Creating for a Cause.
Hi, I’m Joyce.
I design t-shirts with a message. I grew up on a farm in Laurel, DE where my love and concern for the Earth and all her creatures began. Now, I live in Lewes, DE where I started my business Hi, I’m Here Artisan Tees.
art Has Always been a passion of mine.
I’ve always liked to draw. In school, I took every art class I could. But, when it came time for college, I was encouraged to follow a more scientific route. In one of my first courses, we would look in the microscope and draw what we saw- that’s how I picked my first major.
“Drawing unites my passion for nature and art.”
I have always been creative and lived my life marching to the beat of my own drum.
I envisioned someone from a marginalized group driving a car with an “hiih” bumper sticker.
In 2016, when division and hatred were growing and increasingly becoming the norm, the idea for “Hi, I’m Here” came to me. The logo “hiih” is a form of text language or acronym to say:
“hi, I’m here”.
The sticker would be saying “hi, I’m here” - I have a right to be here, but not in an adversarial way, but as a message that we’re all in this together, we’re all connected kind of way.
I sketched out the logo, added a smile and that’s when the cute face appeared. I decided to design t-shirts to spread the message of how I would like the world to be and to donate a portion of the proceeds to organizations for human rights and the environment.
Show You Care with what you wear.
My Style
I sketch my designs “old school” style with pencil and paper. A graphic designer then recreates them digitally or sometimes I draw the design to size and it’s scanned to become a digital design.
My designs are simple but say a lot.
“Hi, I’m Here” is a friendly reminder of every person’s value and right to be here.
Impactful simplicity
It’s exciting to me when people come into my booth at an event and say they love my message and they love the shirts.
My shirts make people feel good and increase hope and positivity. “Hi, I’m Here” shirts are a friendly reminder of every person’s value and right to be here. And, also, a reminder to live our best life while caring for the environment and people around us.