A Not-Your-Average T-Shirt with a Not-Your-Average Story
By Sasha Fastovskiy

For Worcester’s Melissa Hamblin, life has easily imitated art. Her art. “Being an artist, I have always liked to express myself in any way possible, whether it be through art, music or what I decide to wear on a given day,” said Hamblin.  A graphic design artist from the get-go (she studied the trade in high school and then made her rounds at several printing companies), Hamblin hasn’t strayed too far from her love of art and music in trying to find a niche to call her own.  “After graduating, I moved to the New Hampshire area and worked for a screen printing company, The Top Half Inc,” she said. After quickly earning the title of lead graphic designer and doing both design and embroidery every day, Hamblin’s creative juices really started to flow. “It was around this time that I shared my vision of ‘Mindset Clothing’ with my brother, Michael. I wanted to start a clothing line: something new, somewhat edgy, something that I myself would like to wear. And so, a new mindset was born; and according to Hamblin, “Mindset Clothing will be the clothing line that takes ‘expressing yourself’ to a new level.”

Primarily composed of tees, hats, and hoodies, Mindset Clothing designs are all about individuality, literally: many of the designs are inspired by the famed Rorschach inkblot tests. “It may appear to be just an inkblot, or an abstract style design, but if viewed by an individual with the mindset that the design was intended for, the design will be clear,” Hamblin explained. Now the lead graphic designer at Worcester’s Palomar Printing, Hamblin did a little research work and tested her designs on her family, friends, and biggest supporters. “It’s actually very interesting to hear the different perspectives people have when viewing the same exact design. With that said, we hope that there will be a T-shirt in our line for everyone.” That shouldn’t be a problem, with a quickly growing fan base and an official launch slated for July. It’s just what her mindset envisioned.
But for Hamblin, there’s one more visionary she will never forget. “My brother Michael believed in this. He was also a very talented artist, and was supposed to be my business partner; it was going to be our thing,” she said. “Unfortunately, in July of 2005, my 23-year-old brother was diagnosed with Leukemia. Mikey passed away March 4th, 2006, less than a year later. Every year we hold benefit in my brother’s memory, and the proceeds from select designs at the events and part of the proceeds will now go towards a scholarship fund.”

Although it’s been three years, Mikey’s memory keeps both Melissa and Mindset going strong. “It hasn’t happened overnight, I have been pushing through to make it a reality ~ not just for myself, but in the memory of my little brother who believed in me, and believed in the vision ‘til the end.” A beautiful outlook on a heart rendering story, Hamblin knows it’s helped define both her and her impending retail line: “I believe each individual’s ‘mindset’ defines much of who they are. It isn’t something you can get from someone at first glance; you really have to know someone to know what moves them, and what makes them tick,” a philosophy that has taken over her T-shirts.

Check them out at
myspace.com/mindsetdesign ~
and stay tuned, mindsetclothing.com
is about to launch!