PersonaliTees in Ottawa opened by mother-son duo

I actually just told her she can’t quit and to keep doing it. I just had a feeling that this thing would be good, and we don’t have anything like this (in the area).

—  Co-owner Joshua Callaway

Mary Kaye Partridge, a long time business owner in Ottawa, was about to retire.

That is, until her son asked her to get back in the game and open a brand-new business making custom designed T-shirts and other apparel. She agreed, and PersonaliTees now is open in downtown Ottawa.

PersonaliTees offers custom designs on T-shirts, hats, tumblers and other types of apparel. Partridge opened the business in November with her son, Joshua Callaway.

“I actually just told her she can’t quit and to keep doing it.” Callaway said. “I just had a feeling that this thing would be good, and we don’t have anything like this (in the area).”

Partridge has been a self-employed business owner for 17 years, and Callaway owns another business, Cal’s Auto Detailing, in Ottawa.

“I don’t even know if I ever could go punch a clock for somebody else,” Partridge said. “At this point, we’re just entrepreneurs.”

Partridge and Callaway come from a long line of entreprenuers in their family. Partridge’s mother owned a pet shop and her grandmother owned her own restaurant before her.

“It’s just in our blood,” Partridge said. “They say it runs in families like that, so here we are.”

PersonaliTees offers direct to film printing, embroidering, vinyl, laser engraving, sublimation and more. Partridge does the designing by using Adobe products and is completely self-taught through trial and error over the years. Callaway operates the printing side of the business and is learning design alongside his mother.

The business will fulfill single item orders or larger requests. Customers can come in with pictures of designs they saw and wanted, or Partridge will work with the customer to create a design custom to their needs.

They design hats, pants, sweatshirts, T-shirts, long sleeves, socks and other clothing items. Customers can bring in their own items for customization or choose through their catalog. PersonaliTees will also do jerseys for little league, bachelorette party shirts, engraved tumblers, key chains and uniforms for workplaces.

Callaway said they are flexible and able to complete pretty much anything a customer requests.

“Your creativity is endless,” Partridge said.

Court Street Pub Manager Nicole Jensen was one of PersonaliTee’s first customers. She ordered several items for employee work apparel, including several T-shirt designs, zip-up hoodies, long sleeves and a couple special orders. The most recent was a St. Patrick’s day T-shirt that also was sold to a few customers.

Jensen said her experience with PersonaliTee’s was perfect, with easy communication and quick, accurate execution of orders. She worked with Partridge on the designs and said she’d recommend the shop to others.

“She’s got great design, a great eye for fashion and it’s just so easy,” Jensen said. “It’s really quick, the turnaround is great, the quality is good.”

Callaway said turnaround can be as quick as a couple hours if the clothing item is in stock. Everything is done in house, and there’s no shipping cost.

Partridge said one of the most special projects she does through the business is making memorial shirts. A memorial shirt serves as a memorial when a loved one dies, featuring a portrait of them on a shirt, the birth and death date, scriptures on the back and any other design feature the customer requests.

Callaway said people are so happy when they get to have the shirts. Partidge said some customers will send back videos of family members opening the shirts and seeing them for the first time.

“When you create a memorial shirt, there’s nothing more rewarding,” Partridge said.

PersonaliTees is located at 721 La Salle St. in downtown Ottawa. For more information or to view the catalog, visit personaliteesofottawa.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/@PersonaliTees-100086259254841/.