As a player on the Boston College women's basketball team and a pre-med student, Victoria Jones, WCAS '10, accomplished more during her senior year as an undergraduate than the average BC student. Jones spent her senior year making plans to launch her own line of graphic T-shirts, an unexpected project idea that came to her in one of her science classes. "I was sitting in my plant molecular cell biology class one day watching slides when I realized that science is a beautiful art form," Jones said. She began sketching scientific designs in her notebook, and before she knew it, she had more sketches than notes. No longer able to write in these notebooks, Jones decided it was time to put her idea into action.
It was out of this epiphany, Jones said, that Mer+ge was produced - Jones's graphic T-shirt company that combines elements of science and art to create "clothing that stands for something." Jones said that she had never expressed previous interest in fashion, but coming from a family of artists, she knew she would be able to create unique designs for her upcoming line. Mer+ge is not any ordinary T-shirt company, though. While a T-shirt might be a mundane item to some, Jones said that she has a broader view of what the shirts signify artistically. "I want the shirts to spark conversation and encourage free expression," Jones said.
The planning of the company was not an easy task, Jones said. At the onset of the line's opening, she was preoccupied not only with basketball and school but also learning how to start and manage a company. "There was a lot more legal and trade-marking training than I originally anticipated. It was, and is, lots of work, but it is so worth it," Jones said. With help from Donna Morsey, chief marketing officer of Mer+ge, Jones was able finalize the initial T-shirt designs in five months and start marketing in 10 months. The time component the line demands is not any easier now that she is a graduate student, Jones said. But she also said that the spreading of unity and promotion of diversity are well worth the work.
Jones has chosen 12 nonprofit organizations to which she wants to contribute a portion of Mer+ge's initial profits. Jones said she is adamant about keeping her original goal of community development and artistic expression in mind; "I want the company to stay local so that it can truly benefit people in need." She has started to do so by welcoming T-shirt ideas from anyone who is willing to contribute. "I love talking to people, so I have really enjoyed hearing and using people's opinions."
Staying true to her goals of community involvement, Jones recently took Mer+ge to a day school in Boston and encouraged students to be creative by drawing pictures that they believed would display emotions of love and unity in the world. Jones said she wants to continue to hold these types of design contests, especially for children, because she wants them to believe that they can do anything they wish. "My whole life, people told me I couldn't play basketball because I was too short. But I did anyway. Then, when I came to school, people told me I couldn't play basketball and be a pre-med major, but I did." Jones said. "I want kids to know that there will always be people who tell them they can't, but they can do anything they set their minds to."
Mer+ge is currently run through the Web site makethemerge.com, but the graphic tees and hoodies will hopefully begin to make their way into local stores by this spring or next fall. And Jones's dream for the business doesn't stop there; she also plans to open up her own store one day.
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