“How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you’re having.”
-Eckhart Tolle (A New Earth)

In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan snuck into John Lennon’s hotel room in Toronto and convinced him to do an interview. MUST SEE!!

‎”If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint,” then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” -Vincent Van Gogh

Check out an interview we did with Spreadshirt and learn more about us and our t-shirts!

Shira runs the shop 11:11 together with her husband – shirts which are meant to provoke thought and promote positive global change. Read more about her optimistic outlook, how wearing t-shirts can make a difference and what the number 11:11 means. Our interview with Shira from 11:11.

Tell us about the mission behind 11:11.

11:11 offers a unique collection of organic t-shirts with designs that dare to challenge ignorance, raise awareness to important issues and promote positive global change. Here at 11:11 we know that true positive change in this world can, should (and will) ultimately begin with each and every one of us. We feel that if others ‘get’ this, then it is their personal duty to express this understanding to whoever crosses their path. Our unique and eco-friendly t-shirts are just one way of doing so.

What does 11:11 mean?

For me, the number 11:11 has been showing up my entire life. For as long as I can remember, not only have my eyes been magically drawn to this number on clocks, etc., but the moment I became aware of that 11:11, I always somehow felt it wasn’t happening by chance. As if ultimately there was some higher meaning or purpose. I used to think it was just me, but little did I know the days of Google and the Internet were just around the corner, and i would soon discover, to my fascinated astonishment, that thousands of people, all over the world, have been experiencing and exploring the same exact thing.

So what does 11:11 mean? Well, I heard and read a lot of theories: a sign of synchronicity, of spirit, a cosmic gate, a call to action, and much more. Overall, a sort of ‘Wake Up Call’ for humanity. And that’s exactly what we’re trying to do with our t-shirts.

What inspired or motivated you to open a shop and how long have you run the shop?

I have a lot of things I felt like saying to the world. I had messages that I wanted to get across, and information I wanted to share. For me, these t-shirts are my way of doing so. The same way a musician shares his messages in a song, or an artist in his art – same thing. Though I started testing out my designs a few years back, my husband and I only recently starting working on and promoting our business properly – and the response has been wonderful.

How did you learn about Spreadshirt?

What really drew us to Spreadshirt was the wide selection of organic t-shirts. It was crucial for us to work with tees that were eco-friendly, certified organic and, of course, fair trade. Our shirts marked “Earth Positive” are even manufactured using solar and wind energy!

How much time do you invest in your shop? Do you create designs yourself?

My shop is my baby and I spend every chance I get nurturing it, feeding it and watching it grow! I created all the designs myself but I am constantly inspired by people I meet, ideas I come across and other issues humanity is currently facing.

Your slogan is “Wear the Change”. Can t-shirts change the world?

The way I see it, a t-shirt is a billboard. It’s an advertising space. When you are wearing a t-shirt, you can potentially expose it to hundreds of people at any given moment! So the question is: what do you want to get across to those hundreds of random people you encounter? An “I’m With Stupid” design? LOL, not me. I think everyone should do what they can to help wake each other up. When we know that people are wearing our t-shirts, and that others are seeing them, and that they are provoking thought and conversations between people, then that makes it all worthwhile for us. That’s what we mean by “wearing the change”.

Where and how do you market your shop and make it well-known?

We’ve been having a blast promoting 11:11 on our Facebook page. We’ve had the honor of collecting around 3,700 amazing members in a matter of months, and the “fans” are growing every day. Facebook has also been an ideal platform for us to share our favorite videos, inspirational quotes and other interesting content we come across. We have formed a wonderful community of open-minded, good-hearted people and we absolutely love interacting with them and watching them interact with each other.

Who do you think your customers are?

Hmm, our t-shirts range on various topics so I think different designs can appeal to different people. In general, I think our customers are intelligent, they think outside the box, they are open to ideas, they are environmentally aware, some are animal lovers, some are fellow seers of 11:11 and they ALL have EXCELLENT taste in t-shirts

What’s your favorite shirt?

If I had to choose, then I would say our “11:11″ logo shirt. There’s just something magical about that number. Whenever we wear it, it somehow becomes the topic of conversation. Random people on the street can approach us and ask what it means, or share with us that this number is very special to them, and they tend to ask us where they can get one. It’s also one of our best-sellers.

If you think back from the “opening” of your shop up to now, what would be the most important insight that you would give a newcomer?

Believe in your product and enjoy the ride. If you’re not enjoying it, you’re in the wrong business.

What was your biggest achievement up to now (with or without Spreadshirt)?

We are considerably new but we already enjoyed some awesome moments. For example, my husband and I were featured in a major newspaper as the “Green Heroes of Tel Aviv” and more recently, the animal rights organization, PETA, approached us about offering our vegan-inspired “Say Tofu” t-shirt to the winners of one of their contest giveaways.

Have you ever seen someone you don’t know walking around with your t-shirt on?

Actually we have, but what’s even funnier is that we have also come across random Facebook profiles where we saw people wearing our t-shirts in their profile pictures! I guess that’s the 2010 equivalent to seeing someone walking around on the street.

What do you do for a living, or better said: what do you do when you are not fiddling around with your shop?

