How We Package Ice Dye Orders: Branded Mailers, Stickers & Personal Notes

Every ice dye piece that leaves my studio is one of a kind. The way I see it, the packaging should reflect that. When someone orders from Floorboard Findings, they're not just getting a garment in a plastic bag tossed into a box. They're getting something I made by hand, wrapped with care, and sent out with a personal touch that a warehouse fulfillment center will never replicate.

Ice dye packaging has been one of those things I've refined over the years, figuring out what protects the garments, what looks good when the customer opens the package, and what makes people want to share their unboxing on social media without me ever asking them to. Here's how every order gets packed before it hits the porch for UPS or USPS pickup.

Why Handmade Packaging Matters

I could save time and money by stuffing everything into a plain poly mailer and slapping a label on it. Plenty of sellers do that, and there's nothing wrong with it when you're moving high volume. But my business isn't high volume. It's small batch. Every crewneck, hoodie, and tee that comes out of my dye studio was touched by my hands multiple times — soaked, manipulated, iced, dyed, rinsed, washed, dried, folded. The last step before it reaches the customer shouldn't feel like an afterthought.

Branded packaging tells the customer they're buying from a real person who cares about the details. It turns a transaction into an experience. And honestly, it makes me proud to see my brand show up at someone's door looking polished and put-together rather than generic.

The Branded Poly Mailers

The first thing customers see is the mailer itself. I use branded poly mailers in a leopard stripe pattern that are impossible to mistake for anything else in a stack of Amazon boxes. They're bold, they're fun, and they match the energy of the brand. Color with backbone. When that mailer shows up on your doorstep, you know exactly where it came from before you even flip it over to check the label.

Poly mailers work well for most individual apparel orders. They're lightweight, which keeps shipping costs reasonable, and they're water-resistant, which matters when packages sit on porches in unpredictable weather. For larger orders or wholesale shipments, I switch to boxes, but for a single crewneck or tee headed to a customer, the branded poly mailer is the move.

Tissue Paper, Stickers, and the Details in Between

Inside the mailer, every garment is wrapped in tissue paper. This isn't just for aesthetics, although it does look nice when you tear open the package and see color peeking through the tissue rather than a garment crammed in bare. The tissue adds a layer of protection against friction during transit and gives the whole package a finished feel.

Each order gets sealed with a branded Floorboard Findings sticker. The sticker holds the tissue closed and gives the customer one more moment of anticipation before they get to the garment itself. It's a small detail, but small details are the difference between "I got my order" and "this feels special."

I also include care instruction inserts with every ice dye order. Proper washing matters for hand-dyed apparel (cold water, inside out, gentle cycle, no bleach) and I'd rather give customers that information upfront than have them reach out later wondering why the colors shifted. The insert covers everything they need to know to keep their piece looking vibrant for years.

The Handwritten Thank-You Note

This is the part that surprises people the most. Every single order ships with a handwritten thank-you note from me. Not a printed card with a generic "thanks for your purchase" message. An actual note, written by hand, addressed to the customer.

I know this doesn't scale the way a printed insert does. I know that as order volume grows, it takes more and more time. But this is the thing I refuse to automate. When someone spends their money on a piece I made by hand in my studio here in York, PA, while my husband Cory is on shift at the fire station and my daughters are doing homework at the kitchen table, the least I can do is take sixty seconds to write a genuine thank you.

Those notes get photographed and posted more than almost anything else. Customers tag me on Instagram and say things like "I've never gotten a handwritten note from an online order before." That connection between maker and buyer is what keeps people coming back, and it costs nothing but a little time and a pen.

Poly Bagging for Protection

Before anything gets wrapped in tissue or placed in a mailer, every garment goes into an individual poly bag. This is a non-negotiable step, especially for ice dye preorders that might sit in transit for a few days. The poly bag protects against dust, moisture, and any accidental contact with other items in the shipment.

For wholesale orders heading to boutiques and shops, poly bagging is even more critical. Those garments might go straight from the shipping box onto a retail display. They need to arrive clean, wrinkle-free, and ready to hang or fold on a shelf. I presentation-fold every crewneck and hoodie so it looks retail-ready the moment someone opens the bag.

Packing and Shipping Day

Shipping day in my studio follows a routine. I pull the orders, match each garment to its order slip, and start the packing process: poly bag, presentation fold, tissue wrap, sticker seal, handwritten note, care insert, then into the mailer or box. Labels get printed, packages get stacked, and everything goes out to the porch for carrier pickup.

I ship via USPS and UPS depending on the destination and package size. Most individual customer orders go USPS Priority or First Class, while larger wholesale shipments tend to go UPS Ground. I ship daily and ask customers to allow 5-7 days for handmade items, since each piece needs to be dyed, rinsed, washed, and dried before it can be packed. The packing itself doesn't take long once everything is ready. It's the dyeing process that sets the timeline.

Why I Won't Cut Corners on Packaging

I've had conversations with other small business owners who tell me the packaging is the first thing they cut when margins get tight. I get it. Branded mailers cost more than plain ones. Tissue paper and stickers add up. Handwritten notes take time that could be spent dyeing more inventory.

But here's what I've learned since starting on Etsy back in 2015 and growing into a full boutique and wholesale operation: the packaging is part of the product. When someone buys a one-of-a-kind ice-dyed crewneck from my shop, they're buying the whole experience — the anticipation of the mailer arriving, the moment they peel open the tissue, the surprise of seeing a note with their name on it. That experience is what turns a first-time buyer into a repeat customer, and a repeat customer into someone who tells their friends.

Wearable art deserves to show up like wearable art. Not like a bulk order from a warehouse. Every detail, from the leopard stripe mailer to the handwritten note, tells the customer the same thing: someone real made this, and someone real packed it just for you.

See What Arrives at Your Door

If you want to experience the full Floorboard Findings unboxing for yourself, browse our ready-to-ship ice dye collection and grab a piece before it's gone. Every item ships with the branded packaging, care instructions, and a personal note from me. And if you're curious about how the ice dye process itself works before the garment ever reaches the packing table, check out our post on how preorders compare to ready-to-ship pieces.