Corporate HR Ordered 1,500 Pot Holders That Say “Team Hot Stuff” – I Still Don’t Know Why.

Last September I got an email from a corporate HR manager that started with “This is going to sound weird…”

She needed 1,500 Safe & Stylish Sublimation Blank Linen/Rubber Pot Holders. All of them had to say “Team Hot Stuff” in bold red letters with the company logo on the other side.

I quoted $28 each. She replied in 11 minutes: “Send invoice. Wire coming today.”

That single order was $42,000. My cost for the blanks? Under $3,000.

These pot holders are linen on one side for printing and rubber on the other for grip and heat protection. They press in 60-90 seconds at 360 °F with medium pressure and look like something from a high-end kitchen store. The linen takes color beautifully, the rubber keeps hands safe, and they’re machine washable.

I’ve done corporate swag before, but nothing like this. She later told me it was for their annual “spice up your performance” team-building retreat. Apparently “Team Hot Stuff” was their internal joke about handling pressure in the kitchen… and in sales.

Since then I’ve had four more companies order similar runs. Tech startups love funny slogans, banks go classy with logos, and one insurance firm did “We’ve Got You Covered” with their tagline.

If you run a sublimation side hustle, these linen/rubber pot holders are the quiet corporate cash cow. They’re useful (no one throws away a good pot holder), cheap to ship, and HR departments love anything that gets used instead of tossed.

Ready to take the weird orders that pay the big bucks? Grab the blanks here: https://innosubusa.com/products/safe-stylish-sublimation-blank-linen-rubber-pot-holders

Some questions are better left unanswered when the invoice clears that fast.