The CORTELA Story:
How the Name Came to Be
From the very start, I didn't want some generic name that would instantly disappear in the endless sea of 'print', 'merch' and 'textile'. I also didn't want to simply put my own name on the door. From day one, the name was meant to represent exactly what it turned out to be: a real brand people could identify with. A name that's strong, sticks in your head, and stands on its own.
The idea for CORTELA actually came pretty spontaneously, but once you break it down, it makes 100 percent sense for what we do here:
from Latin: heart — figuratively also feeling, spirit and mind.
from Spanish and Italian: fabric, cloth, textile.
For me and my clients, that's the absolutely logical explanation. Every day, I stand fully behind what I do, heart and soul. Behind every single textile project, behind incredibly cool merch for all kinds of industries, and behind the network that grows out of it. CORTELA isn't just a made-up word. It's a brand that delivers exactly that: heart for the fabric.
„Going independent was, for me, the absolutely logical consequence."
Why CORTELA? Because the time was simply right
Since 2019 I have been deep in textile production – starting at a screen-printing shop in Dortmund as production and operations manager, later in Leverkusen fully focused on special production runs, sourcing, embroidery and garment finishing. From textile buying through bookkeeping and shift planning, I have literally done every single task in this business myself. Then came the bigger picture: planning trade fair appearances for corporate fashion or the sports trade fair in Hamburg, as well as running festival merch end to end across a whole season. As a trained offset printer, I know exactly how ink gets onto material and what is actually achievable in the end.
In the middle of it, not on the side
Over all those years I represented every company as if it were my own. Even at 11pm at an industry event or networking evening. I am simply in it with absolute passion, and over the years I have taught myself every part of this business from the ground up. That is exactly the pace I need too: being right in the middle of it, fully stretched, holding every thread myself – that is what makes the work genuinely fun for me.
Thinking around corners
What defines me beyond the networking is thinking around corners. Especially in the music and merchandise business, things often need to move faster than usual – more agile, less complicated. Going by the book or sticking to rigid procedure just does not get you anywhere in a lot of situations. If the product has to be at the venue on Friday evening, it gets delivered – not after the show. It is always about getting the absolute maximum out of a project and pulling whatever lever it takes to find a solution, even against the toughest deadlines. I simply burn for this dynamic and this scene. So going independent was, for me, the absolutely logical consequence. Anyone who knows me saw it coming long ago. Now it is happening. With CORTELA, right here in Dortmund.
Straight to me
What is non-negotiable from day one: whoever calls CORTELA speaks to me. No sales department standing in between, waving the job through to production without a face attached. That is not a growth constraint I am gritting my teeth to accept – it is the actual concept. A direct line, real know-how, uncompromising execution, and zero detours.
The Explainer
My friends call me that, and it is true: I love explaining things until they are properly understood.
Perfectionist, nerd included
Once a topic grabs me, I want to understand it all the way through, not just solve it on the surface.
Never just one way through
When there is an obstacle in the way, I come up with several routes around it right away — never just one.
One business, one network, one name on the invoice.
CORTELA is Jan Keur's merch operation in Dortmund: one owner, a network of partner workshops, one office dog. Small enough that every job crosses the same desk, big enough for runs of up to 100,000 pieces.
Trained offset printer, in textile finishing since 2019: first production and plant manager at a Dortmund screen-printing shop, then special productions, sourcing, embroidery and garment making in Leverkusen. Chairman of the VTTD. Founding CORTELA now in Dortmund.
- Partner workshops
- over 20
- Capacity per run
- up to 100,000 pieces
- Largest run completed
- over 50,000, screen printing
- Delivered to
- EU, Switzerland, United Kingdom
Boxer. Comes along to the office, sets the mood there and stays out of the day-to-day business. She does not respond to emails, but instantly to treats, and anyone who needs an answer from her waits until after the nap. She needs no further responsibilities to hold the place together.
- Breed
- Boxer
- Response time
- after the nap
- In charge of
- morale
- Treats
- immediately
Why we do not print everything ourselves
Printing, embroidery and finishing run across a network of workshops in Germany and Europe. Which of them takes your run is decided by the process: 40 embroidered caps belong in a different house than 3,000 screen-printed shirts.
The network has two sides. In Germany we work with more than twenty partner businesses — decorators, textile suppliers and specialists for custom parts; we are members of the VTTD, the trade association of textile decorators — people there know one another, and they know who really masters which process. Across Europe further contacts have grown over the years, one workshop at a time. The build-out continues.
The reason for this setup is not capacity, it is quality. A workshop that does embroidery all day does it better than one that squeezes it in between two print jobs.
You negotiate with none of these workshops. You have one contracting party, one point of contact and one invoice — and if something goes wrong, that is our mistake, not the mistake of an address you have never seen.
Under your brand, if that is what you want
Delivery note, parcel label and neck label carry the brand you decide on. Your customer never learns we exist. If you prefer it the other way round, our logo sits next to yours.
More under White label →
Aka-Tex
Seminars and conferences for textile printing and embroidery, plus the trade portal Textilveredler-Nachrichten and a monthly newsletter.
aka-tex.de
AS Colour
The manufacturer lists CORTELA in its official directory of decorators. Anyone looking there for a shop to decorate their blanks finds us.
ascolour.eu
ESB Marketing Network
Since 1994 the largest in the German-speaking region: over 650 members and over 50 events a year, where merch meets sports business.
esb-online.com
Football Network 11
Companies from every club’s network face off from the spot. Nine match days in Cologne, final in June 2027, with CORTELA as a supporter.
network11.de
Metal Business Club
Business owners with a heart for metal, punk and hardcore. Monthly meetings in the Netherlands, in Belgium and, since 2026, in Germany.
metalbc.com
VTTD
The trade body for screen printing, embroidery, DTG, sublimation and transfer. For CORTELA, the shortest route to the right workshop.
vttd.de
Let us talk about your project.
On the phone is someone who has run the processes. Design, quantity and deadline are enough to start.