I seriously love everything about your company, from its name to the idea behind it to the actual t-shirt designs. Tell me a little about how you got started, and why you decided to do this.
Thank you so much, Lois! I’m so glad you love them! I started making the collages about fifteen years ago when I was living in Montreal. I was writing full-time and house-sitting for my brother’s colleagues. He’s an Anthropology professor and all of the anthropologists in his department would go off at various times to do their fieldwork and needed someone to take care of their animals and plants. It was fantastic. I was able to live in different apartments and condos all over the city for free and write. I started out making collages of writers that I loved and giving them away as gifts. One day a friend said, “You should sell these.” We brought thirty collages out to Bennington, Vermont, and sold them all in the first boutique we went into. I was floored. I then got into making greeting cards, magnets, bookmarks and seven-day glass votive candles with the image wrapped around them. They sold quite well. Then I learned the t-shirt trade and started putting my images with quotes on to high quality soft cotton t-shirts that I would wear. That took a lot of research to find the right company, but once I did it was a hit. … read full story →
The eSSSence of Meg Tuite
Style: I made these t-shirts for selfish reasons, but the t-shirts have made their way all over the USA, Canada and Europe. I can wear a different image, color and style every day with a skirt or jeans and it’s unique. I have over 150 different images of writers, musicians, artists and innovators, so there is something for everyone. I also have a huge collection of scarves. I can’t go into a store without buying another one. I am one happy girl with my t-shirts and scarves. The rest of the outfit depends on the color scheme I choose for the day. I love COLOR!!!
Substance: The essence is found in the writing. I live to write. I am happiest when I am working on a short story or a novel and am surrounded by my dogs, cats and, on Sundays, my incredible husband, who’s off work. I do have many other things that I have to do, but the love is in the writing! The act of creating characters and plots. YES!
Soul: The deep relationships with my family and friends sustain me and keep me moving. I believe in sending out the love and support in those small moments when you’re talking to someone standing in line at the bank or the waitress at a restaurant. They can be the most profound connections. I work hospice care for a living, so I am blessed to spend intimate time with people in this most important stage of their life.
11:11 is my favorite time and for years I thought it was just my little quirk. I would catch it all the time on the clock and it always gave me a good reassuring feeling like everything was alright in that moment, no matter what was going on. A few years later I was working with a company that was going to produce these crazy bags I was making out of old LP records, and was pondering what I wanted the name of my new brand to be. They moved into an office on the 11th floor of a building on 11th Street in Manhattan right as I was deliberating, and so I took that as another sign! We parted ways and I kept the name for my venture, which I began almost eight years ago now! 
