Getting To Know TomboyTeez

Cat modeling our Rizzoli & Isles inspired softball jersey.

Cat Crimins is the Tomboy In Charge here at TomboyTeez.com and she's volunteered to be our next subject in the Getting To Know Us series.

Why did you decide to start TomboyTeez?

I've always loved t-shirts and the idea of designing my own shirts was one of those 'one day I'll do that' sort of thing. Then that day came and I realized I wanted to be my own boss and make a living doing the things I love. So I created the perfect job for myself. And at the same time I get to help tomboys everywhere express themselves and feel comfortable in their own skin. Win win.

Why name your company after tomboys?

I've been a tomboy my whole life. Most of my female friends are tomboys, gay and straight. It's a big part of who I am and how I present myself to the world. So when I was thinking of names for the company it was a no brainer. When you think of a tomboy's uniform you think t-shirts.

What does being a tomboy mean to you?

I guess its the perfect word to describe who I am. What else would you call a girl who loves sports and sci-fi and doesn't wear makeup everyday. Besides awesome. 

If you could be any animal in the world, what would you be?

North American domestic house cat. Looks like a permanent vacation to me.

Which TomboyTee is your favorite?

This is an impossible question but if I have to answer it I would say it's a tie. One of the first designs we ever had on the site was Not A Dude. This shirt was one of the original inspirations for the company because I get called sir all the time. So I feel like this is sort of my favorite by default. But I wear all of our shirts and the shirt I've been wearing the most lately is our Tracker Jacker shirt. I tend to wear our most recent shirts the most. 

Who is your favorite tomboy in history? Favorite tomboy right now? 

My favorite tomboy from history is Amelia Earhart. That's an easy one. My favorite tomboy right now is probably Sam Gordon, the 9 year old football phenom. Not only is she a natural athlete but she's excelling in a boy's sport. That's not an easy thing. She's doing what she loves and I hope she goes as far as she wants to within the sport of football.

What’s one thing people don’t know about?

Well it's probably no surprise that I'm a Star Wars fan but I have a pretty 

extensive collection of Princess Leia collectibles. I tend to go for the more obscure stuff. Vintage Leia shampoo, tooth brush, bar of soap in the shape of Leia. The older and the weirder the better. And I love Carrie Fisher. I met her once and I happened to be wearing a Princess Leia shirt at the time. She was awesome, signed an autograph and didn't call me a weirdo or anything.

Getting To Know Us

We'd like you to get to know the Tomboys and Tomboy lovers that are behind the scenes at TomboyTeez.com a littler better. We'll talk to designers, artists, podcasters, booth volunteers, shirt models, marketers and everyone else!

Here's our first installment of Getting To Know Us

Artist Kimber Grobman

Kimber Grobman is responsible for the art of some our original designs. We sat down with her recently and talked Teez.

How did you get involved with TomboyTeez?

One day I was walking my dog and I passed by Cat's house, I started chatting with her girlfriend, telling her that I was an artist, she immediately introduced me to Cat and the rest was history! :)

Which Teez did you design?

I've designed several Tees, Robot: I heart Humans, Riot Girl, Greek for Life and Big Foot: I don't believe in you either.

What does being a tomboy mean to you?

That I can do anything I want! I don't have to conform to being a

girlie girl. Most of all I can play with power tools and look kick ass
doing it!

If you could be any animal in the world, what would you be?
I would be a Giraffe, I'm pretty short so it may be nice to have a
different perspective on things!

Riot Girl

Which TomboyTee is your favorite?

Riot Girl for sure! Its the first one I did for TomboyTeez and its
very much my style that I love to draw in, PLUS she's a bad ass!

What advice do you have for young aspiring graphic designers?

Keep at it, draw, draw and draw some more! Draw till you think your fingers will fall off. Don't get discouraged by a lot of No's, for
every 50 No's you'll get 1 Yes but it may be the best yes you could
ask for! Always try new things and don't be afraid to approach things from every possible angle, you'd be surprised what people will be drawn to!

You can check out Kimber's website and her TomboyTeez are linked below.

Bigfoot "I don't believe in you either!"

Robot : "I heart humans"

Greek For Life

The Real Dottie Hinson, Lucy Lawless, Boobs And A Few Other Stories You Might Have Missed

Here are a few news stories you may have missed this week.


1. League of Her Own

Lavone paire Davis, left. Gina Davis as Dottie Hinson in A League of Their Own.

Lavone "Pepper" Paire Davis died on February 2, 2013 at the age of 88. She was one of the 

inspirations for the character Dottie Hinson in the 1992 film, "A League Of Their Own". Lavone played professional baseball in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League and by all accounts she was one of the best female baseball players of the day.

