The Story
Hello! I'm Heather! I am the lady who single-handedly designs and silk-screens all of these lovely shirts! Where do I come up with these silly ideas, you ask? All of my designs start out as doodles in one of my many sketchbooks! Often beginning with just a few random lines or shapes, the doodles are stream-of-consciousness drawings that I let my imagination form. So I guess they all come from somewhere inside my crazy head!
I spent four solid years practising my drawing skills at the art college here in Calgary, and even got a design degree in illustration. But it wasn't until after graduating that I learned how to silk-screen at a weekend con-ed course!
I started off super low-tech in my parents' basement with some screens that I made myself and a huge foamy board that I pinned the shirts to. While I've now got a fancy four-colour printing press that lets me do four-colour prints, I still hand-cut stencils for all my designs and pull all of my prints by hand. I still use my big foamy board for some things like printing the tags on the insides of the shirts, and for all my kids clothes. And I still do all the printing in my parents' basement.
I really love the printing process and love seeing my drawings come to life on the shirts. I feel so lucky to be able to get up every day and work on creating things that I really love and am so grateful to be able to share those things with other people. One of my favourite parts of doing what I do is seeing the smile break out on someone's face upon reading one of my shirts. At that moment, it feels like I'm brightening the world one whimsical shirt at a time!
Hello! I'm Heather! I am the lady who single-handedly designs and silk-screens all of these lovely shirts! Where do I come up with these silly ideas, you ask? All of my designs start out as doodles in one of my many sketchbooks! Often beginning with just a few random lines or shapes, the doodles are stream-of-consciousness drawings that I let my imagination form. So I guess they all come from somewhere inside my crazy head!
I spent four solid years practising my drawing skills at the art college here in Calgary, and even got a design degree in illustration. But it wasn't until after graduating that I learned how to silk-screen at a weekend con-ed course!
I started off super low-tech in my parents' basement with some screens that I made myself and a huge foamy board that I pinned the shirts to. While I've now got a fancy four-colour printing press that lets me do four-colour prints, I still hand-cut stencils for all my designs and pull all of my prints by hand. I still use my big foamy board for some things like printing the tags on the insides of the shirts, and for all my kids clothes. And I still do all the printing in my parents' basement.
I really love the printing process and love seeing my drawings come to life on the shirts. I feel so lucky to be able to get up every day and work on creating things that I really love and am so grateful to be able to share those things with other people. One of my favourite parts of doing what I do is seeing the smile break out on someone's face upon reading one of my shirts. At that moment, it feels like I'm brightening the world one whimsical shirt at a time!
Answers to some Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of shirts do you print on?
All Mumble Tease shirts are printed on American Apparel blanks. I use a variety of styles of their shirts that are made of a variety of materials. Some are a fine jersey 100% ringspun cotton. Some are a 50/50 Poly/Cotton blend, and some are a Tri-blend of 50% polyester, 25% cotton, and 25% rayon. All are a super soft and comfy, high quality t-shirt.
What size should I get?
This is a tricky question to answer. The Unisex crew neck shirts are rather fitted. So if you're a dude who likes a snug fit, go with your normal size. If, however, you like a bit more room to move around, I might suggest going with a size up. If you're in doubt at all, go for the bigger one... The V-necks are Unisex shirts, so I usually recommend going down a size for the ladies. They are quite a long fitting shirt, which is nice if you're taller. The Tanks are also Unisex shirts, so I recommend ladies go down a size for these as well. Unless, of course, you like a loose fit. This is getting complicated!! The Ladies slightly scooped neck shirts fit on the small size, with not a ton of difference between sizes. They're great for the shorter, more petite ladies out there! And I think that about covers it!
What are the washing instructions?
Machine wash cold, tumble dry low. The exception is the shirts with other fabrics sewn onto them, which I would recommend hand-washing and hanging to dry. The 100% cotton shirts are not pre-shrunk and will shrink just a bit if put in the dryer. The shirts with polyester however, will not shrink at all, no matter how much you put them in the dryer.
Are your shirts available in any stores?
At the moment, the only store that carries some Mumble Tease wonderfulness is a little shop out in Powell River, BC called Ecossentials. But watch out! That may soon be changing!
How can I sell Mumble Tease shirts in my store?
Contact me! I would love to start doing more wholesale orders, and can send you a line sheet and an order form!
Do you do custom shirts?
Another tricky question! If you want at least 18 of them, SURE! I can definitely do up a design or work with something you've got drawn up, but I need to meet a few minimums to make it feasible. Because set-up and clean-up take a while, the smallest print-run I'll do is 18 shirts for a one-colour design...
Will you do some shirts for our band/club/group/team?
A similar answer to the question above, I'd love to help you out, but need to do a minimum of 18 shirts.
What kind of shirts do you print on?
All Mumble Tease shirts are printed on American Apparel blanks. I use a variety of styles of their shirts that are made of a variety of materials. Some are a fine jersey 100% ringspun cotton. Some are a 50/50 Poly/Cotton blend, and some are a Tri-blend of 50% polyester, 25% cotton, and 25% rayon. All are a super soft and comfy, high quality t-shirt.
What size should I get?
This is a tricky question to answer. The Unisex crew neck shirts are rather fitted. So if you're a dude who likes a snug fit, go with your normal size. If, however, you like a bit more room to move around, I might suggest going with a size up. If you're in doubt at all, go for the bigger one... The V-necks are Unisex shirts, so I usually recommend going down a size for the ladies. They are quite a long fitting shirt, which is nice if you're taller. The Tanks are also Unisex shirts, so I recommend ladies go down a size for these as well. Unless, of course, you like a loose fit. This is getting complicated!! The Ladies slightly scooped neck shirts fit on the small size, with not a ton of difference between sizes. They're great for the shorter, more petite ladies out there! And I think that about covers it!
What are the washing instructions?
Machine wash cold, tumble dry low. The exception is the shirts with other fabrics sewn onto them, which I would recommend hand-washing and hanging to dry. The 100% cotton shirts are not pre-shrunk and will shrink just a bit if put in the dryer. The shirts with polyester however, will not shrink at all, no matter how much you put them in the dryer.
Are your shirts available in any stores?
At the moment, the only store that carries some Mumble Tease wonderfulness is a little shop out in Powell River, BC called Ecossentials. But watch out! That may soon be changing!
How can I sell Mumble Tease shirts in my store?
Contact me! I would love to start doing more wholesale orders, and can send you a line sheet and an order form!
Do you do custom shirts?
Another tricky question! If you want at least 18 of them, SURE! I can definitely do up a design or work with something you've got drawn up, but I need to meet a few minimums to make it feasible. Because set-up and clean-up take a while, the smallest print-run I'll do is 18 shirts for a one-colour design...
Will you do some shirts for our band/club/group/team?
A similar answer to the question above, I'd love to help you out, but need to do a minimum of 18 shirts.