Did you know there are three different Coolidge Avenue’s in the Portland area? Luckily, the third time was a charm when we finally made it to Liza and Chris’s house, owners of Zinnia Clothing. (It’s time we invest in a GPS.)

Liza, a former nurse, returned to her home state of Maine almost ten years ago with her husband. They’ve lived in South Portland for the past seven years in a neighborhood “that’s filled with artsy and creative people.” 

Zinnia Clothing has been in the works for the past three years, but launched online in January ‘10. Liza first got the idea for a t-shirt line because she couldn’t find any that she liked. “I had left nursing and the long hours behind me and I was looking for a creative outlet. Since there weren’t any t-shirts I liked I thought, I guess I’ll make some!” 

Her husband was on board with the idea and enrolled in Montage Screen Printing Academy on Long Island, New York. In their basement now sits a four-station, four color press where everything is made.  Liza designs are translated to screen print films with the help of Irene Stapleford, a local graphic designer, with whom she works as part of a creative team. Liza finds inspiration in everything from pillowcases to children’s books. All the shirts are made with water-based inks on 100% supima cottons. “I looked at several different shirts I liked and took all of their best features, like the neck line or sleeve length, so that we could produce a truly custom product,” says Liza.

Zinnia Clothing donates 5% of all their proceeds to Women for Women International. “It’s a cause that’s really important to me and I set out to make sure we could give back when we started our own business,” she says. And if you’re their 100th follower on twitter, you’ll get a free shirt. After all, it is the season of giving.