She started her 10 season career in the AAGPB at age 19. "I know what it's like for your dream to come true, mine did,"  she told the AP in 1995.  "Baseball was the thing I had the most fun doing. It was like breathing." 

Rest in peace, Pepper. See you in the great big ball park in the sky.



2. He's A Dog-Person

Meet Tonik. He's creepy cute.

Tonic the...dog?

Apparently Tonik is up for adoption. If you're looking for a human/shih tzu mix, I have the dog for you. Check out his PetFinder profile page here. 



3. She Fought the Law and Lawless Won.

Lawless atop the Noble Discoverer in 2012

Last February television actress, Lucy Lawless, joined a handful of other Greenpeace activists in protesting Shell Oil's plans on drilling in the Arctic by boarding the Noble Discoverer and delaying it's voyage. Lawless and the six other activists spent 77 hours aboard the ship, perched on top of a 174 foot tall tower.

Lawless and her compatriots were sentenced this week in Christchurch, New Zealand. 120 hours of community service and a $547US fine isn't bad considering the group was facing 3 years in prison and over $500,000 in reparations that Shell was demanding.

"I consider it a great victory that the court has struck down the reparation demand from Shell, which I think was absolutely ludicrous," said Lawless. She added on Twitter "Day 4 of a liver detox is a helluva time to go to court. I'm just sayin'."


4. Bush in the Bathroom

W's Self Portraits. Nice back muscles.

The Bush Family's email was hacked this week. Among all the personal details of the twice former first family's lives that were exposed, nothing is as interesting as some of George W. Bush's paintings. They appear to be self portraits. In the bathroom. He's actually quite good but the questions is why the bathroom? Maybe it is the solitude and privacy that the room offers. No one can make jokes about you when you are alone in the bathroom. Well at least not before this week.




5. Two Boobs. Oh and a topless chick.

Boobs.

If you had asked me who's the coolest guy in Hollywood was I would have said Leo DiCaprio. Until I saw this.

Leo and friend Jonah Hill have taken their talents to South Beach. They were recently photographed going for a swim together in Miami with their shirts on. OK, fine. Maybe they're concerned about UV rays. Fair enough.

They are then joined by a topless brunette. I would think that Leo sees boobs all the time. No big deal. In one of the photos Leo is pointing towards the young lady in all of her topless-ness. Then after the brunette swims away the two friends high five. To be fair they could be high five-ing because of anything; a good joke, the weather, looking forward to their dinner plans that evening. Or it could be because of boobs. I suppose we'll never know. But my questions is would George Clooney ever be photographed high five-ing over boobs? I vote no.

How to Woo a Tomboy

Valentine's Day is just a few days away and your looking for some advice on how to make a certain tomboy your sweetheart. Have no fear, TomboyTeez is here! Follow these simple steps and you can't go wrong.


Step 1: Identifying A Tomboy

Make sure she's a tomboy. Misidentification is a common problem when dealing with tomboys.
What is her jeans to skirt ratio? 10 to 1 is a pretty safe ratio. One skirt or dress in the closet is not unusual. They are commonly used to appease Mothers.

If you throw something at her, does she catch it instinctively? Does she wear a hat for practical reasons? Does she have more than one type of sports ball in her closet? If you've answered yes to all of these questions, she's a tomboy.




Step 2: Stepping out with your Tomboy

One common theme for tomboys, gay or straight, is sports. Playing them or watching them, either way you're going to get her attention. Invite her to a local sporting event or invite her for a game of catch. Better yet, a sports bar! Beer + Sports = happy tomboy.





Step 3: Gifts

Is your tomboy a Rizzoli & Isles fan?
Our Boston Homicide baseball jersey is perfect!

Tomboys love gifts just as much as anyone. Instead of flowers try a bouquet of hand tools or athletic socks. Candy is nice but beer is better (see Step 2). And of course a T-Shirt is always in vogue for tomboys. Not to brag or anything, we're sort of experts in this category. T-shirts are the staple of the tomboy's wardrobe and we have a great selection at www.tomboyteez.com. Just saying.








Hopefully by now you've started to formulate your plan to get that tomboy's attention just in time for Valentine's Day. Don't be scared. Tomboys are generally pretty awesome chicks who like to be wooed just as much as the next girl. Good luck and Happy Valentine's Day!

Top Five Stories of the Week!

A lot happened this week. Here's a list of my favorite headlines. This is what everyone is going to be talking about at that party your going to tomorrow night.

