Thursday, May 29, 2008
The Medina Sun
The idea is basic: one-word slogans on colored T-shirts. So what's so
special about Medina resident Rob Hixenbaugh's "Say it with Color"
collection?
The colors.
The word "tickled" decorates a pale pink shirt. A bright red shirt
is marked "hot." A sunny yellow shirt proclaims the wearer as
"mellow." And the featured item, an organic green tee, says only,
"go."
"They're just color idioms, it's such a simple concept," said
Hixenbaugh, who will sell the shirts, mostly in women's styles, on his Web site
sayitwithcolor.net. "I showed it to a few people and they said, 'Oh my
gosh, this is so awesome,' and I knew it could go somewhere."
The collection includes shirts to showcase the wearer's mood, such as a
"feeling blue" tee, or more specific characteristics, like the
"black belt" shirt.
"I might wear the men's 'red head' shirt, because I have red hair, or
even the 'brown noser' shirt," Hixenbaugh joked.
"I'd probably be 'mellow yellow,' I'm a pretty mellow person,"
said Hixenbaugh's wife, Laura. "You have to be secure to live with
him."
A mortgage loan officer by day, Hixenbaugh is always developing ideas, Laura
said, though not all the concepts get off the ground.
"Once he got his computer, that's when it all started," she
laughed. "Whatever the idea is, that's all he breathes. He gets a little
obsessed, maybe."
His obsession has paid off in the past, with a 9/11 tribute poster and
T-shirt that raised more than $30,000 for the Fallen Firefighter's Fund and
other charity groups, but the "Say it with Color" line is just for
fun.
"I wanted something that would be really colorful and affordable,"
he said. "Everything is so expensive now, I thought of keeping the price low
on a trendy, fashionable sort of item so pretty much anybody could get one to
wear during the summer."
Hixenbaugh's friend and co-worker Ellen Yaro said she thinks the shirts will
appeal to all ages, from teens to adults. “They’re just beautiful shirts,
really cool,” she said. “I’ll probably buy “Tickled Pink” for my daughters.”
Part of the shirts’ appeal is the subtle meaning of the color and word
combinations that may take a moment to process, Yaro said.
“The first time I looked at these bright colors, I had to think, “What does
it mean?’ When I finally figured it out, it was just so neat.”
Hixenbaugh said he is talking with local boutique stores as well as a few in
Los Angeles to distribute the shirts, and he is hoping they will be featured on
national TV later this summer.
“I spoke to the producers of 'The
Ellen Degeneres Show' who said they would love to give one of my 'go green'
shirts to each member of their audience sometime in August,” he said. “It’s
really exciting, because Ellen is all about going green and they thought it
would be perfect.”