Inspiring the World, One T-Shirt at a Time
Writer / Mary Ryan
Photo provided
Want to change the world? Read on! Meet Colleen and Colleen, partners/owners of Mama Said Tees, a T-shirt brand that is so much more than prints on cotton. Mama Said Tees offers customers around the world cute tees branded with phrases of kindness, love and compassion.
Colleen and Colleen want to redefine the way society views “normal,” proving different is normal. They’re business partners by choice and friends by coincidence. They are changing the world one person as a time because they are brilliantly kindhearted.
Colleen O’Malia Stine is a Carmel native born and raised. A self-proclaimed “Hoosier through and through,” Colleen S. graduated from Cathedral, headed out of state for five quick years and now is back and ready to generate some conversation, one changed life at a time. She is the creative, doing designs and handling social media and marketing as they grow!
Colleen Berkowitz hails from Wisconsin but resides in Lake Forest, Illinois, which is north of Chicago. She’s the business behind their operation as well as office manager, order taker, packer and the list goes on and on.
Colleen S. started a business on Etsy called CoCo Stine Designs, making prints and invitations. As luck would have it, Colleen B. was one of her best customers, and that’s how the Colleens met. It was a match made in heaven and has blossomed into a beautiful partnership.
Shortly after launching Mama Said Tees, the unspeakable happened. Grab a tissue…actually grab the entire box. Colleen S. describes it as “unthinkable,” recalling, “I was giving my babies a bath and saw that I had two missed calls: one from my mom and one from my dad. I was hurrying with the bath because we had a contest I had to promptly post about for our brand new little company, but I figured if they both called, it might be important.“
What I heard on the other end of the line is something I wish I couldn’t remember. My sister was killed by my ex-brother-in-law. And then he killed himself. She was my best friend in the world. Talk about life handing you lemons. But if there are two things I will always do because of my sister, they are 1) always have a heart of gold and 2) look at the glass half full. In this case, it took a bit of time to even find the glass, but once I did, we filled it to the brim. We have made the sweetest lemonade.”
Their mission is for conversations to be ignited by each T-shirt they sell. Their shirts have messages including “Be nice,” “Be a good friend,” “Be true to you,” “Normal” and so many more that truly motivate and encourage. But why stop there?
Having now been influenced myself to the core by their inspiring campaign, I urge you to watch their YouTube video (“Let’s Redefine Normal”) that beautifully describes their operation of love. This video is meant to be watched not only by you but with your family, friends and your children.
Colleen S. explains how parents and caregivers can teach their children through this video saying, “You can talk about it. You can ask them if there are any kids at school who have physical ‘differences.’ You can discuss a plan on how to put the ‘I’ in kind and treat others the way you want to be treated.” Their message is a touching one and wildly successful!
Finding motivation amidst the pain, Colleen B. suggested Colleen S. create a shirt in honor of her sister, Shannon’s, boys and use the proceeds towards the success of their future. This campaign was a huge success and raised over $15,000 in a very short time span.
They are firing on all cylinders and business is taking off. Celebrity endorsements have started coming in as well! A welcome surprise for Colleen and Colleen whose grassroots campaign has now reached the hearts of both Beverly Mitchell (aka “Lucy” from “7th Heaven”), Lydia McLaughlin (“The Real Housewives of Orange County”) and Tori Spelling.
So I ask again, do you want to change the world? Support these amazing women and their beautiful message by visiting their website, mamasaidtees.com. In the words of Colleen and Colleen, “Let’s redefine normal!”