5. J.J. Abrams To Direct Next Star Wars Movie. J.J. Abrams is the man. Not only has he rebooted the Star Trek film franchise but now he will direct the next Star Wars sequel. It was no doubt a very much sought after gig. He turned down the offer the first time then Disney dropped a money bomb on his house. That last part is speculation. Good luck Mr. Abrams. Don't screw it up. And go easy on the lens flare.

4. Ban On Women Serving In Combat Roles In US Military Lifted. Although women have found themselves in combat for years (convoy truck drivers, pilots, etc.) women will now be able to serve on the front lines in small combat units. The joint chiefs have until May 15th to figure out how this will all work but this decision could potentially open up almost 230,000 jobs to women in the military.

3. Parasitic Worm Crawling Out Of Dead Spider Video. OK, this isn't really news but its creepy, gross and interesting. Apparently we all have parasitic worms inside of us. RIGHT NOW. But none this big. The guy who posted the video called this thing a giant flying spaghetti monster. Much cooler name than nematode.

2. Gay Country Singer, Chely Wright Announces She Is Pregnant With Twins. Wish Me Away is a very powerful documentary about a closeted country signer about to out herself as a lesbian. That singer, Chely Wright, lets us witness her anxiety, fear, excitement, more fear and eventually triumph during a very difficult time. Two years after her outing, she is not only married but expecting twins. After watching the films you can't help routing for the singer. This latest news about her new family is even sweeter knowing the dark and scary places she's been.



And my favorite story of the week....

1. Manti Te'o Fake Girlfriend Saga continues. This story keeps getting better and weirder. It was revealed during Manti's Katie Couric interview that it was his sort-of-friend Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, an adult man using a falsetto voice, that was on the other side of the phone during hours and hours of conversation. So now the question is no longer, how dumb is Manti but what the hell is wrong with Ronaiah Tuiasosopo? Well luckily Dr. Phil is on the case. Apparently he has recorded an interview with Tuiasosopo that will air at a future date.

Disney Is On The Path To The Light Side

Recently via the intra-webs, retired artist Drew Struzan confirmed that he has been approached by Disney Studios to come out of retirement to design art for Star Wars Episode VII and maybe beyond.

"Oh my god, I’m trying to be retired!" Struzan laughs. "You know, I spent 35 years painting 'Star Wars'. I painted 'Star Wars' before most of you were born! But I guess there is always a chance. There’s no intention. But I would love to have a day off every now and again, and I have to work a weekend and all through the night. If the opportunity arises, it will be a real temptation. But it’s going to have to be a real temptation to get me away from my wife and my little grandkids and my family. Away from the green trees and the blue skies for a change instead of just locked in the studio. But, you know, never say never. All things are possible."

Yes Drew, all things are possible, especially when you can print your own money like Disney Studios. If Disney wants him, they'll get him.


What does this mean? I think this shows Disney's commitment to keeping the next installments of the SW saga true to the tone of the originals. I don't think they're interested in a reboot or re-imagining of the SW universe. I think they want to bring us back to the world we fell in love with over 30 years ago. If they're smart, which I think they are, they'll want to satisfy the old jilted fans (like me) as well as the young fans of the new franchise and still attract the new fans that are too young to know who Greedo is and why there's no way he shot first. And if anyone knows how to satisfy such a wide fans base, it's Disney.

I might be coming across as a Disneyphile but I'm not. I am a hopeful Star Wars fan who sees a lot of potential in the future. And if Disney wants to get me on board and believe they can bring Star Wars back to its glory, they are on the right path.


Cat Crimins

Thank You Huell Howser

Huell Howser, a local television legend, passed away earlier this week and I felt the need to honor him. His show, California's Gold, documented Huell traveling around the state and visiting interesting places and the people connected to those places.

Whether he was visiting an historic landmark or a local restaurant or farm, Huell made the ordinary, extraordinary. His energy and genuine excitement made everything he was doing engaging and interesting. No sarcasm or irony. Just genuine enthusiasm. In a world where the bad news always seems to drown out the good, Huell Howser was a refreshingly positive beacon of what's good about all of us.

If you aren't familiar with his work, I encourage you to go on YouTube and watch some of the many videos available featuring Huell. You'll find plenty of parodies and imitators but you'll also find some classic Huell Howser interviews. Like Huell talking to colorful locals at the Bagdad Cafe or Huell and the avocado eating dog.

Huell taught me that everyone has a story and everyone's story, if told by a good storyteller, can be interesting.

Thanks Huell, for making California into a magical place. A place full of amazing people, places and things.


Cat Crimins

"If you have a good story, it doesn’t have to be overproduced. I want our stories to reveal the wonders of the human spirit and the richness of life in California, including its history, people, culture and natural wonders."  - Huell Howser