The Couple Behind RIThreads T-Shirts

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Friday, October 15, 2010

ARTS by Tracey Minkin, GoLocalProv Features Editor

All of a sudden, Myles Dumas and Roisin McGettigan find their very cool line of t-shirts right in the center of a political debate.

"It's the smallest state with the longest name," McGettigan says. "So we decided to create a t-shirt that featured it very graphically." Now, the young marrieds who started RIThreads last year, find their first, best-known design at the center of the ballot item (Question 1) that seeks to shorten Rhode Island's official name.

It amuses the two, but mainly their focus is on getting RIThreads onto the shelves (and shoulders) of the Ocean State.

Running with a great design

It all began with Roisin, who came to Rhode Island from Ireland through the renowned track and field program at Providence College. Training for the Beijing Olympics at PC with a number of world-class runners in the area, she worked with her then-boyfriend, graphic designer Myles Dumas, to design a commemorative t-shirt for the group's training time together.

Myles' brightly colored, modern approach to that t-shirt inspired a bigger idea. "We'd always wanted to get t-shirts as gifts for people from Rhode Island," she says. "But they weren't that good. We wanted bold graphics." So Myles went to work and the RIThreads line was born.

From the mouthful of a state name stacked like toddler's neon blocks on a black tee, to a Newport graphic tucked into waves, to the the state motto's four letters strung like flags on a sailboat's halyard, the RIThreads aesthetic is a bright newcomer on the state's artistic landscape. And if Question 1 passes, one design is suddenly going to be highly collectible as well.

RIThreads are available at retailers including Pleasant Surprise and Queen of Hearts in Providence, Only In Rhode Island in Newport, and at the upcoming RISD Alumni Holiday Art Sale. Portions of the HOPE motto t-shirt benefit the RI Community Food Bank. Shirts are also available online here.

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