I believe in finding your passion and turning into your career. 11:11 is our passion and we intend on making it our career. (Ahem, Spreadshirt, can you help us with that?) BUT, since you asked, when I’m not fiddling around with our shop and our Facebook page, you can most likely find me Googling, reading, hanging out with my husband, drinking coffee, singing in the shower and/or getting scratched by our crazy cat.

Which question have you always wanted to be asked and what is the answer?

Question: What time is it?
Answer: 11:11!

So what is 11:11 all about? This video is jam-packed with information and interpretations surrounding this mystical number. Whether or not you relate to it all, it is worth the watch.

‎1 man + 1 van + 1 tv screen + 1 camera = One of the most powerful short films we have seen on the web. The look in these people’s eyes says it all.

Dear Animals,

We’re sorry we hurt you.
We’re sorry we torture you.
We’re sorry we burn you for fun.
We’re sorry we poke you.
We’re sorry we prod you.
We’re sorry we subject you to a lifetime of pain so we can eat you.
We’re sorry we kick you just to feel better about ourselves.
We’re sorry we rip the skin off your bones while you’re still alive.
We’re sorry we sell you in pet shops and then abandon you when we’ve had enough.
We’re sorry we leave you in garbage cans.
We’re sorry we shove hormones down your throat.
We’re sorry we steal your babies from you.
We’re sorry we throw you off of bridges.
We’re sorry we chain you up all day and all night.
We’re sorry we drown you.
We’re sorry we force you to do unnatural tricks for our entertainment.
We’re sorry we forget to feed you or give you water.
We’re sorry our disgruntled slaughterhouse workers take out all their aggressions on you.
We’re sorry we force you to fight each other.
We’re sorry we force you to fight us.
We’re sorry we use you for transportation.
We’re sorry we sacrifice your life so we can have another leather couch, car seat, belt or pair of shoes.
We’re sorry we make you scream in pain and then put a picture of a smiling chicken on the box.
We’re sorry we make you feel like you are part of the family and then forget about you when the baby comes.
We’re sorry we drag you behind our cars.
We’re sorry we keep you in dark, crowded, horrid living conditions.
We’re sorry we force feed you to make you fatter.
We’re sorry we burn your front paws in order to make you stand on two feet so our children can laugh.
We’re sorry we sexually abuse you for our fetishes.
We’re sorry we trap you.
We’re sorry we hunt you.
We’re sorry our shelters still use inhumane methods of killing you.
We’re sorry we subject you to a lifetime of terrorizing experiments so we can have yet another shampoo.
We’re sorry we don’t report our neighbors who are mistreating you to the authorities.
We’re sorry we poison you in the middle of the night.
We’re sorry we humiliate you.
We’re sorry we keep you alone indoors all day long and then get too lazy to take you for walks.
We’re sorry we choke you and suffocate you.
We’re sorry we yell at you.
We’re sorry we leave you out in the cold rain and in the hot sun.
We’re sorry we forget you in boiling hot cars with no open windows.
We’re sorry we intimidate you to feel powerful.
We’re sorry we dump you when you’re old and sick.
We’re sorry we sacrifice you for our beliefs and religions.
We’re sorry we starve you as a form of “art”.
We’re sorry we expose you to explosions and gunshots so we can film another movie.
We’re sorry we trap you in zoos so we can watch you suffer.
We’re sorry we treat you like objects that can be exploited for our own selfish purposes.
And most of all: We’re sorry we don’t recognize you for the amazing, intelligent, glorious, magnificent creatures that you are.

Sincerely,
The Human Race
(Written by Shira Tamir © 2010 http://www.1111now.com)

Photo by Kevin J. Czarzasty © http://www.flickr.com/people/kczarzasty/

If thoughts and words can do that to water, imagine what they can do to US. Choose your thoughts wisely, choose your words wisely, heck - choose your t-shirts wisely!

We were curious to get to know the members of our Facebook page, so we recently posed the following question to the group:

“QUICK! Name 3 people (dead or alive) you wish you could sit down for a 1-on-1 conversation and just pick their brain a bit..”

We received over 120 names, and the results were surprising! We did a little research and here were your top 5 choices:

In 5th place, was a tie between Abraham Lincoln and… God. (An interesting combination)

In 4th place, another tie between John Lennon and Marilyn Monroe (we seem to be intrigued by outspoken, mysterious icons who die young.)

In 3rd place, all on his own, was the one and only Albert Einstein.

In 2nd place, apparently many people wish they could ‘do lunch’ with Jesus Christ.

And a surprising 1st place goes to… well, family members! Yes, out of all the people that you could fantasize about having a heart to heart with, out of all the billions of people that you ideally wish you could just sit down and have a good talk with, an overwhelming first place went out to your mothers, your fathers, your grandparents, your children, your uncles, even your dogs.

I was touched by reading these responses and I think it serves as a great reminder for us all to appreciate the time that we do have with our loved ones - to enjoy every moment to its fullest.

Thank you to all those who partipated and shared their thoughts. There were a lot of other fascinating answers which I invite you to check out and if you havent added your own yet, you can still do so here:

http://www.facebook.com/1111now?v=wall&story_fbid=148948511803653&ref=mf