E23 - Interview - Gemma - Re-Vive the TEE - upcycled clothing quilts save the memories

The UpCycle Canada Podcast: Your Eco-Friendly Inspiration

EPISODE 23
On this episode of The UpCycle Canada Podcast we sit down with a creative maker here in Canada that is doing her part to reduce landfill and textile waste! Meet Gemma Smith from Re-Vive the TEE!
The Re-Vive the TEE Story:
An affordable and Canadian way to upcycle old clothing that celebrates life, achievements, and adventures. Simply place your order, choose your t-shirts, fleece colour, and mail them to us. Within a short amount of time, you’ll have a handmade quilt to hold close, and memories to hold even closer!

Hello everyone! My name is Gemma. I’m a mother of three, wife to a very supportive husband, south of England native who emigrated to Canada, and head designer behind RE-Vive the TEE. I discovered my passion for sewing after having children and wanting to be able to stay home with them, while earning an income. So, for the past 10 years I have been creating special memory keepsake items for family and friends.

The idea initially came as my children grew far too quick and I was having a hard time getting rid of their baby clothing. I started to think of how I could keep their baby clothes in a way that wouldn’t take up unnecessary storage space, and I would get to enjoy and look at them often, reminiscing on the baby age. My first ever quilt was created from an assortment of my daughters clothing. After sharing a photo of it on Facebook, I began to receive inquires from other moms who were interesting in preserving their children’s clothing through a custom, handmade quilt. Since then, I have created hundreds of baby quilts for clients across the globe!

Fast forward to 2020, I received more and more inquiries and decided to create a simplified version of my jigsaw quilts; one that is affordable and symmetrical, created from equal size blocks in standard sizing. By doing this, we were able to provide a modernized version of our traditional quilts that are of the same quality. We've also expanded our product line to include larger 16" squares, baby toddler 6" squares and a hybrid combination of 12" and 6" squares.

From sports tees, to travel tees, concert shirts, and those from lost loved ones, I love sewing and helping individuals tell their stories with custom made quilts! My personal favourite quilt to make is the memorial quilts for loved ones who have passed because of the comfort these quilts brings for their families, which gives me my “why” and my feeling of purpose behind RE-Vive the TEE.

Our quilts are all constructed with the quality threads and backings, are super warm and extremely durable. Whether your purchasing your quilt for a personal gift or for a loved one, we guarantee you will absolutely adore it!

So far, we have two full time members of staff lovingly creating your quilts from my home based studio in Calgary. Very near future plans include expanding into a new larger manufacturing space where we can employ other makers to help produce these wonderful keepsakes.

Don’t let old t-shirts collect dust - have them made into a quilt that you can put on display and enjoy every day! Together, we can RE-Vive those TEE’s into conversational pieces that invite trips down memory lane.

https://www.revivethetee.ca/
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For more about our business please visit
https://upcyclecanada.ca/
Podcast created by True Media Solutions
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Thank you to Jacob Moon for creating our Podcast Soundtrack - please visit www.JacobMoon.com