Back in May, we mentioned that Jennifer Santiago had found out about us and wanted to get our t-shirts on screen during her new Travel Channel documentary.

We've been emailed this video still of her wearing one of the Mental Health Foundation "Talk, Just Talk" t-shirts in the army green. That's the MHF logo behind! We've yet to see the full documentary on screen - need to find out when it hits New Zealand screens!

Hey folks, pop along to our new website thehinitiative.com! Our .co.nz site is past its best before date and all packed up. There's only one cardboard box left behind telling people our new site address : )

There has been lots of hard work behind the scenes to get the .com going (on top of everything else happening) and it looks quite different to the .co.nz. Hopefully easy to navigate too!

It's still very much about continuous improvement, so you may see some tweaks here and there. The big thing that is yet to be launched is our online shop / catalogue - it will be completely different, plus, there will be brand spanking new tees up for the 2008 Mental Health Foundation t-shirt collection.

Shop's meant to be up & running by 22 September (fingers crossed) - we'll let everyone know by email when it is.

P.S. Feel free to leave any comments here about what you think of the new .com so far : )

Introducing Laura Cibilich, winner of the 2007 World Vision Art4Aid competition t-shirt category, designer of the Freedom Dove t-shirts!

What have you been up to recently?

I've just recently got married and have come back from my honeymoon in beautiful Fiji and the Gold Coast. So I'm just getting back into the swing of things at the moment. I've got a few ideas in the pipeline so watch this space!

How did you first get started in design?

I've always been creative and had a love of art, so I guess it progressed from that. I took Design in my last year at high school, then did a design diploma, and just went from there.

How would you describe your style?

I try not to get stuck into one kind of style, but generally my designs use quite solid lines and I often like to experiment with different textures and backgrounds. At work I'd say my style is quite corporate, so I like to break out of that a bit in my personal work.

What inspires your work?

Anything and everything. I'm a great believer in anything you do, see or have experienced in your life inspires and influences you somehow. It often depends on the project, but I'm constantly inspired by my husband Raymond, and cat Prince, as well as great photography, words, books and much more.

Why get involved with thehinitiative?

To help out a worthy cause in a way that I can - through design.

How did it feel to have your designs made into tees?

Pretty cool - its always nice to see the finished product, and great to see other people wearing it.

And my favourite ice cream flavour ever is...

I've just come back from a trip to Australia where I got addicted to 'Cold Rock' where they mix up your own ice cream flavour. My fav mix was coconut gelato, with mashed up bounty bar, mini
marshmellows and chocolate brownie pieces mixed through it - yum!

Thanks Laura! (and the ice cream sure sounds yummy!)

Thought I'd give Aucklanders a heads up that JET will be stocking our exciting new Mental Health Foundation t-shirt collection to be launched in October. They'll be stocking our adult tees, while our baby tees will be stocked in limited quantities at EGG Maternity Newmarket in October too.

"Baby tees?" you ask?
Yep the whole family can be fitted out in tees that look great & do good!
(Ok we bluff, not quite as we haven't got a 2 y.o. to school age collection yet. But it's a start...)

Introducing a small selection of our Birds on Wires tees: mens tee in the white colourway, and womens & baby girls tees in in the natural cream colourway. We'll also be having this printed in different colours and on different tee colours too.

Again, we have to give credit where it's due - this excellent design was by Aaron Hogg (Ministry of Aesthetics). He has the most awesome design & illustration work! Love the detail - everything has a place : )

I used to keep an eye on GOOD magazine ...

GOOD is the integrated media platform for people who want to live well and do good. We are a company and community for the people, businesses, and NGOs moving the world forward. GOOD's mission is to provide content, experiences, and utilities to serve this community.

GOOD currently produces a website, videos, live events, and a print magazine. Launched in September 2006, the company has garnered praise for its unique editorial perspective and fresh visual aesthetic and is quickly positioning itself as a significant new voice in our culture.

...brimming with fascinating stuff & nice clean design, it's hard to keep away.

New Zealand is now lucky enough to have its very own Good! Different publication altogether, but similar theme of talking about all things good.

