The Joys of Running a T-Shirt Business

It’s Friday and I am in a wildly good mood. Didn’t even matter that I woke up to an empty coffee canister. I just walked my lazy ass across the street to my favorite little coffee shop and splurged on a $2 coffee and even left a 20% tip!

Today is going to be good. It’s supposed to be around the 90s and I’m going to get all of my work done early so I can have a little beach break this afternoon. I never go to the human beach in the summer because Harlow would give me the stink eye for weeks if I ever even considered beaching without him. But Har is still in Nebraska (I get him back next week thank God!) so I guess I can treat myself for one day to a beach where I won’t risk getting peed on a by a dog. It sounds so luxurious I can hardly wait.

But most of all, today I’m going to toss the complaints aside and tell you why I love being a T-Shirt Lady (sometimes.)  If you follow on snap then you’re well aware of how glamorous T-Shirt Town is. But let’s dig a little deeper.


The Joys of Running a T-Shirt Business!

This week my top joys have included:

Working with adorable husbands doing whatever they can to get their wife this shirt or the Married AF shirt.

PURSE. SHORTS.

I don’t know who these guys are, but I love them. I get the sweetest order notes saying things like,

“I really want to surprise my wife with this shirt on our honeymoon, I’ll pay whatever it takes to have this arrive at our resort by next week…”

And then they go into a long speech about how they’ve talked to the hotel and the bellman is going to bring it to the room and blah blah blah, bless their heart they give me way more info than I need. But I obviously feed into it and totally love it. And then they almost always write a follow up note about how much their wife loved the shirt and what a great surprise it was.

How fun is that? I love the customer notes/reviews people take the time to write because I obviously read each and every single one. I know I’m not teaching children how to read, or curing sick people, but I do take small joys in thinking that people receive their silly shirt and it puts a smile on their face.

Can you tell I’m focusing on the positive this week? CAN YOU? It’s working. It feels so much better to just forget the negative shit and instead take an extra second or two to allow the good vibes to soak in instead.

The other funny thing is that I find myself writing love notes to people I’ve never met (when customers ask me to.) Things like,

“Love and miss you, Sara! I saw this shirt and it made me think of summer 2009, man that was a trip! Let’s get together soon. XOXO Rachel.”

Yes, I handwrite them. Typing just feels so impersonal. I feel like these people appreciate my chicken scratch.

And then there’s the ’96 Gymnast tank top. I honestly made them and told my mom, “this one will probably only please me.” But then so many of you ordered and told me how special the 1996 Olympics were to you, as well. And I could really feel the bond. T-Shirts are bringing the world together, can’t you see!?

Jk. But seriously, it gave me jollies that so many of you felt the same way about the Magnificent Seven.

I also know that I would have never sold a single shirt if not for this blog, if not for you reading this right now. So thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you. Truthfully, it’s been a little difficult at times being just one person trying to navigate the world of t-shirts (and the bullshit that occasionally goes along with it) so I am very appreciative of your support and those of you who continue to look out for me like you do.

Sidenote: as I’ve been writing this post I just now received this message:

“Is there any way you can expedite a shipment to arrive in NYC By Monday afternoon. Will pay expedited shipping etc. 


getting married tomorrow and would love to surprise my new wifey with this awesome Tshirt.”


I am not making this stuff up! It gives me all the happy feels. I’m not usually a fan of the word “wifey,” but today I’m on board.

So thanks again for everything. Now hells yeah it’s the weekend.

Brand new 4th of July koozies found here. Order up, they’re going fast.

Also, several of you asked about my star shorts (in the photo above) they are from my pal Sara but you can also find them here if you don’t have a pal named Sara. (And they’re on sale.)

HAVE THE BEST WEEKEND EVER!