PDL Artist Series: Kelly Small Pronoun Tees

These 100% cotton unisex tees feature custom art designed by creative director, designer, and writer Kelly Small, who calls both Vancouver and Toronto home. 20% of the profits from each sale are donated to Kelly's charities of choice - 10% to QMUNITY (Vancouver) and 10% to the 519 (Toronto).

• 100% cotton
• Unisex fit
• She/her and he/him are printed on white. They/them is printed on pink.

Malloreigh is wearing an XS, and normally wears a 2 in PDL Alpha shirts.

About the Artist

Q: How would you describe the art you make?
A: Most often, my creative output is in servitude to big brands. Hear me out! I do my best to make sure that big business is doing the least amount of harm with its advertising and marketing and I’m a vocal proponent of effecting incremental change toward more ethical and inclusive practices from within a pretty problematic industry. I recently wrote and designed a book on the same topic called Ethical Sellout. When I’m not doing corporate work, I love to collaborate with small businesses and support community non-profits with pro bono design and branding work.

Q: How do you identify? How do you think your identity is reflected in your work?
A: I identify as queer in all aspects of the word and am happy with the pronouns she/hers and they/them. I have white settler ancestry and do my best to be aware of that privilege and advocate nd support where I can. My identity is directly reflected in my work; I believe that my focus on social impact, ethics, and inclusivity is a direct result of firsthand experience with gender-and-sexuality-based discrimination.

Q: Do you have a coming out story to share?
A: I am grateful to share that my coming out story is rather uneventful. Sure there were some fraught moments, but I got a lot of love and acceptance pretty quickly. The initial conversation went a little like:

Me: I’m dating a woman.
My straight Mom: Your aunts always thought I was a lesbian
Me: …

Q: Since we’re all about fashion… what’s your power outfit that makes you feel like the best version of yourself?
A: Blazer. PDL button-up. Black jeans. Brogue boots. I became so well known for my power outfit in my last job that I got the nickname “Major Blazer”

Q: What’s an unexpected fact about you?
A: I’m a pretty extreme introvert and I struggle with lifelong anxiety and major clinical depression. The work I’ve done as a creative director requires a lot of presenting, leadership, and public appearance. People assume I’m a natural extrovert, that I love being the centre of attention, and I’m comfortable speaking publicly when in reality my happy place is curled up in bed in complete silence with a good book and a cup of tea. I think it’s really powerful to be real with each other about these aspects of our identities and the parts of our world that can feel challenging.

Q: Which charity have you chosen to support with your design and why?
A: I chose QMUNITY because of the important community work they do for queer, trans, and two-spirit folks and their commitment to making mental health and counselling services more accessible. I would love to split the proceeds between QMUNITY in Vancouver and the 519 in Toronto which is another queer community organization who does really critical work for new queer refugees..