Knock it Off! Warren T-shirt campaign is a huge hit

Warren family's business has sold 5,000 shirts, with $20,000 — and counting — going to the Rhode Island Foundation's Covid-19 relief fund

By Ted Hayes
Posted 4/9/20

Knock it off!

Shut it down!

Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo’s catch phrases, a plea to residents to stay inside, hunker down and help prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus, have …

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Knock it Off! Warren T-shirt campaign is a huge hit

Warren family's business has sold 5,000 shirts, with $20,000 — and counting — going to the Rhode Island Foundation's Covid-19 relief fund

Posted

Knock it off!

Shut it down!

Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo’s catch phrases, a plea to residents to stay inside, hunker down and help prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus, have become part of Ocean State parlance since she started giving daily briefings on the virus last month. Now the Warren-based owners of two popular Providence shops have turned Gov. Raimondo's pleas into a T-shirt campaign that is helping their employees and other businesses, raising thousands for charity and, they believe, lifting spirits of those who desperately need something to smile about.

Asher and Erin Schofield, who live in Warren with their children, own the Frog and Toad gift shops on Hope and Westminster streets in Providence. For a few weeks now, Mr. Schofield and a small staff have been working nearly round the clock shipping out “Knock It Off” and “Shut It Down” T-shirts. Frog and Toad is donating 20 percent of all proceeds to the Rhode Island Foundation’s Covid-19 Response Fund.

Frog and Toad's slogan is "Selling stuff you don't need but gotta have since 2001," and a lot of people need them or gotta have them: More than 5,000 have been sold so far, resulting in $20,000 in donations to the Rhode Island Foundation (as of Thursday).

“This is never what I imagined this project spiraling into,” Mr.  Schofield said Thursday afternoon, taking a break from packing shirts for shipment. “But boy am I delighted. It’s been a huge outpouring of support and it’s really taken off.”

Who came up with it?

Like many Rhode Islanders, Mr. Schofield found himself confused and depressed when he had to close his stores and lay off his small staff of about 10 workers as the crisis intensified.

“I was in a state of depression for about a week,” he said. “When I emerged from that I thought, ‘It’s time to get going.”

He and Erin talked about what they could do to help the store and support the fight against the virus, and a T-shirt quickly emerged as the winner. They reached out to Maret Bondorew, an artist who has designed many of Frog and Toad’s products in the past, “and she was more than happy to spend time working up designs.”

What resulted was a “Knock It Off” design that features an anchor as a nod to staying home. The “Shut It Down” design features a bullhorn, so all will hear.

Word quickly spread, and within days the shirts were selling as fast as Frog and Toad employees could keep up. They are being printed by Bad Taste and Parched, both out of Providence, and Frog and Toad has also enlisted bicycle messengers to deliver some to Providence customers. 

“We’ve been able to employ four other businesses — the fourth he can’t mention yet — “and we’re glad that that has helped people who otherwise would be struggling.”

Their goal is to process 800 shirts a day, Ms. Schofield said. The shirts have sold to customers as far away as California and Ontario, Canada, and Mr. Schofield said he thinks he knows why they’ve been embraced:

“It’s funny, it’s good-hearted and I think that’s what the magic of this project has been,” he said. “It’s captured our time right now with a sense of humor and positivity. I think a lot of people needed that.”

And he has a few words for Gov. Raimondo and Rhode Island Department of Health director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, who is usually with her at the governor’s daily briefings:

Thank you.

“I, like many other people, have been very impressed with (Gov. Raimondo’s) leadership and the hard work the administration has been putting in,” he said. And Dr. Alexander-Scott has been a “bright star.”

“We kind of need to be told what to do … we need to have a strong voice that is definitely saying ‘Stay at home, don’t go out, knock it off and shut it down,’ along with a measure of confidence. That’s what we needed and that’s what they’ve delivered.”

The shirts aren’t the only Covid-19 related items Frog and Toad is selling. They are also selling embroidered "Be Kind" patches and “Internally Screaming” bumper stickers featuring a stressed-out opossum. All proceeds go to an “employee safety net” fund administered by the employees themselves. That way, “if any of our laid off workers hit any challenging times they’ll be able to” access those funds.

 

 

 

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