Starline (PPAI 112719, Platinum), PPAI 100’s No. 29 supplier, has announced the hiring of Allyson Kosko as the Northeast regional sales manager.

Kosko brings 21 years of experience in the branded merchandise industry, with a background spanning both the supplier and distributor sides of the business.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Allyson to the Starline team,” says Brian DeBottis, chief revenue officer of Starline. “Her experience of both the supplier and distributor sides of the industry gives her a unique understanding of our customers and their needs. Allyson’s strategic mindset and passion for building strong distributor partnerships make her a great addition to our sales team, and we’re excited to see the impact she’ll make.”

RUPT (PPAI 826757, Silver), PPAI 100’s No. 60 supplier, has launched the Rupt Design Lab.

According to Jason Lucash, CEO of RUPT, here’s what it does: A distributor can create custom mockups and full lookbooks on Rupt products with their client’s branding in about 20 seconds.

Because it’s a one-piece minimum, RUPT can produce whatever they just designed from one of its 15 facilities around the world and get it into a recipient’s or customer’s hands in a matter of days.

“We built it because customers kept asking us for two things: a way to show Rupt products with their clients’ branding, and a way to use our products to get in the door with new prospects. Design Lab does both,” Lucash says.

Blue Sky Marketing (PPAI 190986, Gold), PPAI 100’s No. 73 distributor, recently hosted its largest event in 29 years – a fashion event envisioned by CEO Corey Zirlin.

The company welcomed approximately 100 guests, including clients, suppliers and team members. The in-person fashion show took place in San Diego and was livestreamed to Chicago. Blue Sky partnered with SanMar for the apparel, alongside other sponsor suppliers at both locations who helped power experience studios and on-site activations.

You can explore the highlights, photography, runway lookbook and full event recording on its Fashion Forward webpage: https://buybluesky.com/fashion-forward

Proforma (PPAI 196835, Platinum), PPAI 100’s No. 5 distributor, says its 2026 Energize event series has wrapped up a three-city tour that brought together nearly 130 Proforma distributor owners and team members and more than 120 supplier partner attendees to network, strategize and lay the groundwork for what’s ahead in the print and branded merchandise industry.

The 2026 Energize event series kicked off in New Orleans, followed by Charleston, South Carolina, and San Diego. ASI, PCNA, S&S and SanMar attended every 2026 Energize event, and additional supplier partners joined at select locations.

“The intimate nature of Energize allows for the kind of one-on-one conversations that aren’t always possible at larger events,” says Michelle Dalton, senior vice president of owner and supplier success at Proforma. “Those connections strengthen partnerships across the Proforma Network and lead to new opportunities for shared success.”

commonsku (PPAI 552077) will host a live webinar, The Agentic Distributorship, on Thursday, October 29 at 2 p.m. EDT, to give distributors a clear read on which AI shifts are landing effectively in the branded merchandise industry today.

The webinar, hosted by commonsku’s Bobby Lehew, chief AI officer, and Charlie Moscoe, vice president of product, will walk through which AI moves matter most for distributors to beat the rush, and unveil what’s live, and coming next, in commonsku’s AI suite.

“Every distributor is hearing the same message right now: adopt AI or fall behind,” Lehew says. “What’s missing is specificity. In this webinar, we’ll share how distributors are using AI and what the future of an agentic distributorship looks like, plus the tactical ways we’re developing this vision!”

STAHLS’ (PPAI 189660, Standard-Plus) has entered into a five-year agreement with The University Co-op in Austin to expand its licensed apparel and personalized merchandise program.

The partnership combines Hotronix heat printing equipment, Fan Edition software and sales kiosks and Fulfill Engine automation technology, decoration products, blank apparel and marketing support. The program was put to work during the University of Texas home game against Ohio State, as ESPN College GameDay brought additional attention to Austin. The University Co-op reported record-breaking sales on both Friday and Saturday.

“Sports retail moves at the speed of the event,” says Chris Hooks, director of sports licensing at STAHLS’. “This partnership gives the Co-op the products and production tools to respond when fans are ready to buy.”

iMerch Finder is inviting branded merchandise distributors to create a free basic listing as it develops a platform designed to help business buyers find the right distributor for their projects, rather than search only for products.

Founder Jeff Greenberg, a distributor with Promostuff 4 You and president of the Gold Coast Promotional Products Association, is building iMerch Finder around a distinction familiar to the industry: distributors may offer similar products, but their expertise, services and strengths can be very different.

“Finding someone who sells a tumbler isn’t the hard part. Finding someone who understands your business and what you’re trying to accomplish is a different question,” says Greenberg. “I’m a distributor too. I want buyers to find us for what we actually do well.”

The platform is being developed to use AI-assisted matching to help buyers find distributors by specialty, service area, experience and project fit.

“At this stage, I’m not asking distributors to buy anything,” Greenberg says. “Take a look, sign up for free and tell us what would make this useful to your business. We want to build this with input from the people who will use it.”