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| Some of the products Cat Tee Mission sells. Image by Sarah Menzies. |
Hey readers! Today I am introducing a new aspect of my blog, called "Spotlight"! Spotlight is where I will have a post featuring a person and their organization/company. For my first ever Spotlight post, I will be featuring Sarah Menzies of
Cat Tee Mission (formerly known as The Purr Diaries).
Like me, Sarah is dedicated to saving cats. If she can save just a few extra cats with the sales of her tee shirts, then she knows that her job is being done.
100% of the profits support cats all over the world! The rescues she works with include
Cat Rescue &
Cat Protection Society in Australia,
Paws Watch in the USA,
Cat and Kitten Care in the UK, and the
Cat Protection Society of Namibia in Africa.
Visit www.catteemission.com to purchase a cat tee today! The more tees they sell, the more kitties they can save!
Interview with Sarah Menzies:
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| Sarah with her kitties. |
Sandpiper Cat Blog: What had you set out to do with Cat Tee Mission (obviously helping cats), what were your goals when you started?
Sarah Menzies: Yes, my main aim was to help cats! But firstly I just wanted to come up with a design that spread the word about the plight of homeless cats, that people would actually want to wear! Selling tees was my first goal, so I'd have something to give the rescue groups we support. I wanted to sell enough that we could at least get one cat spayed/neutered at each of our 5 rescue groups, every quarter.
SCB: What was your first step to start CTM?
SM: My first step was coming up with the idea. I knew I wanted to sell something, so I wouldn't just be asking for people's money, but giving them something in return for their money. When I finally came up with the tee shirt idea, my next step was finding worthy, no-kill cat rescue groups from each corner of the globe.
SCB: How did you get involved selling on Etsy? What is running an Etsy shop like?
SM: I first discovered Etsy when I was looking at cat art on the net a couple of years ago and I thought it would be a great place for me to sell my kitty creations and custom portraits. Its very easy, inexpensive, and straight forward running an Etsy shop, and you'll find some amazing independent artists there! My Etsy shop is not part of Cat Tee Mission, but it does benefit cats too, a percentage of all sales goes to Cat Protection Society of NSW inc (who I foster for).
SCB: How do you come up with tee shirt designs (or Etsy products).
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| Tee shirts from Cat Tee Mission. Image by Sarah Menzies. |
SM: I always struggle to come up with designs or ideas for artworks. For the tees I knew I wanted my designs to have text - text grabs people's attention and I often notice people reading my tees when I wear them. And of course I had to have a kitty on the tee too, so I just kept it simple. For Etsy products I get inspired a lot by my fave artist such as Harriet Gray, Lilly Piri, Laura Manfre etc. Although my art is completely different to theirs lol! I love feminine patterns, pastel colours, and simplicity, and that usually comes into play when thinking of an artistic idea.
SCB: What do you do to help out the "big cats"?
SM: I volunteered with big cats in Africa last year, and it was the highlight of my life! I have been thinking of expanding CTM to help big cats too, and I also became a part of Animal Works (http://animalworks.com.au/) this year, a conservation organisation based in my home town of Sydney, with the aim of assisting big cats and fundraising for the rescue and rehabilitation of them in Africa. Stay tuned for more on that soon!
SCB: Where do you see the world of animal rescue going?
SM: Its hard to say, there is a lot wrong with the world at the moment. In regards to domestic cats (and other pets), there are too many of them, and in regards to big cats, there's not enough! And the biggest reason for that is humans. We need to be more responsible and spay and neuter our pets, and 'adopt, don't shop'! And we need to stop taking land and chopping down the habitats of wild creatures. It all relies on us as a species, and we need more people to act. We are the ones who have messed up the world, so it's up to us to make it right!
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| Jackson Galaxy supports Cat Tee Mission, so should you! Image by Sarah Menzies. |
Thank you Sarah for a great interview and a helping a great cause! I hope readers will enjoy visiting Sarah's website and buy some shirts to help the cause.
