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Tees tops with Marine wives
Tees tops with Marine wives
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July 7, 2008 - 12:57AM
MOLLY DEWITT
The Daily News
Christi Smith is "Married to the Corps" and she's "Semper Fiesty."
At least that's what it says on her shirt.
In 2006, the Marine wife started a clothing company called Hump Day Designs, which features Marine Corps-themed "politically incorrect" designs on items such as T-shirts, yoga pants, hoodies, pajama sets, tank tops and underwear in junior's, women's and men's sizes from XS to XXL and ranging in price from $18 to $35.
The idea behind the company and its name stems from a tradition Smith and two of her friends share. When one of their husbands deploys they get together the night he leaves and watch movies and eat pizza to lend support to the spouse left behind. This tradition led to the creation of yet another tradition, the Hump Day get together, Smith said.
Hump Day is the celebration of the midway point in a deployment, she said.
During the Hump Day celebration of her husband's third deployment Smith and her friends were discussing various Marine Corps terms and jargon and an idea was born.
The next day she began creating designs using the jargon in fun and flirty ways for use on clothing that would allow military spouses to celebrate their commitment to their Marine in a positive and upbeat way, she said.
"Sappy shirts don't help or make you feel better," Smith said.
Getting started wasn't easy. Smith took her designs to several screen printers with no luck.
"It's not about what you know, but who you know," she said.
Taking her own words into consideration, Smith met and started working with Jane Wayne creator and All Fired Up Candle Company owner Roxanne Reed. After working with Reed, more doors started opening and more people were open to the idea of Hump Day Designs, she said.
"It kind of took off on its own, and I'm still kind of struggling to keep up," she said.
Smith has created about 30 different designs so far and is always working on new additions.
"One of my favorite things is hump day party shirts," Smith said. "It helps the girls get through and show how proud they are. I think it gives the spouses the boost they need to get through the rest of the deployment."
If a particular unit or battalion has a group of women that get together and purchase shirts, Smith usually donates her profits back to the group because Marine Corps units and key volunteers aren't allowed to fundraise, she said.
Smith dedicates at least 40 hours a week to her company, all the while taking care of her two children and surviving her husband's fourth deployment, but she says she enjoys what she does.
"A lot of (work is) done when the kids are sleeping," she said. "It's a lot of fun. I think that's why I like doing this stuff."
In April, the husband of one of Smith's good friends was killed in Iraq. After taking her children, Kylie, 6, and Logan, 5, to his memorial service she felt the need to show them something positive in relation to the Marine Corps and what's going on in Iraq, so she decided to participate with her children in the annual Run for the Warriors put on by Hope for the Warriors, she said.
After taking part in the run, Smith decided she wanted to get more involved with Hope for the Warriors and show her children that individuals can make a difference, so she designed a fundraising T-shirt for them where $4 from every shirt sold goes back to the organization.
The idea behind Hump Day Designs is to make wives laugh and feel better when they don a piece of the clothing.
"We just really need to get the wives to understand how important they are," she said. "Husbands can't do their job without wives as their support and their rock."
Smith has also made several shirts for comedian Mollie Gross, of Military Wife Comedy, to wear on stage.
"I just think that they're feminine and cute. I think they're really original. I haven't seen anything out there like it. She's just very creative," Gross said.
One of the reasons she chose to work with Smith is because the designs are positive and are helping to change the perception of military wives, just like her stand up routines do, she said.
"They're bright, they're fun, they're cute ... they're positive and they're something to be proud of," Gross said. "A lot of other designs out there don't perpetuate that (being a military wife is) something to be proud of."
Hump Day Designs also does custom work using logos or patches specific to a unit or battalion. Selected designs and items are available at Foster's in the mall and All Fired Up Candle Company in the Northwood's Shopping Center on Henderson Drive. Orders and requests can also be placed through the company's myspace page at www.myspace.com/humpdaydesigns.
"I'm always easy to reach - just ask and I'll get it done," Smith said. "We're always up for more homecomings and hump days."
The most important part of Hump Day Designs is the people the clothing is designed for, Smith said.
"Every single wife has a different story, and it's amazing to watch how strong every single one of them is," she said. "Military wives are military wives because they're something stronger than other women."
Contact Jacksonville/Onslow government reporter Molly DeWitt at 910-219-8457 or mdewitt@freedomenc.com. Visit www.jdnews.com to comment.
