Founder And Ceo, Bee Seen Gear
Walk into Bee Seen Gear on any given day, and you’ll see it: embroidery machines humming, the smell of fresh screen print ink, shelves stacked with workwear, hoodies, and custom gear. But behind all the busy production is a story that’s stitched together with resilience and a refusal to say “no.”
“I didn’t really set out to build an apparel company,” Traci Weible, founder and CEO of Bee Seen Gear in Fargo, said. “I just kind of fell into it.”
In 2009, Weible bought a tiny embroidery business from a woman looking to retire. It came with just a three-head and a single-head machine. The scale was modest. Today? “We do more in a month than she did in a year,” she said.
And that’s only part of the story.
A Business Built by Saying Yes
Weible didn’t have a background in fashion or apparel production. In fact, she ran a dog grooming business and helped manage her family’s electrical company before pivoting into custom gear. What she did have was business instinct and an appetite for change.
“If there’s one thing we’ve never been afraid of, it’s switching things up,” she said. “We’re constantly upgrading software, bringing in new equipment, and trying new processes. If something doesn’t work, we figure out what will.” That attitude has helped Bee Seen Gear grow into a full-service custom apparel and promotional product company. They do embroidery, screen printing, laser work, direct-to-film transfers, and even sewing, all in-house. The front half of the building is retail; the back is production. “It runs like a machine now,” she said.
Keep going. Keep changing. Keep learning.” - Traci Weible
Enter: Frontline Gear
This past year marked a new chapter: the launch of Frontline Gear, a spinoff brand under Bee Seen, dedicated to outfitting first responders. What started as a few custom orders for local fire departments has grown into fully managed online stores for groups like Fargo Fire, West Fargo PD, Southern Valley Fire, Sanford paramedics, West Fargo Fire, Fargo Police Department, and Moorhead Police Department.
It’s a niche Weible didn’t plan for, but she saw the need.
“There wasn’t really a local resource dedicated to them,” she explains. “So we created one.”
Frontline Gear is growing fast, and now she’s building out retail space specifically for responders to stop in, pick up gear, and order custom items. The next phase includes expanding to other first responders and agencies.
