kimtees
shop/cafépress | press/newspapers | press/trade pubs
*kimtees* began as sort of a fluke. Although I’ve never been much of a bumper sticker person, I began sketching bumper sticker ideas after the 2004 election. The designs started as political messages and, once I got that out of my system, I then just started sketching stuff that made me laugh. One of the designs read “Back off! I’m pregnant and I’m cranky!” with a stick-figure type illustration of a very pregnant and very cranky woman. (This character was eventually revised and became what is now the image on the “cranky” tee.) As “Ms. Cranky” and I sat there staring at each other, I began laughing to myself as I thought of the many other emotions, moods, revelations and unpleasantries that I experienced during my pregnancies. With Ms. Cranky as my muse, I began altering her poses and expressions, and ended up with a series of maternity characters. These became “life-giving goddess,” “sissies,” “10 months,” etc. which I thought might make fun maternity tees.
I showed the designs to Due Maternity and with their encouragement officially launched *kimtees* in the summer of 2005. Before I knew it, and before I had a single printed tee (!), I had my first wholesale order. By the fall of ‘05, the website was up and running and my tees were in a handful of retail stores. At the start of ‘06 I began placing ads in a few magazines. Since then *kimtees* has had a steady and increasing stream of on-line business and, our tees are now in about 20 retail stores around the country!
I didn’t have a game plan at all when I set out to do this. I had a background in graphic design and advertising, and my own personal experiences in pregnancy and motherhood. I just started sketching things that came to mind and made me laugh. And as it turns out, I seem to have touched on some stuff that other parents and expectant parents can relate to.
I had a lot of fun with kimtees but, unfortunately, after three years we lacked the capital to keep it going. Although the business closed it’s doors in September 2008 kimtees designs do live on, and are available for purchase at cafépress.com.
