As these next shirts were being designed, I had an idea for a rainbow and a sun- things I love. I wanted the graphics for this next wave of shirts to be bigger than they were the first time around, and I wanted to experiment a bit with the fonts.

We came up with this sun and actually went back and forth a few times on how the facial expression should look. I say that only to point out that it always looks so much more simple than the thought that goes into it. Here’s the other super cool thing that I haven’t shared with many people yet- that hand-writing was inspired by my daughter Kate (6) who was on a kick coloring in all of her a’s, d’s, o’s, p’s (you get it). I loved it, so I wanted to put that into this shirt somehow. And that’s about all I knew. I had an idea how each shirt would be paired when I came up with the sayings we should use, but there was no plan attached to this green shirt with the sun.

Until Alexa Parker asked me to meet her for coffee one day. 

I had just wrapped a story/ interview with her about her daughter, Taylor, who passed away eight months prior in my ‘Kids to Know’ feature for Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine (read it here: https://www.tampabayparenting.com/honoring-the-life-of-tampa-teenager-taylor-koulouris/).

She had an idea to memorialize Taylor’s life in a way that would spread kindness and give back, and she wanted to partner with Wee Macree. Taylor was known and remembered for the way she made others feel, for her ability to spread sunshine and sunflowers wherever she went, and for her unique ability to connect with small children. It was an ideal collaboration, and one that was perfectly timed for a shirt with  smiling sun and a message for kindness. 

The Taylor Koulouris Foundation grew from that day from a purpose to a logo, a mission, a website, and an entire Tampa Bay community showing up for a green Wee Macree shirt to wear in Taylor’s memory. The nonprofit organization intends to carry on her ability of showing kindness, doing good, and giving back by cultivating opportunities for kids of all ages to inspire one another to grow big and stand tall together. Whether it be a young child's need for therapy for sensory processing or a student seeking scholarship funding for college, donations from this shirt campaign will not only honor Taylor’s memory, but also send more kindness, light, and opportunities into the world. 

I don’t think I could have found a more meaningful partner for this design, and I truly believe it was created first for a relationship that would come second…a plan simply meant to be. 

And yet another sweet sign of how doing good and being kind leads to more goodness and more kindness.