Couple's clothing line puts wearers' hearts on their sleeves

ELLINGTON, Conn. -- For Nooran and Michael Scully, kindness is contagious and they have taken it upon themselves to spread the epidemic, one T-shirt at a time.

The Scullys create clothing emblazoned with optimistic messages promoting the age-old adage to do unto others as you want them to do unto you.

They call it "clothing with a purpose." The clothing, once handmade by Nooran with puffy fabric paints, became such a hit that it has now developed into a full-fledged business aptly named the B.Kindwear Clothing Company.

The creation of B.Kind clothing began as a hobby more than a year ago, Nooran said, largely inspired by the couple's four-year-old twin girls, Grace and Charlotte.

Nooran has always been interested in arts and crafts, and was home with her girls one day, decorating shirts with fabric paint, she recalled.

"The kids were constantly fighting, the way kids do," she said. "I was always yelling 'be kind, share, be nice.'"

While teaching her children the importance of being kind to each other, she found herself writing the words "be kind" on the shirt she had in her hand.

When she finished, she held in her hands the "B.Kind" prototype, "what will one day be a vintage B.Kind shirt," Nooran laughed.

The original intent was to use the message to teach Charlotte and Grace a lesson in kindness and also to have some fun, she said.

But when her husband, Michael, saw it, he knew she was on to something. Michael, who has an MBA, saw the business potential of his wife's talent.

"I'm the business side, and she's the creative side," Michael said.

"And I couldn't have done it without his encouragement," Nooran added.

He encouraged her to continue with the positive message, helping her create new designs. They both knew they were beginning something big.

In March 2006, Michael and Nooran named their fledgling company and began the process of trademarking and registering it as a business.

Original B.Kind shirts were hand-painted on white cotton T-shirts, with cutesy messages such as "Be Kind," "Cutie Patootie," and "Sweet as a HoneyBee," the couple said.

With feedback from family and friends, the couple began developing different designs, eventually coming up with their motto, "kindness is contagious."

And now, their positive message has been so well received that the company has progressed to buying brightly colored T-shirts in bulk and having them silk-screened by Creative Image Products, a printing company in Enfield.

Shirts in adult, child, and baby sizes and embroidered baseball caps are now available for sale on their Web site, all bearing the "kindness is contagious" logo.

Accessories are coming soon, they said, with plans for flip-flops, bracelets, hair clips, and necklaces in the works.

Nooran also came up with an idea for a "kindness card," which would be used in conjunction with a small act of kindness, such as paying the toll for the next car in line and asking the toll booth operator to pass the card on to the driver.

The card would instruct the next person to do the same thing, setting in motion a chain of kind events.

They also have created four B.Kind characters: Grace, Charlotte, Simon, and Owen. Grace and Charlotte are named after the couple's two daughters, and Owen and Simon are from the imagination of Nooran and Michael.

Each character has its own distinct personality, and the couple plans to incorporate them into their brand and use them to teach lessons of kindness.

Plans for DVD movies revolving around the B.Kind kids demonstrating kindness are also in the future.

"Our goal is to create a positive message that children can see, that they can relate to," Nooran said.

A forum will be added to the company's Web site for readers and customers to share stories of random acts of kindness they have either given or received, Michael said. And 10 percent of their profits will be donated to a local charity, the couple says.

Since the company is so new, they still are deciding which charity will benefit.

"The goal is not to be millionaires, but to have fun with it and spread the word," Michael said.

"And maybe make a difference," added Nooran. "We want to create an underground revolution of kindness toward others. "So many negative things are promoted, and I want to promote a positive thing."

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On the Web: http://www.bkindwear.com