When Ann Meyer started her business, her children were young. She wanted to work close to home. She set up in the garage, four sewing machines and a cutting board. One of her first projects was to embroider a hospital logo on receiving blankets for newborn babies.
While Ann fulfilled the order, her husband, Mark, looked for new contracts. Their first order was for black and white US Army lead convoy flags. Their second contract was to sew presidential limousine flags.
With her creativity—Ann is also a painter with degrees in art from Carroll University and UW-Milwaukee—plus Mark’s marketing, the projects kept coming. They specialized in government and military flags. Soon, DEL Flags were flying at the White House, the Pentagon, and military posts. Ann and Mark continue to take great pride in this meaningful work.
Three years ago, the Meyers moved back to Wisconsin to be closer to Mark’s roots and family. It was a big transition for the company. They searched for, found, and settled into a new location. And it’s working.
“We are gathering speed,” Ann says. “Everything is going great. We have the best crew.” Orders are coming in and the machines are humming. The workroom is filled with natural light and colorful flags. When COVID-19 struck, they struggled, like the rest of the world, but they’ve been able to persevere. Plus, they’ve added a new product, face masks.
In addition to military flags, DEL creates custom-order flags. They specialize in sailing flags, which can be found at their subset https://yachtclubflags.us . They also offer their daughter’s clothing line of outfitter and sailing gear in their shop. Ann has begun to share her knowledge with sailing expert and former sailmaker Jim Gluek, new to the DEL team. “It’s all in my head,” she says. “Nothing is written down.” It will take time. She is teaching with detail and precision, the same skills she uses to sew a flag.
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