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Photos and video by Zack De La Cerda
After years of designing and producing its own bold apparel, Blondies Design Studio has expanded its fashion manufacturing operation to serve other local businesses, entertainers and organizations.
The studio has long created its own branded merchandise in-house, above the popular bar located on Basilio Badillo 258. Now, with the purchase of new industrial printing equipment and the build-out of a dedicated production space, it is offering full-service apparel production to third-party clients for the first time.
Owner Dino Alberti said the expansion formalizes what Blondies has been building for years: a locally rooted fashion operation capable of handling volume orders while maintaining creative control.
“We’ve been designing and making our own shirts for a long time,” Alberti said. “The difference now is we can produce for the entire community.”
The turning point came with the purchase of a 64-inch Epson direct-to-film printer, commonly known as DTF technology. The machine allows high-resolution, full-color designs to be printed onto special transfer film and heat-pressed onto fabric with precision and durability.
The printer’s size — capable of producing large or multiple images across wide film rolls — required significant changes to Blondies’ physical space. Alberti said the former patio at Blondies on Los Otros was enclosed and transformed into a dedicated workroom to accommodate the industrial equipment.
“The machine is massive,” Alberti said. “We had to convert the patio into a production studio. But it gives us the ability to handle serious volume.”
Blondies Design Studio uses three primary processes to place the design on shirts: sublimation, vinyl application and direct-to-film printing. The studio manages everything from digital layout and color preparation to heat pressing and finishing. All shirts are handmade from rolls of material on-site in Puerto Vallarta by local employees.
The company can accommodate volume orders, with a base production cost of $300 pesos per shirt and a minimum order of 10 pieces. Design services are available but priced separately, depending on the complexity of the artwork.
Among the first external clients to use the new service was Out & About PV magazine, which commissioned a Day of the Dead-inspired shirt celebrating Puerto Vallarta. The design features floral calavera artwork and detailed graphic elements meant to be both culturally rooted and visually striking. A portion of the proceeds from the shirt benefits the Vallarta Gay+ Community Center.
Other early customers include Cheeky Pool Club, performer Evita Loca, Brian Kent Productions and Fairyland Music Festival at Mantamar, with Diablitos, and Kevin’s Hideaway expected to launch merchandise through the studio soon.
While the production capacity is new for outside clients, fashion itself is not new to Blondies.
The brand began nearly a decade ago as a neighborhood bar known for high-energy music and frozen slushie cocktails and has now expanded into three locations. Merchandise followed organically – and as an outgrowth of the COVID pandemic. Over time, limited-edition shirts became part of the Blondies identity.
Those collections helped refine the studio’s aesthetic: bold, conversation-starting graphics; breathable athletic-style fabrics suited to the tropical climate; and artwork that blends Mexican cultural symbolism with LGBTQ+ pride.
“Designed and produced in Puerto Vallarta” became a core principle, Alberti said. Rather than outsourcing production, Blondies invested in building its own in-house capabilities, allowing tighter quality control and faster turnaround times.
For Puerto Vallarta’s growing community of small businesses, performers and nonprofit organizations, the local production model offers an alternative to ordering from factories outside the region. It also keeps more of the economic activity within the city.
Alberti said the expansion aligns with Blondies’ broader commitment to community support. Some collaborations, including the Out & About PV shirt, incorporate charitable components benefiting LGBTQ+ programs.
“We’re proud that everything is made here,” Alberti said. “It’s truly homemade in Puerto Vallarta, in house at the Blondies Design Studio.”
Contact Blondies on WhatsApp at 322 1059146, or on Facebook at Blondies PV to schedule an appointment for consultation.
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