Shout about your roots with a tee

San Jose, CA (PRWEB) February 8, 2008 — All her life, people have been asking Alisha Karandikar the same question: “So, what are you anyway?” Rather than take offense at what some might interpret as a MYOB moment, Karandikar, who is African American and English, decided to design a tee-shirt that would proudly announce her heritage to the entire world. The stylish white tee boasting Karandikar’s ethnicity in a festive font not only silenced the nosy; it also inspired Karandikar’s new company, Heritage Teez, where the motto is “Show the world your rootz!”

“I designed the first shirt for myself, but whenever I wore it, I’d hear things like ‘Hey, I’m Irish, Italian, Spanish, and Dutch–where can I get a shirt that says that?'” explains Karandikar, a realtor who has lived all her life in the San Jose, CA area. “I did some research, and discovered that there were the usual funny shirts, like Kiss me, I’m Irish, and FBI: Full Blooded Italian. But there weren’t any companies dedicated to promoting one’s heritage–especially a multi-cultural heritage–in a way that’s fun, but also stylish. And that’s how Heritage Teez came about.”

Karandikar turned to her roots, not only for her company’s genesis, but also for her business partner. Cousin Samantha Brown, who works in finance at Adobe Systems by day, toils in her spare time side-by-side with Alisha on virtually every aspect of Heritage Teez.

And she helps keep the mood upbeat. When Karandikar insists that partnering up is a natural by-product of their lifelong friendship, Brown guffaws. “I don’t know what she’s talking about. We’ve been feuding for years.”

Then Brown, whose own Heritage Tee reads Irish/English/German, breaks into a smile. “No, she’s right. We are a very close family. I guess you could say it’s family ties that are going to make this company soar.”

She isn’t kidding: Even the kids have been tapped to help out. Brown’s 13-year-old daughter, Kylie (English/Irish/German) helped design the company logo. And Karandikar’s 14-year-old son, Riley (African American/English/Swedish/Italian) loves hearing rave reviews such as “Sick,” and “That’s tight,” when he wears his Heritage Tee to school in his role as a human advertising vehicle.

If you ask Karandikar, it’s a bet worth taking. “I wondered initially if a tee shirt promoting one’s heritage might be interpreted as slightly divisive–a sort of ‘I’m this, and you’re not’ kind of thing. But actually, it’s turned out to be completely the opposite. When everyone’s walking around with shirts that proclaim their heritage, you start to see not how different we all are, but actually how much more we are alike than we think. ”

Source : PRWeb.com, Feb 8th 2008