It's not everyday you get inspired from clothing, but that's the hope of mother/daughter duo Cathy and Hope Cardenas. The two have teamed up to provide inspirational clothing meant to uplift people around the world to share encouraging messages with one another. Say Cathy, "We really hope these products bring others joy and true hope along with a brighter day."
What inspired you to create Hope Wear?
With all the chaos in the world we wanted to find a way to bring a smile to people's faces. We love fun t-shirts and inspirational messages so we thought what a fun way to bring all of those together, and that's how we came up with Hope Wear. My daughter's name is Hope, so of course we had to include that in it.
What's the message you want to resonate with people?
We hope that the t-shirts make others feel inspired and serve as reminders of of how blessed they are, and to be grateful and to feel loved. The shirts we have are simple but powerful. Our number one-selling shirt is our 'Blessed' hoodies and t-shirts. I think it reminds people how blessed they are. And when they wear it, I think it serves as a message to others to remember how blessed they are too.
How did you choose the charities who are receiving proceeds?
We were very strategic in choosing the charities that we chose. We wanted to make sure we were selecting charities that we felt were offering long-term hope to those in need, and ones that were doing things to help better the lives and future of those in our communities.
We chose the HOPE Mental Health Foundation because we love that they fund scholarships to help those in need secure the mental health therapy that they need.
We also selected the Fresh Start Women's Organization because they help women who have been through hard times financially, suffered abuse or come from poverty situations. They help these women get back on their feet, get things figured out in their life and put them on the path to creating a career and not just a job. That leads to a brand-new chapter moving forward to ensure they never go backwards again.
And we also selected the Veterans Matter Organization. They are an incredible organization that helps to cover rent for veterans that are trying to get off the streets and out of shelters and get their life back on track.
You own your own public relations agency. What does your daughter do for a living?
Yes, I love doing PR and I'm just about ready to celebrate 11 years of my business. We also are celebrating my daughter Hope getting accepted into nursing school. She would love to be a labor and delivery nurse or to work at children's hospital.
HopeWearClothing.com