Jason A. Smith | The Valdosta Daily TimesOwner Stephanie Philpot applies a vinyl graphic with lettering to the door at Ballin Unicorn.

VALDOSTA — The recently opened Ballin Unicorn makes custom T-shirts, decals, stickers and vinyl graphics. 

When owner Stephanie Philpot makes a T-shirt, she uses a heat transfer vinyl to transfer the graphic onto the shirt, she said. The vinyl graphics are machine washable and dryer safe. 

The heat-transfer method is used to make a quick turnaround. 

“If you want a good, quick single color image, this is the way to go,” she said. 

But while a single color is the norm, Philpot is open to customer requests.

“You can do multipole colors, but it boils down to your imagination and what you can come up with,” she said.  

Philpot can make custom shirts for family reunions, companies, small groups, churches, families, or for a single individual. 

“Who doesn’t like their own custom T-shirt,” she said. 

Ballin Unicorn makes full-color stickers, she said.

Philpot can make the sticker with “your choice of graphic, company logo or a picture.”

Along with being waterproof and fade resistant, the stickers Ballin Unicorn uses are contouring stickers, she said. Contouring stickers conform to the surface they are applied to.

“If you don’t have a straight, flat surface, say a tumbler cup, it will go along with the cup and you won’t have to fight with it,” Philpot said.

Most stickers are on average about two inches, but Philpot is capable of doing stickers that are 30 inches wide and up to 10 feet long. 

She recommends using the stickers as party favors, hand outs, flyers or if a customer just wants a customized sticker.

She said her stickers usually last for about five or six years. 

The custom vinyl graphics are similar to the stickers but are more customizable and can last longer. 

“If you want to be 100 percent involved in the design process and want to know the end result ahead of time, then vinyl is definitely the way to go,” she said. 

“Vinyl stickers give you the chance to really get in there and put your ideas down,” she said. “It’s because of the design program I use. The program itself gives you free range on design, effect and colors. If you can think it, I can make it.”

Vinyl graphics come in different grades that determine how long it will last and resist fading, Philpot said.

The minimum time for vinyl graphics is five to six years, but there are grades that last for seven to eight years then some that last for nine or more years. 

“The longevity is a really good thing because a lot of times you are putting it on a vehicle or a sign outside somewhere,” Philpot said.

While stickers are limited on sizes, the vinyl stickers are more flexible, she said. 

Philpot also makes decals for cars.

“Say you want the Chevy emblem put on something, that’s my idea of a decal,” she said. “Something quick, already thought of and to the point.”

But much like the stickers, Philpot is willing to experiment. 

“I like to keep the idea of something new open, but it is usually something preconceived,” she said. 

For her magnets, she can make them in many different sizes and they are strong enough to stick to a car, she said. 

She can make magnets for companies, churches, sports teams or for personal use. 

The magnets can be used just about anywhere magnetic, she said. 

“Anywhere you might think you want to stick a magnet — there you go,” she said.

Ballin Unicorn is located at 2181 N. Ashley St., inside of Baker’s Office Equipment and is open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and weekends by appointment. 

Contact: Call (229) 269-8042, Facebook at Ballin Unicorn.

Jason Smith is a reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be contacted at 229-244-3400 ext.1256.