maker: shaun and brittany of tiny whales
Getting dressed is overrated {she said as her almost naked 3 year old ran past her} but if I am going to go to battle over clothes, it will probably be for a fun t-shirt for my boys, or a cute outfit that I (not-so-secretly) wish I could wear for my girls. Wrestling my kids into clothing is a daily activity here. It’s amazing to me how hard the clothes are for me to get on them, and yet how quickly they are shed the second my back is turned. There are quite a few events where we show up with one kid missing shoes (laughable) and another one missing pants (awkward). Sometimes the battle’s just not worth it. but sometimes, it is. I’d wrestle my kids into Tiny Whales clothes any day. Meet Shaun and Brittany, and their line of clothes that are definitely worth the fight!
-Angie
please introduce yourself.
We are Shaun and Brittany, husband and wife extraordinaire. We kind of grew up all over the place, but mainly in the Orange County area. We currently reside in Winchester, just outside of Temecula California.
what do you make or do?
We design and print rad kids’ clothes
where can we find your creations?
You can find our stuff on our website at www.tinywhales.com
how long have you been creating and is it your full-time job?
We’ve been creating and building our company since late 2008. I’m proud to say as of two weeks ago I, Shaun, went full time with Tiny Whales. The past year we really hunkered down focusing a lot of time and energy on building a strong online present through social media outlets. This in return has helped us tremendously in generating consistent online sales and gain wholesale accounts. Between this and all the amazing craft events, such as Patchwork and others, we finally decided we were ready to dive in the deep end. Honestly it’s probably the scariest thing we’ve done, but we can’t wait to see where the business goes from here. The possibilities are endless!
when you’re not making things, what do you do?
We’re having daily adventures with our two little girls Penelope and Harper.
is creativity a luxury or a necessity for you?
Creativity is a necessity, both from a business stand point and a personal. There’s not a day that goes by that we don’t have some new design concept to share with each other. If there ever came a time we had to stop Tiny Whales, I don’t think we would ever stop creating, even if it was for personal satisfaction, it’s just in our blood.
did someone in your family, a friend or teacher introduce you to your creative side or have they helped you along the way?
Shaun: I’ve always felt like I’ve had a creative personality, but what put it in motion is when I was introduced to screen printing while running my families print shop. It didn’t take long for my creative side to ignite while learning graphic design and the art of print. Naturally I wanted to start my own shirt brand and dabble a bit with making some shirts for me and my friends, but when my nephew was born, I thought what could be better than designing awesome kids’ shirts. What I love most about design for kids is that I don’t have to take myself too serious, so the creativity never feels forced.
where do you find inspiration?
We are constantly inspired by our kids, the things they say and the adventures we go on. A lot of the time we also draw inspiration from memories of our youth.
what’s on the horizon for you and what you do?
We are hoping to expand beyond just t-shirts. We would love to create a complete collection of clothing to dress little ones from head to toe.
what would be your perfect day off?
Mountains & trees, lakes, family & solitude.
what inspiring advice would you give to other creatives be they established or just starting out?
Never, ever give up on your dream. It’s something we have to daily remind ourselves of.
Shaun, Brittany, Penelope & Harper
