A key service of ours here at vbs apparel is our Custom Online Store Program. We’ve heard from many of our clients that custom-tailored online stores have been a game changer, making it considerably easier to order custom apparel for their group. Whether you want customised apparel for a large organisation or a smaller group, we offer clients the opportunity of launching a Custom Online Store.

Often potential clients are dissuaded from ordering new apparel for their clubs because of the time and effort the process requires. When there are countless other things calling for attention, it's hard to prioritise the nice-to-haves over the need-to-haves. We understood this and introduced Custom Online Stores. 

This process consists of four steps: Choosing products and artwork, Designing the custom store, Production of the items, and Delivery. Our awesome Customer Service Representatives will work directly with you and guide you through the entire process.

This step of the process is exactly what it sounds like. We chat with you to understand the needs and desires for your apparel. This can occur through a phone call, or an in-person meeting. Following that, we offer some suitable options from our suppliers. We can offer you premium brand names that reflect your organisations quality, hooking you up with lululemon, Nike, Adidas and more. We also support Canadian brands, like up-and-coming streetwear-inspired brand Just Like Hero. Gildan and Augusta are among our economical options. We work within your budget and find the best fit for you.

The next procedural step is crafting the online store platform. We use your colours, logos and any other preferences to tailor the website to your every need. Do you want to have the Custom Online Store run multiple times in one year? We can do it. Do you have multiple groups who need differing options? No problem! We work with your timelines, but our standard duration for a store to run is fourteen days. If someone in your group misses the deadlines, we’ll work with you to be flexible.

Once the store has closed, production will begin. The production process takes between 3-4 weeks. We have a team dedicated to ensuring that your customised apparel is top quality. We individually package each order, making it easy for you to hand out the assigned packages to each person. We're all about saving you time!  

The final piece of the puzzle, delivery. We have option: we can deliver straight to the organiser's door, we can transport the apparel to your school or club, and we can ship individually to each purchaser. Using reliable couriers, we aim to have your clothing with you long before your deadline. Pick-up or delivery, you let us know.

We hope this blog post has helped you understand the advantages of our Custom Online Store Program. If we’ve piqued your interest, give our office a call to chat more. All our contact information is on our website. We love what we do here at vbs and will continue to strive to simplify the lives of our customers. For more information about all things vbs, keep an eye on our blog! 

The 2025 Volleyball Canada Youth Nationals are right around the corner! That’s why for this week, the team here at vbs apparel wanted to give their best pieces of advice to the newbies attending the competition in 2025. We know it can be daunting, not knowing what to expect. It can be equally exciting and nerve-wracking. Therefore, we’ve combined our best pieces of advice to act as your field guide for this event.

(Psst: Did you miss the 2025 Nationals Merch Presale? Not to worry! We will be selling Nationals merchandise in Fredericton, Ottawa, Winnipeg and throughout all the Edmonton tournaments!)

The first tip we will give you is to buy your merchandise on the practice day. The practice day is the best time to organise everything before you play. On the tournament days, you’ll want to focus on your games, not be distracted by wanting to get your hands on a new flash hoodie. Make sure you get to the merchandise booth early; we do our best to keep the lines moving but no one wants to get stuck waiting at the back of a long line.

For players attending the Edmonton tournaments at the Edmonton Expo Centre, make sure you take note of the information booth. This booth will have people who can help you with inquiries and finding your way around. Any questions you might have about the tournament, they can answer for you. This is a great resource, so make sure you utilise it. The centre is bigger than you probably expect, so getting lost or disorientated can be quite common!

The days here at Nationals are lengthy. Bringing a portable charger for your phone and headphones is essential. It won’t be easy to find a wall outlet to charge your phone so a portable charger can be a lifesaver. As for your headphones, what would you do without a bit of music to pump you up before that final game? On that note, remember to bring lots of snacks and pack a Gatorade– or several. This tournament will be taxing, staying hydrated and fed is important. You want to make sure you are ready to play your best.

