Our story

Happiness shouldn’t whisper.

Hiya, I’m Matthew. This is the story of how a few kind words on a hoodie turned into a whole brand. Make yourself comfy.

I hit a wall.

Let’s start with the honest bit. A few years ago, I hit a wall.

I run a marketing agency here in the UK, and for a long time I ran myself into the ground doing it. Burnout turned into depression. Too much work, nowhere near enough rest, and a voice in my head that never let me celebrate anything.

Whatever I did, it never felt like enough. I always thought I should be doing more. I pulled away from people, and honestly, everything just felt heavy.

Then something clicked.

Around the same time, I noticed something small at home.

One of the young people in my family was really hard on herself. Quick to put herself down, slow to see any of the good. And funnily enough, some of her clothes had lovely positive phrases printed right on them. She just never noticed them.

So we started paying attention to them, on purpose. One of them said “Optimistic State of Mind”, so we’d borrow it. Whenever she did something positive without even realising, we’d say, “That’s a pretty optimistic state of mind you’ve got there.”

We kept bringing it back, again and again, even on her down days. Was it a bit annoying sometimes? Oh, definitely. But slowly, her focus started to shift, away from the negative self-talk and towards a more positive state of mind.

Now, I’m sure plenty of other things helped too. But that little phrase was definitely one of them. It became a trigger: a quick way to flip things round when her thoughts started heading south.

That’s when the penny dropped: kind words only work if you actually notice them. So everything we make is big and bold, on purpose. You couldn’t miss the message if you tried.

Why the back?

I know first-hand that one kind sentence can turn a day around. I’ve had a few days rescued that way myself.

So we print our messages big, on the back, for whoever’s stood behind you in the queue having a rough one. The front stays nice and quiet. Just our logo.

The back of a hoodie printed with Be The Reason Someone Smiles Today

Happy, not fake-happy.

To me, Big Bold Happiness means being loud about joy. Flamboyant, even. And never being embarrassed about trying to make someone’s day.

But it’s not about pretending everything’s fine. Bad days happen. Low days happen. I’m not here to tell anyone to cheer up. I’d just love to be a little nudge in a better direction when you need one.

No 5 · The message I needed most

You’re doing better than you think.

This one’s my favourite of the eight, because it’s the one I needed to hear for years. Truth be told, I’m still learning to believe it, and I’m still figuring out how to bring more happiness into my own life. This brand is a big part of that.

Shop No 5

The back of a hoodie printed with You’re Doing Better Than You Think

How it works

Quiet up front. Loud on the back.

Logo on the front

A small logo on the chest in our living-logo style. A bit playful, never shouty.
Message on the back

One numbered message from the Signature Collection, printed big enough to read from across the street.
Made to order

Nothing’s printed until you order it, so there’s no pile of unsold stuff gathering dust in a warehouse somewhere.