I didn’t set out to start a clothing line.
I set out to survive caregiving.
For five years I cared for my mom through Lewy body dementia. I watched the disease take her piece by piece — her memories, her words, the sound of my name in her mouth. And through all of it I kept showing up. Not because I had it together. Not because I knew what I was doing. But because that’s what love does. It shows up even when it’s breaking.
There were days I didn’t shower. Days I cried in the car before walking back inside. Days I smiled through a grief so heavy I could barely breathe. Days I sat beside her and held her hand and thought — does any of this matter? Does she even know I’m here?
And then one day she looked at me — this woman who had forgotten my name, forgotten I was her daughter, forgotten almost everything — and she smiled. Not because she remembered me. But because she felt safe. Calm. Loved.
That’s when I understood something that changed everything:
The memory fades. The love doesn’t.
That one moment became a whole philosophy for me. And eventually — it became a shirt.
A Love Letter To Every Caregiver
I have been thinking about you for a long time.
About all the people caring for their loved ones alone in a city where nobody understands. About the ones who haven’t slept through the night in months. About the ones who cry in the car because that’s the only place they’re allowed to fall apart. About the ones who love someone so deeply and so completely that they have lost themselves somewhere along the way.
I know you. Because I was you.
And I know that sometimes — on the hardest days — you just need something that says what you can’t. Something that tells the world: I have been through something profound. I am still standing. And I am not alone.
So I made something for us.
Introducing The Heart On The Sleeve Collection
Six shirts. Six truths. Every single word born from this journey.
🖤 The memory fades. The love doesn’t. 🩶 Still here. Still loving. Still tired. 🤍 I carry what I cannot fix. 🖤 Grief and love, same sentence. 💙 Invisible work. Immeasurable love. 🤍 Made of coffee and unconditional love.
Each shirt is soft, unisex, true to size — printed on Bella Canvas 3001, one of the best quality tees out there. Available in sizes XS through 5XL.
And every single one carries a small pink watercolor heart on the left sleeve.
That heart is my promise to you. Because I know what it feels like to walk this road completely alone — and I never want you to feel that way. Every time you glance down at that little heart I want you to remember: someone who has been exactly where you are is walking right beside you. Every single step.
You are not alone in this. Not anymore.
The Collection Is Live
You can shop at: Heart on the Sleeve Collection
Every shirt is $35 and ships worldwide.
I would be so honored if you wore one. Not just because I made them — but because you deserve to be seen. You deserve to walk into a room wearing something that tells your truth without you having to say a word.
You have been showing up for someone else for so long.
This is for you. 🩷
xoxo -Michelle
