds to the shirts,” he said. “It’s very similar to almost like an inkjet printer. We’re printing on top of the shirt and then we heat press it, and that embeds the garment dye into the shirt so it becomes part of the shirt. That’s why we’re able to hot water wash, color safe bleach it, iron it, whatever.”

 Claude said the biggest satisfaction he gets from his customers nowadays is hearing what they want to preserve or promote when they come into the store.

“Everyone that comes in has a unique story and it’s special to them,” Claude said. “Even if it’s their business, they are proud of their logo or their art work and they bring it to us. That’s the coolest thing.”

To hear Claude tell one of his favorite stories of a T-shirt Big Frog designed (it’s about a hot dog), click here. 

The Baham’s only opened Big Frog in Snellville six months ago (the franchise is from Clearwater, FL). They’re already thinking of adding another metro area location (there are two additional stores located in Buckhead and Cumming). But first they want to overcome what they said is so far their biggest challenge.

“The hardest part is getting the word out that we’re here,” Claude said.

Big Frog representatives will be at the Run the Reagan race this weekend shooting out complimentary T-shirts from a T-shirt cannon. If you’re still in need of a Valentine gift for your sweetheart, show off your creative side by visiting Big Frog between now and Saturday. The store is open Monday to Friday from 9 to 6 and Saturday from 9 – 1. T-shirts start as low as $14.99.

Co-owner Claude Baham is a native of New Orleans and already had a Saints SuperBowl T-shirt on display. Patrons of Big Frog can make T-shirts look however they desire.

Big Frog of Snellville co-owners Claude and Danita Baham.

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