Olivia Hollan and her group were struggling with a business concept for their entrepreneurship class project. Coming up with a fresh new idea was a daunting task. Once the thought came to marry social networking, missionary work and individuality, the project took off, and G3 Tees was the result.
The business specializes in selling screen tees that are customized personally by the wearer. The T-shirt composition consists of a blank speech bubble, below which rests the phrase “I’m a Mormon,” a recognizable construct of the popular LDS church campaign. The idea is to fill in the speech bubble with whatever phrase best describes the consumer.
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“Lately it has become huge to buy our clothes at thrift stores and consignment shops, creating a style that is unique to the individual,” Hyatt said. “We also spend plenty of time on Facebook and Twitter expressing ourselves in witty one-liners. G3 Tees has come up with an idea to put these two ideas together, while doing some awesome missionary work.”
G3 Tees member Ryan Carmichael, a junior from Bethesda, Md., studying economics, said getting the word out has proved to be difficult at this point in time.
“As of right now, we are the ones that go out and try to get people interested,” Carmichael said. “It’s been uphill. We go out and make people aware of our products. We’ve been wearing the shirts around campus, getting people just to see them. We’ve gone to a couple farmer’s markets, which are filled with students.”
Hollan, a junior from Aberdeen, S.C., majoring in political science, said hopefully the campus chatter will prove to be the best form of advertising.
“We have a Facebook page and a website that we are trying to get so people can order online,” Hollan said. “We are trying to spread the word just by telling people about our idea. I think interest will come with advertising. We went to the BYU Bookstore, and they declined our offer to sell. At Seagull Book we are on a waiting list for them to look at our product to get it approved.”
G3 Tees are selling for $10 each and come in a variety of colors and sizes. The G3 Tee Facebook page offers ideas for those who are stuck on phrases for their tee. Such include “I’m single,” “I’m not from Utah,” “I wear a mustache” and “I already have tickets to the next Twilight movie.” It’s up to the wearer to decide how to fill in the blank.
