Local Creatives Launch T-Shirt to Spread the Word About Voting
If you’ve been on Instagram in the past month, you might have spotted a vibrant, light pink T-shirt with an eye-catching floral insignia spelling the word “Vote" on some of your favorite influencers.
But did you know the design is actually the brainchild of two Sarasota-Manatee-area creatives?
Local fashion designer Camilyn Leavitt, of Camilyn Beth, and illustrator Shannon Kirsten Couch have teamed up before—they’re longtime friends going back to their days at Bradenton Christian high school. This time, their collaboration was inspired by an eager customer.
When Couch came out with her wreath-like “Vote” illustration, now sold on postcards and buttons, a customer fell in love. But they asked for one more thing: could the design be printed on a T-shirt?
Leavitt and Kirsten set to work. They started from a simple framework: they knew they wanted the T-shirts to be made in America, and they wanted to use light pink as the grounding neutral color.
The tees only launched a couple of weeks ago, Leavitt says, but they’ve already sold through most of the shirts they originally manufactured. They also partnered with some of Instagram’s most ubiquitous fashion bloggers—like Grace Atwood of The Stripe and Jennifer Lake of Style Charade—to give the T-shirts a wider audience.
With the Nov. 3 general election fast approaching and vote-by-mail ballots going out now, the message to vote is more relevant than ever. But unlike many brands that have leaned in to political affiliations, Leavitt likes that the shirts offer an expression that can appeal to everyone.
“This is a nice, neutral ‘Vote,’” she says. “It’s not scary—it’s friendly and fun. It’s important that everyone votes.”