I haven't had the time to read the print magazine yet (free time? what free time?! hehe), but a quick browse on its website found some useful things like which insulation is best for your home (efficiency ratings & such) and other more random things you didn't need to know but might have wondered about: is it better air drying or using paper towels at the public loo?

Anyone read the whole magazine? Thoughts? According to their website, issue 2 is on it's way : )

thehinitiative does t-shirts. Short sleeved ones. But, yes, it's WINTER (in the Southern Hemisphere anyway, and I feel like hibernating). So, how are you going to make our t-shirts work for you??

I've been wanting to write up a style thing for t-shirts in winter, and have just been re-motivated to do so after now-not-so-recent girly 2+ hours spent viewing some gorgeous (and some not so) clothes and styling on big screen. And just because it's really nice to see people look great in what they wear : )

So, here are some ideas - pretty straightforward for the guys (unless you're into wearing dresses, leggings or skirts), and some for the girls.

T-shirt styling ideas for the GUYS: (mostly about keeping warm!)

i) Wear a really warm polyprop or merino layer hidden under your t-shirt, and a smart blazer on top of it (and don't take off the blazer if it's freezing!), as seen on Brad pictured above left.

ii) Wear a long-sleeve button-down shirt underneath your t-shirt, and roll up the sleeves for an added laid-back effect. (Source: 6 ways to wear a t-shirt)

iii) Wear a long-sleeve button-down shirt over the top of your t-shirt, as seen on Jack pictured above right.

iv) Wear a zip-up hoodie or men's cardigan as a coat, or fairly tight, over the t-shirt.

(Photo credits: Asylum and Getty Images)

T-shirt styling ideas for the GIRLS:
Key thing to remember: Make sure that whatever layer you wear under the t-shirt is fitted / figure hugging, otherwise you could end up looking rather bulky in the torso (been there, done that!).

i) My fave (and easiest thing to do!): Wear a tight fitting, long sleeve, light-weight merino top under your t-shirt (mine's black most of the time). Keeps it real simple, feels a whole lot warmer, and t-shirt can be seen in full view.

ii) If you're not into the skinny jean look, some other things you can team with our t-shirts: Maxi-skirts. Capri pants. Jeans (bootcut or flared). Tartan skirts. High-waisted skirts. Cardigans. Leggings. Shorts. Dresses (worn underneath). (Thanks to Gala for these!)

iii) Wear your t-shirt under a pinafore dress, with opaque (or woollen) stockings/tights or knee socks, with mary janes, ballet flats, or boots. Or skip the stockings/tights altogether and put on a pair of fitting jeans. Add a long scarf to keep your neck warm!

iv) Wear your t-shirt over a few layers of multicolored tank tops or t-shirts in different lengths and pair with your favorite jeans.

v) Accessorise with shrugs, arm warmers (I've found some NZ made ones that look awesome!), and gloves (with fingers or without, or maybe you'd like to get a bit adventurous?).

Sorry I haven't got pictures up for the girls! Can't really find much - but hopefully you get the idea from the text : )

To also naughtily sneak in something non-t-shirt related: check out this short list for more about layering in general, and this NZ Herald article for hotting up your winter wardrobe.

Feel free to comment / provide your own style ideas for t-shirt winter wearing!! :)

How have you all been??? We have been sooooo busy and my oh my, time has just flown - can't believe it's the start of July now!

Currently working on getting our next range for the Mental Health Foundation sorted out (it'll be on sale in time for Mental Health Awareness Week which starts 6 October), trying to sort out PR stuff, working on a whole new spiffy website (big task but looking good so far!), getting things sorted for the design brief for the next World Vision CIC t-shirt range, and then there's the mundane stuff of GST, admin paperwork and such that we still need to do.

So, how's about a sneak peek at one of the new tees for the Mental Health Foundation you ask?
Check it out: we'd like to intro you to Mister Stacked Chairs Tee. Just the guys one in yellow text is shown below (there's a neat blue text one too). The womens version has got pink text, and is on a cream tee. We love the tees!! By the way, this design was submitted to us by Joel Cocks - so credit for its coolness & great design goes to him : )

Watch our blog for more updates about thehinitiative's Mental Health Foundation tee collection : ) Can't promise too much but you'll never know...