Our Story
Started in a garage. Still family.
IQ Ink started in 2010 as a passion project. Owner Paula Dumas started screen printing as a side hobby, doing shirts for friends and family out of the family garage in Chicopee. What she expected to be a small side gig grew faster than anyone anticipated, fueled entirely by word of mouth and quality work.
Within a few months it was clear this was bigger than a side project. Paula, who was studying design at Holyoke Community College, leaned in. Her husband Brett, a Chicopee native who has lived here his entire life, joined her, and IQ Ink became a family operation.
"We're glad to be in Chicopee. We don't want to move outside Chicopee. We raised our family here and my husband has lived here his entire life, and we love the working class feel of our small city."
— Paula Dumas, Owner
In 2015, they took over an existing storefront in Chicopee and added commercial embroidery machines. They kept the high standards of the previous owners while finding ways to reduce costs — savings they passed directly to their customers.
In 2025, after years of growth and outgrowing their previous space, IQ Ink moved into a newly renovated location at 35 North Chicopee Street, the old Hampden Brewing building. The new space allowed them to add more machinery, separate their sales floor from production, and finally have the showroom their customers deserved. They hosted a grand opening on May 2, 2025.