Trendy tees tops with Marine wives
Hump Day designs puts spin on military lingo as a way to show troop support
by molly dewitt
daily news staff
Christi Smith is "Married to the Corps" and she's "Semper Fiesty."
At least that's what it says on her shirt.
In 2006, the Marine wife started a clothing company called Hump Day Designs, which features Marine Corps-themed "politically incorrect" designs on items such as T-shirts, yoga pants, hoodies, pajama sets, tank tops and underwear in junior's, women's and men's sizes from XS to XXL and ranging in price from $18 to $35.
The idea behind the company and its name stems from a tradition Smith and two of her friends share. When one of their husbands deploys they get together the night he leaves and watch movies and eat pizza to lend support to the spouse left behind. This tradition led to the creation of yet another tradition, the Hump Day get together, Smith said.
Hump Day is the celebration of the midway point in a deployment, she said.
During the Hump Day celebration of her husband's third deployment Smith and her friends were discussing various Marine Corps terms and jargon and an idea was born. The next day she began creating designs using the jargon in fun and flirty ways for use on clothing that would allow military spouses to celebrate their commitment to their Marine in a positive and upbeat way, she said.
"Sappy shirts don't help or make you feel better," Smith said.
Getting started wasn't easy. Smith took her designs to several screen printers with no luck.
"It's not about what you know, but who you know," she said.
Taking her own words into consideration, Smith met and started working with Jane Wayne creator and All Fired Up Candle Company owner Roxanne Reed. After working with Reed, more doors started opening and more people were open to the idea of Hump Day Designs, she said.
"It kind of took off on its own, and I'm still kind of struggling to keep up," she said.
Smith has created about 30 different designs so far and is always working on new additions.
"One of my favorite things is hump day party shirts," Smith said. "It helps the girls get through and show how proud they are. I think it gives the spouses the boost they need to get through the rest of the deployment."
If a particular unit or battalion has a group of women that get together and purchase shirts, Smith usually donates her profits back to the group because Marine Corps units and key volunteers aren't allowed to fundraise, she said.
Smith dedicates at least 40 hours a week to her company, all the while taking care of her two children and surviving her husband's fourth deployment, but she says she enjoys what she does.
"A lot of (work is) done when the kids are sleeping," she said. "It's a lot of fun. I think that's why I like doing this stuff."
In April, the husband of one of Smith's good friends was killed in Iraq. After taking her children, Kylie, 6, and Logan, 5, to his memorial service she felt the need to show them something positive in relation to the Marine Corps and what's going on in Iraq, so she decided to participate with her children in the annual Run for the Warriors put on by Hope for the Warriors, she said.
After taking part in the run, Smith decided she wanted to get more involved with Hope for the Warriors and show her children that individuals can make a difference, so she designed a fundraising T-shirt for them where $4 from every shirt sold goes back to the organization.
The idea behind Hump Day Designs is to make wives laugh and feel better when they don a piece of the clothing.
"We just really need to get the wives to understand how important they are," she said. "Husbands can't do their job without wives as their support and their rock."
Smith has also made several shirts for comedian Mollie Gross, of Military Wife Comedy, to wear on stage.
"I just think that they're feminine and cute. I think they're really original. I haven't seen anything out there like it. She's just very creative," Gross said.
One of the reasons she chose to work with Smith is because the designs are positive and are helping to change the perception of military wives, just like her stand up routines do, she said.
"They're bright, they're fun, they're cute ... they're positive and they're something to be proud of," Gross said. "A lot of other designs out there don't perpetuate that (being a military wife is) something to be proud of."
Hump Day Designs also does custom work using logos or patches specific to a unit or battalion. Selected designs and items are available at Foster's in the mall and All Fired Up Candle Company in the Northwood's Shopping Center on Henderson Drive. Orders and requests can also be placed through the company's myspace page at www.myspace.com/humpdaydesigns.
"I'm always easy to reach - just ask and I'll get it done," Smith said. "We're always up for more homecomings and hump days."
The most important part of Hump Day Designs is the people the clothing is designed for, Smith said.
"Every single wife has a different story, and it's amazing to watch how strong every single one of them is," she said. "Military wives are military wives because they're something stronger than other women."
Contact Jacksonville/Onslow government reporter Molly DeWitt at 910-219-8457 or mdewitt@freedomenc.com. Visit www.jdnews.com to comment.
Tees tops with Marine wives
Sporty spirit: Christi Smith shows off a few samples of her T-shirts she’s created for her company Hump Day Designs.
THE DAILY NEWS / Chuck beckley
Ellie