Between games, go outside and explore other courts. It’s an awesome opportunity to be at Nationals, make sure you embrace it. You might even get a glimpse of the opposition playing. While we’re talking about embracing the Nationals spirit, make sure you take advantage of every opportunity for fun! Volleyball Canada sure will be, they’ve created theme days for each tournament, for players to dress up and snap a lot of pictures! There is a different theme at every tournament. Our tip for this is simply to do your research and have your costume prepared. We heard something about Pajamas, Tie Dye, Sport Jersey Day, and Neon / 80s.

Our last tip is to have fun! Maybe it’s a bit cheesy, but it’s true. You play your best when you enjoy yourself. This is an exceptional chance to make memories and achieve great things with your teammates. Lastly, don’t forget to show appreciation for your coaches and parent helpers. They give up their time to support and help you succeed. The team here at vbs apparel wishes you luck, and we hope you have a wonderful tournament.

About the Design:  

2025’s design is all about bringing the nation together! Every year, Nationals is a cross-country, all-province-and-territory party bringing together athletes from across the nation. When you’re hosting the largest youth sporting event in Canada, only something as big as the Canadian map can reflect the excitement, pride, and enthusiasm of 20,000+ athletes at the peak of their skill. 

This week we had the chance to sit down with our talented Marketing and Communications senior manager Carolina Tancon to chat all about the process for designing this year’s national’s apparel. 

We learned that this process starts months prior to the events. The concept stage begins as far back as November the year before, when Carolina and our graphic design team work in tandem with Volleyball Canada to conjure up fresh themes and ideas. Choosing the right concept is a delicate balance between creating something unique and yet still cohesive with the existing Nationals apparel. Unique, trendy and long-lasting are all words that came to mind during this blueprint phase. 

Expressing her passion for this project, Carolina says, “My favourite thing about the Nationals merch is seeing people wearing it after the fact. I think it’s really cool to see that people are proud at the event but when their pride continues afterwards, that is ultimately a goal of mine”. Achieving this comes with consciously factoring in colour choices and the technical details of the design. The effort and care that goes into this entire process is made worth it when we see players still wearing their Nationals apparel at other competitions year-round. 

We always try to pay homage to Volleyball Canada’s national team by using overlapping elements, including number fonts, logos and VC’s establishing date. The theme for 2025 was Canadian pride. “We wanted to create a design that would connect all of these teams, from the west coast to the east coast, and everywhere in-between” says Carolina. Ultimately, we landed on a classic map of Canada, integrating a volleyball net to represent the nation-wide reach of the Nationals event. 

A lot of time is spent curating a unique colour palette every year. Colours that do well at previous competitions are brought back in varying versions, like the forest green crewneck sweater from last year, which is back in a hoodie version for 2025. A new, never-used-before colour in this year’s palette is our classic pink, which was a smash hit with our models during the apparel photoshoot. Each year, we make sure to select a few Nationals apparel colours that are exclusively available during the *PRESALE*.

About the *PRESALE*: 

The *PRESALE* for Volleyball Canada Youth Nationals event merchandise opens on March 18th on volleyballstuff.net. The *PRESALE* is a great way to ensure you can grab the apparel you want in your colour and size. Don’t worry, we’ll have well-stocked booths at each Nationals event, but the *PRESALE* is the best way to guarantee you’ll get your colour and size before the booth starts selling out! It also means not having to wait or waste your down-time waiting in line. You can show up to the event already decorated in your trendy merchandise! 

Why else should you shop the presale? There are apparel items that are exclusively available during presale and no other time! These include the pink crewneck, ash long sleeve, royal blue hoodie, and the maroon quarter zip.  

Never accidentally swap sweaters with your teammates again! Exclusively during the *PRESALE*, you can add your name and number to your merchandise. This customization perk won’t be available at the events.

We’re super excited to see everyone at Nationals this year. Remember skip the line, shop the *PRESALE*!