Sisters, Screen Printing, and the Origin of Hip Hues: How Two Opposites Created a Business That Rocks Events

Starting a business is never easy, but when you do it with your sister—your polar opposite, no less—it becomes an adventure. For Sondra Noble and Tracy Dunn, co-founders of Hip Hues, that adventure started with a gift, a leap of faith, and a whole lot of creativity.

The Gift That Sparked an Idea The story of Hip Hues began not with a business plan, but with a birthday present. Tracy, a former investment banker with a creative streak, taught herself screen printing one summer. She surprised Sondra with a striking Andy Warhol-inspired canvas of their hometown, Columbus, Ohio. It was bold, vibrant, and unlike anything Sondra had seen before.

The gift wasn’t just a piece of art. It was a revelation. Sondra, who had always loved art but didn’t see herself as an artist, was intrigued. “How do we make a business out of this?” she wondered. That question was the seed that grew into Hip Hues.

The Perfect Pair of Opposites If you were to meet Sondra and Tracy separately, you might not guess they’re sisters, let alone business partners. Sondra is the right-brained visionary, a natural marketer who loves connecting with people and sharing creativity. Tracy, on the other hand, is the left-brained problem-solver. A former Mergers and Acquisitions specialist with a degree from UVA’s business school, she’s a wizard with Excel spreadsheets and a MacGyver-like genius for figuring things out.

Tracy Dunn and Sondra Noble, Founders of Hip Hues

“She’s a unicorn,” Sondra says of her sister. “Tracy is a pilot, she brews beer and makes wine, she is a calligrapher, she quilts, and she taught herself screen printing one summer nearly 15 years ago. She also loves Excel spreadsheets and can fix nearly anything. I’ve never met anyone like her.”

Tracy notes that “Having a business partner like Sondra, who is the ultimate networker and an intuitive people person, is a rare gift. She has an innate ability to connect with others on a deeper level, building relationships that not only propel our business forward but also create lasting, meaningful partnerships." 

Despite their differences—or maybe because of them—the sisters make the perfect team. They balance each other out, complementing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. They dream big and knock it out of the park, together.

The Leap from Corporate Life to Entrepreneurship Both sisters came from impressive corporate backgrounds. After graduating from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Sondra worked at Google’s headquarters in San Francisco, managing significant ad spend and learning analytics. Tracy was deep in the world of investment banking. But both felt the same itch—the desire to build something for themselves.

Their entrepreneurial spirit wasn’t just a whim; it was in their DNA. Growing up in Columbus, Ohio, Sondra and Tracy watched their parents run a promotional products company. They were raised in the hustle and bustle of trade shows and small biz operations, seeing firsthand the highs and lows of running a business.

“We went to good schools and got corporate jobs because that’s what we thought we were supposed to do,” Sondra recalls. “But a few years in, we realized we wanted to work for ourselves. We knew we could always go back to our day jobs if we needed to, but we’d never have this chance again.”

With $5,000 each from their savings, they took the leap in 2012. Hip Hues was born.

From Workshops to Swag Bars In the early days, the sisters envisioned Hip Hues as a screen-printing version of the popular “Sips and Strokes” paint-and-wine classes. They thought it would be a fun, inclusive activity for couples, families, and more. But they quickly realized that people typically only do this once, which didn’t make for a great business model.

That’s when Sondra had a lightbulb moment. With her marketing background, she saw the potential to bring screen printing to events, making branded swag interactive and fun. “We had mobile equipment and the ability to take this experience out of a studio” she explains. “No one was doing this at events. We could make gifting memorable and extremely unique.”

Thus, the Swag Bar was born. Guests at events get to choose their t-shirt size, color, design, and/or ink color. Then they get to screen print it themselves, creating a memorable and hands-on experience.

The concept was so new that the sisters faced challenges in explaining it. “People didn’t even know what screen printing was, let alone why they would want it at their event” Sondra laughs. “We’ve had to educate clients along the way.”

But once people saw and experienced it, they loved it. “Time and time again I’ve seen that perfect moment on the guest’s face when they realize that they made their shirt,” says Tracy. “Nothing beats the tactile, hands-on experience.” From healthcare conferences to music festivals, Hip Hues brought a hands-on, personalized touch to events.

The Ups and Downs of Sisterhood and Business Of course, starting a business with your sister isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. “When we first started, everyone in our family was like, ‘What are you doing? You don’t even like each other,’” Sondra admits. “We were just a few years out of college, polar opposites with different friends, different interests, and different lives.”

But working together changed everything. It forced them to communicate, compromise, and understand each other in ways they never had before. They learned to lean into their differences, trusting that the other always had the best interests of the business—and each other—at heart.

“That trust is huge,” Sondra says. “We know each other so well. We can disagree, and it’s still safe. At the end of the day, we’re sisters, and we’re in this together. There’s no backstabbing. Just real talk and figuring it out.”

Pivoting Through a Pandemic When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, live events came to a screeching halt. Hip Hues almost went out of business, since they were in the business of live events. But instead of giving up, Sondra and Tracy pivoted. They found creative ways to do live printing and gifting at virtual events, and they helped organizations deliver a bit of ‘happy’ to people in a time of great uncertainty. Hip Hues also invested in a new, more VIP and luxe print activation - onsite leather stamping. They built out a completely new experience, allowing guests to personalize high-end branded gifts with initials, symbols, foil colors, and more.

“Despite the uncertainty, it brought me back to the excitement of launching the business so many years before,” says Tracy. “It was the testing and creativity of starting something new that got me through the pandemic.”

It was risky, but it paid off. “We finally had the time to build out something that people had been asking for - a higher-end gifting experience. I listened to my clients and peers in our ‘events and hospitality’ sphere, bringing this idea to Tracy. And Tracy made it happen,” Sondra recalls. “Within a few months, we were testing and launching it at events.”

Twelve Years and Counting What started as a creative passion has grown into a thriving business. Hip Hues has been setting up swag bars at events for over 12 years, creating memorable experiences for brands and guests alike. The sisters have weathered the ups and downs of entrepreneurship together, building not only a business but a stronger relationship along the way.

“It’s been a rollercoaster,” Sondra admits. “But I wouldn’t change it for the world. We’ve built something special, and we did it together.” From a summertime print hobby to revolutionizing event swag, Sondra and Tracy have proven that when opposites join forces, magic happens.