About

Born of humble beginnings in the family dairy barn, Artisans Inc. was started in Glen Flora, Wisconsin in 1963 by Orlo and Bernice Dukerschein. The fledgling operation was simply Orlo, Bernice and their six children, screen printing T-shirts, sweatshirts, ribbons, buttons, decals, emblems and banners. By 1991, the company had outgrown its location on the family property and built a 50,000-square-foot production plant in Glen Flora, and by 2000 had expanded to a 150,000-square-foot state-of-the-art manufacturing facility.

Fast forward through decades of growth and success to 2017, when the current owners, Bev and Gordie Dukerschein, ready for retirement, sold the company to their employees under an ESOP structure, making Artisans a 100% employee-owned enterprise.

In 2025, as part of our ongoing evolution, we made the decision to consolidate our operations, closing our original Wisconsin facility and bringing our entire team and production under one roof at our location in Lexington, Kentucky. While our address has changed, the values that built this company have not. The same commitment to employee ownership, dedication to craft, and respect for our people that started in a dairy barn now drive everything we do in Lexington.

Many things have changed throughout Artisans' six decades in business, but our purpose and passion as a company, to tell the stories of our customers through branded apparel, remains the same. We don't settle. Our research and development is unceasing as we follow the constant evolution in design, trend and technology. The result is the quality and innovation you've come to know and expect from us, and our efforts have proven that we are leaders in the destination apparel market.

We are incredibly proud of our heritage and the extremely devoted employees who remain the backbone of this company. From our roots in rural Wisconsin to our home today in Lexington, Kentucky, our product exudes the latest in trend, design and craftsmanship. We have been an industry leader for more than 60 years, and we are here to stay!