... And Why We Do Things a Little
Differently

The Soft Shirt Place started with a pretty simple idea:

Vacation t-shirts shouldn't suck.

After years of screen printing for major corporations in
Ohio, we found ourselves empty nesters with a big decision to make. In 2018, we
packed up and moved to the Great Smoky Mountains to do something a lot of
people dream about but don't actually do.

We opened a t-shirt store.

And then we looked around Gatlinburg and realized...

There are a LOT of t-shirt stores in Gatlinburg.

Like... a lot.

But we also noticed something.

So many were selling the same kind of rough, thick, boxy
shirts with designs that looked like they had been hanging on the rack since 1987.
The kind of promotional-quality shirts that are cheap to produce, uncomfortable
to wear, and somehow get even worse after the first wash.

We knew we could do better.

So we did.

We Started With the Shirt

Instead of starting with a cheap blank and figuring out how
to make it work, we started with the quality of the apparel.

We partnered with US-based manufacturer Bella + Canvas and
began putting our original designs on their ridiculously soft, comfortable
apparel.

And that became the foundation of The Soft Shirt Place.

If we're going to put our designs on it, we have to
actually want to wear it ourselves.

That sounds pretty obvious.

Apparently, it wasn't.

Then Ashley Joined the Madness

In 2021, our daughter Ashley joined the family business.

She had grown up watching Shawn design and create, and those
skills had clearly rubbed off. Ashley quickly became an important part of the
creative side of the business, creating her own designs and helping shape what
The Soft Shirt Place would become.

Today, our designs are created in-house by Shawn and
Ashley, which means when you find something you love in our store, you're
not looking at something pulled from the same generic catalog you'll find
everywhere else.

You're looking at something our family actually created.

And yes, that family has grown.

These days, there's also a certain little guy known around
here as the Toddler CEO.

Kristian may not officially be on the payroll yet, but he
has opinions, holds daily business meetings by video call, conducts surprise
quality-control inspections, and appears to believe the entire operation exists
primarily for his entertainment.

We're still working on getting him to approve a budget. 😂

From One Little Store to Something Bigger

After several years of refining our process, perfecting our
printing, developing our designs and building a team that understood exactly
what we expected, we were ready to grow.

We opened our second location in St. Augustine, Florida, in
November 2022.

We loved being there, and our St. Augustine customers became
part of our story. But as the economy changed and finding reliable employees
became increasingly difficult, we made the decision to close that location in
November 2024 and focus our energy on growing online.

The St. Augustine designs didn't disappear, though. Many are
still available on our website and are made with the same care, love and
questionable amounts of caffeine right here in Gatlinburg.

Come See How We Do It

One of the things that makes The Soft Shirt Place different
is that this isn't just a place where you grab a shirt off a rack and hope for
the best.

You can actually meet the people behind the designs.

You can talk to us about where an idea came from.

You choose your design, apparel style, color and size,
and we make it for you while you wait.

In about 60 seconds, you've gone from “I think I like
that one” to “Yep. This is mine.”

And if you want to wear it immediately?

Go for it.

We won't judge.

We Care About What Leaves Our Store

We've always believed that if something isn't right, it
doesn't leave the store.

We train our team in every part of the production process,
and everyone is accountable for the quality of what they produce.

Because our name is on it.

Our reputation is on it.

And frankly, we're pretty picky.

We'd rather take an extra minute and make something right
than hand you something we're not proud of.

That's also why our store feels a little different.

It's fun. It's relaxed. There's usually a lot of laughing.
You might hear us talking to customers like we've known them for years.

Because while you're technically a tourist visiting
Gatlinburg, we don't treat you like one.

We treat you like someone who's going to come back.

And hopefully, you do.

More Than a Souvenir

We know you're on vacation.

We know you're surrounded by t-shirt shops.

We know you have approximately 47 other places trying to
convince you that you absolutely need a shirt with a bear, a mountain and a
questionable font on it.

We're not trying to be every other t-shirt shop.

We want you to walk out of The Soft Shirt Place with
something you genuinely love.

Something soft.

Something comfortable.

Something that fits properly.

Something designed by actual people who care about what
they're creating.

And something you'll still be wearing long after the
vacation is over.

Because a souvenir is something you bring home.

A Soft Shirt is something you keep wearing.

And that's exactly why we started this whole crazy thing in
the first place.