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On the way back from spring break, disaster of the teenaged variety hit. An owlet accidentally left his Weston Soccer jacket on the plane. We realized it soon after arriving in Weston, then called, wrote and visited Delta Airlines the next day but it was all for nothing. Someone somewhere is wearing a hard-won varsity jacket with a roaring ‘cat and my son’s name and number on their sleeve. Hope it keeps them warm.

After much handwringing, we called up Tricon Ink which is in Lexington, home of the Lexington High School Minutemen. I sort of feel sorry for the town of Lexington–you pretty much have to name everything for a bunch of sleepy colonials. Need to name a bike trail? Minuteman. High school team? Minutemen. National park? Well, duh. Must be very confusing when you say to your mom “hey, I’m going to run down to Minuteman” and that could be literally anywhere.

Where was I? Oh yes, so Tricon Ink is my new favorite custom embroidery shop. I told them the story of the lost jacket and they said “we can fix that” and gave me a choice of bringing in a new “blank” jacket or they would order one themselves. The one I found online was slightly less expensive so I bought it, and then they did the Wildcats logo plus the name and number for my son for $30 ($20 logo, $10 name on sleeve). In terms of Owlet happiness, it was worth every dime. Also the salesman was awesome and told me he had started working at Tricon decades ago as a “cleat duster” which is a job I did not know existed. A Minuteman cleat duster. Oh yes do try to close your eyes going in the store because they have a lot of Waltham Hawks and Lexington MM stuff. Hey, go ‘cats.

I was so happy with the quick and friendly service, I reached out to Jacob Struble, who is the nephew of the owner, to ask a few more questions about their history.

“Tricon has been in business since 1970. The business started out solely as a retail store and began to grow. Since the mid-’90s our screen printing and embroidery department has expanded to accommodate a growing need for all varieties of custom apparel and uniforms,” said Jacob.

Inevitably I had to ask why there was so much Waltham and Lexington apparel when Weston is so much better at athletics (irony does not carry through email). Jacob said that was funny and maybe true but did not want to be quoted on that. So oh oops.

“When custom apparel needs started to grow, we started work with a lot of local teams and companies, and grew by word of mouth and referrals. We do work with both Weston Girls Lacrosse and Weston Boys Soccer and would love to do more.”

Now, you and I both know that it is just a matter of time until the Owl gets its own owlish “merch” going, and when I do, there will be some custom work done at Tricon.

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There is absolutely nothing like the local touch and a business that understands that the loss of a favorite custom jacket is a big deal. Need some customed gear for team, corporate or just for fun? Seek out Tricon.

You can find Tricon Sports (the retail store) at 415 Waltham Avenue in Lexington, https://www.triconsportsinc.com/ and you can send them a note at sales@triconsports.com for any questions about customization.

Shop local, shop small business and most of all…go ‘cats!