Springfield fire marshal honors beloved, defunct businesses with hand-crafted T-shirts

What started as the search for an old T-shirt has blossomed into a thriving small business, all managed in the basement of Mark Phillips' home.

Phillips, a Springfield fire marshal, is the owner of Springfield Lost and Found , a merchandise company that specializes in honoring defunct Springfield businesses. Established in November 2023, Springfield Lost and Found offers a vast selection of T-shirts with former Springfield business logos displayed on the front. Phillips designs and prints every T-shirt by hand in his Republic home.

All Springfield Lost and Found shirts are $21 and come in sizes small through 4XL. Shirts are only available in black, to keep things simple, Phillips said. Shirts are available on the Springfield Lost and Found website at lostspringfield.com . Phillips and his wife also sell shirts at the Farmers Market of the Ozarks on the last Saturday of each month.

Best-selling shirts include Hamby's (steakhouse), Aladdin's Castle (arcade in Battlefield Mall), Hoover Music (music store), Rock 99 (rock radio station), Campbell 66 Express (trucking company) and Culley's Pub (downtown bar).

It was the search for an old Culley's T-shirt that got the ball rolling for Springfield Lost and Found.

"I had an old, old Culley's shirt and we (friends) were talking one night and I said, 'Man, I wish I knew where that Culley's shirt was,'" Phillips recounted. "And my buddy said, 'You should just make one. You still have that shirt stuff?'"

Back in 2019, Phillips purchased a heat press machine, which can be used to heat press transfer sheet designs to items like shirts, to make T-shirts for drum corps competitions. Phillips has been a percussionist for most of his life and was interested in making custom shirts for Drum Corps International and Winter Guard International. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic stunted Phillips' plans, but he held on to the heat press.

When it came to making that first Culley's shirt, Phillips said he didn't have a printer that could handle transfer sheets, so he rigged up a "crappy" system that resulted in an equally "crappy" product. Though he wasn't happy with the end result, it got him thinking.

"I remember all these places I went to as a kid, Aladdin's Castle arcade ... I was like, 'Man, it would be cool to have all the shirts again," Phillips said. "And I was like, 'I'm going to do it, man. I'm just going to make (them).'"

Phillips invested in a higher quality printer and got to work. For that first batch of T-shirts, Phillips' customers were only close friends and colleagues, but over time, the business began to take off. Since starting the business, Phillips said he has fulfilled 341 orders.

Finding the logos he wants to print can be tricky. Phillips has been fortunate enough to find most logos online, but he has also screenshot YouTube videos that flash a logo on the screen and photographed old bumper stickers he's spotted around town. He also uses Newspapers.com, an online archival system for print newspapers.

Phillips said he often gets asked about the legality of the business — he's done his research.

"If you go to trademark.gov and you look at all this, the trademark's either dead, they haven't renewed it, or they never trademarked to begin with," he said. "A lot of these smaller mom and pop places, especially in Springfield, they're not going to pay that much money to trademark their logo."

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And the feedback he's received, including from former business owners, has only been positive.

"I get an order yesterday for a DiGiacinto shirt and it's from Michael DiGiacinto out in New Jersey," Phillips said. "I'm like, 'I'm not charging that guy.' So I refunded him. He hit me up today and was like, 'I just got this refund. What's up with that?' So I wrote him real quick and am like, 'Hey man, your name's on the shirt. I'm not going to charge you for this shirt. I just appreciated the meatballs and memories.'"

Making money isn't what Springfield Lost and Found is about for Phillips. In fact, he said he breaks even on most orders. When it comes to his investment, each shirt costs him about $5 and then the design, which includes a transfer sheet and adhesive, is about $4. And when it comes to shipping, Phillips said he usually doesn't charge it.

For local orders, Phillips and his wife usually hand deliver them to cut back on shipping costs and spend time together.

To reward loyal customers, Phillips said, if he sees you out in public wearing a Springfield Lost and Found shirt, he'll gift you three more of your choice.

Greta Cross is the trending topics reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. She has more than five years of journalism experience covering everything from Ozarks history to Springfield’s LGBTQIA+ community. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretacrossphoto. Story idea? Email her at gcross@news-leader.com .

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield fire marshal honors beloved, defunct businesses with hand-crafted T-shirts