4 The Team

Photo: Art Sidner

St. Peter: 4 The Team

If not for a well-rounded education from her mother, 1978 St. Peter High graduate Bridget Blaido never would have begun 4 The Team within the last year in St. Peter.

“My mother raised my brother and I to be independent individuals,” said 50-year-old Blaido in a telephone interview. “She instilled in us that there was nothing either one of us couldn’t do or be expected to do. For example, my brother was expected to cook and sew, and I was expected to known how to fix a car and change tires.”

Her training came in handy. She became pregnant as a high school junior, had a baby senior year, and married at age 18. She went on to study accounting and her husband gave up a Minnesota State football scholarship for work. They are still married.

In 1995, while working for Sween Corporation in data processing, she and a business partner bought Sween ID Products and changed the name to ID Services. They split the company in 2000 and she kept the engraving portion.

“Then last year, my son-in-law and I went to hockey tournaments and sold tee-shirts on the spot,” she said. “We took our heat press and cooked tee-shirts. It’s called sublimation, where we imprinted graphics directly into 100 percent polyester.” At the same time, fellow hockey team members—Blaido played on the River Valley Vixen—urged her to start screen-printing and embroidery. Their nudge became 4 The Team.

She believed a niche existed serving high school teams like Nicollet, Cleveland, St. Peter, and Le Sueur. Today, in part, she embroiders business logos onto most any clothing and serves high school, Gustavus Adolphus, and youth sports teams. She said, “I like best the creativity—and also working with the captains of high school sports teams. They want something designed and are thrilled that it’s their tee-shirt for their team.”

4 The Team
Telephone: 507-931-5966
Address: 219 West Park Row
Web: 4theteam.com