It’s been a banner year for Spectrum Designs, a New York-based nonprofit and decorated-apparel firm that provides employment opportunities for adults on the autism spectrum.

The decorator and social enterprise, which has locations in Port Washington and Westchester, is on track to hit $6.5 million in sales this year, an increase of $1 million compared to 2023, according to Patrick Bardsley, president and co-founder. “There’s lots of good stuff going on,” he adds, noting that more sales means more opportunity to further Spectrum’s mission.

Spectrum Designs partnered with Bioworld and T.J. Maxx to create a collection of apparel celebrating neurodiversity.

That good stuff includes a new partnership between Spectrum, apparel manufacturer Bioworld and retailer T.J. Maxx, which is currently offering a six-style collection designed, printed and packaged in-house by Spectrum’s neurodiverse team. The Spectrum team decorated around 10,000 garments, which are being sold in over 500 T.J. Maxx stores in the Northeast and beyond.

“What was really cool about it is that the designs were done by our team here,” Bardsley tells ASI Media. “Every aspect of the project was about neuro-inclusion.”

The garments included hangtags explaining Spectrum’s mission and story, and each of the designs featured in the T.J. Maxx apparel line found a way to subtly incorporate Spectrum Designs’ logo into the design, he adds.

“We are proud to be a part of the global community working to increase positive change throughout the marketplace,” Jason Mayes, senior director of marketing and intellectual property at Bioworld, told The Drum. “This collaboration is a testament to the power of inclusion and creativity.”

The T.J. Maxx collaboration is icing on the cake of a successful 2024, which also saw Spectrum Designs go viral on social media with a video that got 25 million views – and nearly 1 million likes – on Instagram. “We went from 6,000 followers to 111,000,” Bardsley says. “We had celebrities liking and sharing the video.”

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The video, which showed several of Spectrum’s neurodiverse employees explaining who they were and encouraging people to support their business, was created by the decorator’s neurodiverse marketing team. “We’ve had different people working in the marketing department over the years, and the first time it was fully neurodiverse, we have a viral video and the most success and exposure we’ve ever had,” Bardsley says. “That tells you something.”

The viral video also led to several large orders and inquiries from big brands, including YETI and Renewal By Andersen.

One of Spectrum Designs’ production facilities is located in Westchester, NY.

Spectrum Designs currently employs 75 people, with about 65% of its employees disclosed as having a developmental disability. The social enterprise is hoping to expand its model into nearby New Jersey and Florida in the future. Bardsley is also passionate about increasing opportunities for neurodiverse workers throughout the print and promotional products world. To that end, he’s teamed up with Industry Consultant Marshall Atkinson and Jed Seifert, co-founder of Stakes Manufacturing (asi/88974) and 2024 Counselor Bess Cohn Humanitarian of the Year, to write a book about inclusive hiring in the print industry.

“We have a saying at Spectrum Designs that great minds don’t always think alike,” Bardsley says. “The world needs all kinds of minds to solve its biggest problems.”