We are so excited to announce our winners of our recent t-shirt design competition. That’s right, there is more than one!
At the end of Feb, we put a callout for budding artists, designers, and anyone who fancied having a go at designing our new charity t-shirt. These designs could be based on any or all of the themes of strength, hope, awareness and support.
The winner would see their t-shirt sold in our Teemill store in the lead up to Lyme Awareness Month and Wear Lime for Lyme Day in May.
How the winner was chosen
We received some fantastic submissions, and had a hard job of narrowing it down to the top 10 designs.
The final 10 were shared on on social media for an open vote, where they were whittled down to 3.
These were presented anonymously to our LifeLyme members and Trustees – including John Caudwell himself.
The vote was extremely close. In fact two of them got the same winning amount! So we have decided to announce them both as winners.
The winners and their designs!
Congratulations to Natalie Hay and Vicki McNamara!
Coincidentally, the designs are quite similar in their “Fight/Fighting Lyme” motto. It was clearly a popular theme that resonated with a lot of our supporters.
Here are the designs…..
About the winners
Vicki McNamara
Vicki is responsible for our “Fighting Lyme” design.
Here she tells us a little about her inspiration and reason for taking part.
“My name is Vicki, from RosePlumCreations. I created this design in support of Lyme disease research as it is something close to me as my partner has suffered many years with this deliberating disease.
I wanted to create a simple, neutral design that any age and gender could wear.
I used the metaphor ‘Fight Lyme’ because finding the right treatment and support for Lyme disease can be a real battle. It can also be incredibly hard to get a diagnosis.
I chose the wording ‘fighting Lyme’ because everyday is a fight, a battle, for my partner and many other Lyme disease sufferers.
In my design I wanted to show that living with Lyme disease is not easy and the people suffering and their loved ones are fighting everyday against this disease, and they are incredibly strong for doing so.’
Natalie Hay
Natalie is a volunteer for Caudwell LymeCo, and is responsible for the FIGHT LYME watercolour, which she painted herself.
Here’s her story behind her design and her motivation for taking part:
“I entered the t-shirt design competition because I wanted to support Caudwell LymeCo Charity with their mission to raise awareness of Lyme disease, in the U.K.
I decided that I wanted my design to include actual tick insects, to help people identify ticks and avoid them (or remove them from skin and clothing).
The green hearts on my design symbolise the love, compassion and charitable support.
My 13 year old son has sadly been struggling with Lyme disease for the past four years. He used to love playing football and climbing trees outdoors but he now barely leaves home. After months of treatment with a LLMD (Lyme Literate Medical Doctor) and herbalist he is beginning to recover and enjoy life again”.
Special mention goes to Lucy Bulmer, who came in third. The judges loved her design so we are hoping to use it on some more products that we have planned for future sales.
Buy a t-shirt and help spread awareness
Each of these designs are available in our Teemill store in men’s, women’s and kid’s sizes.
Teemill use t-shirts made from 100% organic cotton, which are printed in a factory using renewable energy, and sent out in recyclable packaging.
All profits will go directly towards our research to improve testing and treatment on the NHS, and our awareness activities.
Get yours here ready for Lyme Awareness Month!