{Guest Post: Allison Ciorciog} Fruit, Veggies & Graphic T-Shirts: ALLISON Tees

After becoming vegan eight years ago, I noticed how many incredible veg-friendly clothing companies were in existence and in particular, T-Shirts. It seems like everywhere I go these days my veg-head friends are wearing awesome shirts with fun messages! It’s no surprise that through social media I came to meet Allison Ciorciog of ALLISON Tees. Allison is a compassionate designer who creates unique eco-friendly, veg-focused T-Shirts. This past summer I had the opportunity to meet up with the designer herself in person while visiting the Bay Area. Not only did I snag a cool “fruit & veggies” tee, but I also made a new friend.

I throughly enjoy supporting friends who create their own goods, promote positive messages and who just generally make the world a better place in whatever shape it is they do. It’s my honor to welcome guest Allison to share her T-Shirt company, the designs and the thoughtful meanings behind them. Welcome to Cowgirls & Collard Greens Allison!

xo, Kayle

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With thirteen years in graphic and web design, and a background in fashion in New York City, I started ALLISON Tees in 2015. The vision of the brand is to create t-shirts with positive vegan, vegetarian and spiritual messages. It gives me utmost joy to see my friends, family and supporters wearing an ALLISON tee with big smiles on their faces. Pure happiness.

So why vegan messages? I’m so glad you asked! To start, I don’t eat meat. But what led me there was a brutal journey. We need to go back twenty years, when I was diagnosed with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). I believed that red meat was causing my stomach and intestinal attacks, along with some bad food choices like fried foods and sugar. I decided that I would eliminate these foods and remove one meat at a time from my diet. Within about two months I removed meat completely, stopped eating french fries and pizza and definitely did not eat any cakes or other sweets. Wow, what a difference. I gained control of my IBS and didn’t let it control me. The diet change was night and day.

It means a lot to me when someone wears one of my designed tees. It shows they believe in the message. It proves that there are more of us, people like me, who care about health, are proud of who they are and want to share that with the world.

All of the designs are uniquely designed by me, and screen-printed using phthalate-free, environmentally-friendly inks in Brooklyn, NY. The thought and creativity that goes into the designs is not only about the message, but the design has a aesthetic to them as well. For example, the “fruit. veggies.” tee is a play on the messages you may have seen out in the market of something along the lines of:

“Something &

Something &

Something &

Something”.

It’s usually a bunch of people’s names. The use of the bold Helvetica font and play on words, with the added green gradient incorporates the artistic edge. It’s not just a vegan t-shirt with a message, it’s a t-shirt with a design about veganism.

The hamsa hand tee that states “Veg for Life” depicts the taking a vow to be veg for life. This design works for both vegans and vegetarians. I chose the color green for obvious reasons, and placed the letter “v” inside a circle in the center of the hamsa hand (where normally an eye would be). When I traveled to England I noticed that in grocery stores a product that was vegetarian had a “v” inside a circle marked on the package. I thought this was a brilliant idea and I wished they would do this in New York. I thought it would be really cool to use that “v” marker on this t-shirt. And, right in the center of the hamsa hand made the most sense. The hamsa hand in many cultures is used as a sign of protection and I’d like to think that the people wearing this t-shirt are protected.

GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms) are the biggest talk of the town lately. The idea for this stemmed from a meeting-of-the-minds with a friend of mine, and from something I saw with my husband. My husband buys these Romanian cookie wafers with a kind of chocolate inside. On the package label it stated that the product was not made with GMO’s, but in Romanian they write GMO’s backwards as OMG. So… GMO – Oh My God! I thought this was so funny! There’s a line in between GMO and OMG on the design that signifies a mirror, which is the idea that came about with my friend. The GMO is looking in the mirror and saying OMG!

Beets Meat? C’mon! You have to laugh at that. This t-shirt design is most popular among men and women after the “fruit. veggies.” design. The message says it all. Veggies beet meat any day of the week!

If you’re looking for a tank to wear to yoga class and show your dedication, the “Yoga for Life” tank top is perfect. It’s so soft and comfortable, and I love the use of the gold metallic ink on the Buddha image, which I think gives it a sacred look. This Buddha image is actually based on a drawing that I did in a museum and turned it into this line art design.

So head on over to ALLISON Tees and get yourself a veg t-shirt! My gift to you just in time for the holidays is $5.00 OFF of any tee or tank for the month of November! Just use code: NOVFUN at checkout; offer ends November 30, 2016, 11:59PM PST.

Love & light,
Allison

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Allison Ciorciog has been an advocate of healthy eating for sixteen years. She lives and breathes design and when she’s not creating she’s exploring nature, laughing, reading, volunteering, dancing and spending time with her husband.

Shop: www.allisonvecchio.com/shop
Instagram: www.instagram.com/avecchio
Facebook: www.facebook.com/allisonvecchiodesigns/