Jumping into the deep end doesn’t describe the story behind how Axe Head Threads—a fully customizable embroidery and screen print service provider that creates clothing products centered around the fire service and law enforcement—came to be with enough justice.
For the custom clothing brand that has amassed a cumulative follower count of more than 55,000 people across its Facebook and Instagram accounts, it all started in the co-owner James Wolsiffer’s garage. The other side of ownership is co-owner Andy Drake.
Both Wolsiffer and Drake started their fire service careers at the Sugar Creek Township, IN, Fire Department and have been there since.
The brothers-in-law bought merchandise to sell at a conference for one year, but it took more than half a year and the quality wasn’t what they hoped. After that experience, they decided to take matters into their own hands in 2017.
“The initial plan was putting it in his garage, and let's make some stuff. That's how it started,” Drake told Firehouse.com.
For a while, the start of the custom clothing brand was just an idea, but after some time they decided to jump in the deep end. Shortly after, word-of-mouth marketing began to grow and the central location of Wolsiffer’s garage was no longer viable.
“The original logo that has the circle of the shamrock in the middle, we actually drew that on PowerPoint at the firehouse,” said Drake.
In 2018, as things were growing, Diana Nolte walked into their new storefront and had let them know she just quit her job and wanted to work for the new brand. That was the first full-time employee Axe Head Threads hired.
“Sometimes they're asking for updates, and we don't forget about them. We know they are there. We're trying every day to get these orders out as fast as we can. That was one of Andy and I's biggest missions with this business is to make sure that the quality is there, along with good customer service and quick turnaround times,” said Wolsiffer.
Fast forward to 2025 and they have 11 employees, including five firefighters from their department who work part-time on their off days and Drake’s wife. The involvement of their department has led to a lot of success, considering the department bought nearly 50 T-shirts from the brand for Christmas in 2024.
“They’re always pitching ideas. You're sitting bullsh***ing around the dinner table. The guys are supportive in that manner,” said Drake.
Axe Head Threads produces custom clothing down to the name and flag for anyone who orders it. The orders come from all over the world, noting that they have a lot of orders that come from different branches of the military.
“We always say that it's a giant animal. It's cool to be able to do what we do and bring things to life. We've had this conversation with some of the older guys at the firehouse about how they were just given a uniform, and that was it. That's all you're getting. We brought life to the swag. Those guys representing the military have done it for years, but now that it's into the fire service, it's cool to be able to see that it's all over the U.S.,” said Drake.
Some of their notable production lines have been sent to the Boston, MA, Fire Department, FDNY, Florida fire departments, and a recent 198-jacket order to a Louisiana fire department.
“It's a Saturday, we're sitting on a pool, my phone goes off for an order and I look at James. This has shipping on it, and I'll never forget it was to Hyde Park, MA, and I was like, holy s**t, someone in Massachusetts just bought something. We got out of the pool, and it was a single hat. We went into the garage, and we messed up the hat four times. We lost about 15 bucks,” Drake recalled.
Arguably, one of the biggest states they do business in is New Jersey. They have sponsored Long Branch, NJ’s, cigar event the last few years that has blossomed into taking their entire staff to attend.
They do have a storefront located in New Palestine, IN, and are always looking to expand, considering they have remodeled their current location multiple times due to the growth in business.
“You've always got to be two or three days or even weeks ahead of what's coming down the production line,” said Wolsiffer.
The contents of their products come from personal customizations, professional sports organizations logos that are only sent to those responding in that area and Axe Head Threads branded pieces.
“Wearing our branded St. Patty’s Day shirt or Christmas shirt that we just did, you see that out walking and that's awesome. Those guys bought them from us. Those guys are buying our brand, not just something that they're making for the firehouse. It's humbling,” said Wolsiffer.
Ryan Baker
Ryan Baker is a writer and associate editor with prior experiences in online and print production. Ryan is an associate editor for T&D World and Firehouse, while he is going to graduate school in pursuit of a master's degree in sciences of communication at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He recently completed a year of teaching Intro to Public Speaking at UW-Whitewater, as part of his graduate program. Ryan acquired his bachelor's degree in journalism in 2023 from UW-Whitewater, and operates currently out of Minneapolis, MN. Baker, also writes freelances for the Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA) in his free time, while also umpiring baseball for various ages across the Twin Cities Metro Area.
