Creative Rebellion - Limited Edition Zaps Threads Tees

The new Zaps Threads Transcend Tee
When I was about five years old my parents wouldn't let me draw on the walls in the house. The only place where I could draw on the walls was my own bedroom (which was actually a pretty cool rule). I tried to follow my parent's rules but confining my art to my bedroom must have been a little stifling. I branched out... to the living room, laundry room, hallways, kitchen, garage, and left my mark on the walls anyway. These weren't elaborate pieces of art by any means. There were no puppies, suns, or rainbows. In fact there was not even one happy face. The only mark I left was an itty, bitty, letter "k" written in pencil. It was a sorta quiet rebellion, but one that I took full ownership for. Even today, if I'm gonna fuck up, rebel, or do the wrong thing, I'm gonna own it. Its what makes me, me. I might not be loud about it, but you'll know because I'll tell you. I'm not perfect, but I have integrity.

Apparently I've passed my genes down.

So when I started designing my Zaps Threads shirts, my first design (The BFR Fiyah! Tee) had my signature on it - an itty, bitty "k" dotted in the artwork itself. It seemed appropriate for the first design and was probably born from some of the same stifling feelings I felt as a child having to stay "within boundaries" because, you see... Zaps Threads was like drawing on the walls of the living room in my parents house.

The economy took its toll on our business about five or six years ago and shifted our work in such a way that being a full time mom and working for our design business was just not possible. I had to choose. But everyone knows that trying to choose between your passion and your family is a total lose-lose situation. If you have no room to explore your passion its hard to be a good parent or spouse. The decision to leave our business not knowing if I would ever be able to come back was a tough one. The learning curve was just so steep.

So I chose to be a full time mom.
The Original Barefoot Runner Tee Design
with the itty, bitty "k"

Ugggh.

Don't get me wrong. I love my boys with every cell in my body. Its just that without a way to express my creativity I was starting to feel stifled, smothered, and a bit rebellious. I took up barefoot running as a way to get back into running to help alleviate some of that tension, and although it led me back to my passion for running it wasn't enough.

So I started blogging as a way to express my frustrations, failures, successes, and as a way to hold myself accountable for my transition to barefoot. But as it turns out, this blog has become another creative space; a way for me to express so much more, in my own voice, with my own language and as a way for me to put myself out there, raw and exposed... and to own that.

But, art and design is also my passion and to live without it is like living numb.


Zaps Threads pinup girl original tee.
So when I could squeeze it in, I started designing shirts and my little, ol, graphic tee biz was born.

Its not much, but it makes me happy. Between that and running I'm in my happy space again and it feels good. And now that the kids are in school full time I'm back to work as well.

So to combine my passions at The 2013 Born To Run Ultra Marathon, was a blast. I was so stoked to vend there this year. I had my Zaps Threads booth set up with shirts for sale for men and women. I picked out two of my most popular designs and revealed a third design, The Transcend Tee, while I was there. I was shocked to discover that people actually knew me, from either my blog or randomly running across Zaps Threads on the internet. Who knew? I haven't really done much to promote this little biz, but it felt good that my little bizniz was known in a tiny way.

The designs. My husband was kind enough to pose for these shots...

 The Transcend Tee



The Original BFR FIYAH! Tee



The Zombie Pacer Tee



Zaps Threads Booth at Born To Run Ultra Marathon
I was able to have all the shirts screen printed on quality cotton and was really happy with the results. I only print on shirts that I would personally wear and I'm picky about my shirts. I sold more than expected with the Transcend Tee (a graphic tee designed for ultra runners and endurance athletes) being the biggest seller. My original BFR Fiyah! Tee was a close second with my Zombie Pacer Tee coming in third. Each shirt sold for $20 and if you happened to buy one later in the day you probably got a free shot of whiskey with that shirt *wink*.

And each shirt had my itty, bitty signature "k" on it somewhere.

Orginal "Dirty Girl" Terry Hayes and Caleb Wilson
It was cool participating as part of the Born To Run Ultra community. Being so close to finish line hubbub meant that the Zaps Threads booth often became the hangout spot where I got to hang with friends, meet new people (I met the original Dirty Girl ultra runner who has probably been running since long before I was born - she was ADORABLE!!) and see people that I only see at these races every year, like friends Caleb Wilson, Patrick Sweeney, and Anthony Sanders, a Luna-wearing-Zaps-Threads-sporting United States Marine who I ran with last year during my 100k.

Number 1 "Dirty Girl"
The only thing that was difficult about vending this year was the wind. It was a VERY windy weekend and I had to prop things on top of my shirts - bananas, apples, whiskey bottles - to keep them from blowing off the table. At one point my entire (staked down) pop-up flew over while I was getting dinner - luckily I have awesome friends who were able to help get it back up and sorted by the time I got back. But, I ended up closing up shop early on Saturday evening due to wind and other shenanigans, but I'm hoping that next year won't be hurricane season. Haha!

So I still have some of these quality limited edition tees left for sale with limited sizes and colors in stock.
 

I'm making them available through my blog for $22 plus shipping (domestic orders only). These particular tees are only available through me personally - so if you're interested in purchasing one of these special edition tees you'll have to fill out my form here on my blog (yeah... its old school pre-shopping-cart internet shopping at its best!) to find out if I have the size and color you want in stock. I'll accept payments through PayPal.

So this is what I got...

ZAPS THREADS MEN'S TEES
All men's tees are printed on the Next Level Brand t-shirt - A fitted men's tee made out of 60% Cotton Combed Cotton/ 40% Poly Jersey.
Neck: Set in Collar 1 x 1 Baby Rib with tear-away label.

Sizes available: M, L, XL

Men's Colors Available:




ZAPS THREADS WOMEN'S TEES
All women's tees are printed on the Bella Favorite Tee Brand t-shirt - A flattering, fitted style that's 100% combed ringspun cotton super soft baby jersey knit with short-sleeves and a longer body length. These shirts run slightly small.
Sizes available: M, L, XL


Women's Colors Available:


Comments

  1. You will never, ever, ever regret being a stay at home mom. I made that same decision many years ago, but now I run to deal with them as teenagers! Love the new t-shirt! I'll be wearing that one for sure. I haven't earned the Hot Chicks Run Naked yet! ;) What a trooper your husband is...and adorable, too! Good for you!

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