Jo and Matt: Custom Merch for MS

Jo Johnson was only three-years-old when her mom was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She says, “Growing up with that diagnosis has given me a first hand understanding and appreciation of those in similar situations. My husband Matt [Overby] has been there for a lot of the changes in life that come along with progressive MS, but our family has worked hard to not make that diagnosis define us.”

A photographer and marketer by trade, Jo started sharing photography tips online and soon became a successful content creator with a following on social media. “As I incorporated more of my personal life and more of Matt, that content started to resonate more with the people following along.” She started a Tik Tok and things really started to take off. “TikTok started as more of a fun distraction, and I’d been watching along since it was Music.ly! But in Fall 2019 I started doing a bit of photography content and a lot of mediocre dancing. From there I got Matt involved and continued to provide learning content, and I’ve loved it!”

Jo wanted to do merch inspired by some things Matt’s said to her in their videos together. To make it happen, she turned to Custom Ink. After learning about Custom Ink’s fundraising platform, Jo realized that she could have merch that raised money not only for her business, but also The MS Society that works to increase awareness about multiple sclerosis, raise money for research, and provide support to those who are experiencing the illness.

“The ideas for the designs came from a few different videos where Matt had some relatable one-liners and feedback from the people who enjoy following along with us.” As it does with many of its customers, Custom Ink created designs for Jo based on ideas she provided.

She chose soft blues, greens, and grays to represent her brand in her collection of custom long sleeve shirts and sweatshirts, short sleeve shirts, and sporty headbands.

She pulled out the word “unbothered” for the headbands and the long sleeve shirts (and chose an unexpected placement on the sleeve) and used the quote “Post up. Be sad. Try again tomorrow.” for another batch of long sleeves and some short sleeves too.

The fundraiser was an instant success! “We really appreciate everyone who follows along on our journey, and are really excited to be sharing a portion of our proceeds from this run of merchandise with the MS Society,” says Jo. “We’ve been involved with the MS Society for many, many years and it’s a cause that we’re proud to support.”