Draw, Wear, Erase, & Repeat: These shirts are the “Chalk of the Town” tBR Company of the Week

(pictured is Sondra Mansfield, one of co-founders of Chalk of the Town)

Moms to the rescue! The “mompreneurs” at Chalk of the Town are here to save us from cabin fever with their line of chalkboard apparel that can be instantly personalized, easily erased, and infinitely re-decorated. Now that’s something to “chalk” about!

Chalk of the Town is a woman-owned small business that makes unique reusable chalkboard products for kids and adults. They believe that customizing your own wearable masterpieces inspires confidence, creativity, and togetherness, and their user-friendly products empower any level of artist to design their own fabulous items, again and again.

Their best-selling products are their Chalk of the Town T-Shirt Kits. The soft, high-quality t-shirts feature a unique, reusable “chalkboard” surface on the front, letting anyone make a fashion statement. Plus, the patent-pending chalkboard surface was specially developed for use with their water-based chalk markers. That means artists can use the smooth-flowing ink to produce vibrant designs and write catchy messages, without worrying about the smudginess of traditional chalk. Here’s the best part: when a new idea strikes, the shirt can be erased with a damp cloth and decorated all over again. They’re even machine-washable.

(photo credit: @2littlesunshinebabes)

There are a range of shirt colors and chalkboard shapes available, from seasonal designs like spooky pumpkins and frosty snowmen to timeless shapes like speech bubbles and hearts. Chalk of the Town t-shirts are obviously perfect for holidays, but also for birthday celebrations, game days, school spirit weeks, fundraisers, and more.

Chalk of the Town was launched in 2016 by sisters Sondra Mansfield and Wendy Almasanu, who decided to create the customizable t-shirt of their dreams by combining their years of experience as mothers with their backgrounds in graphic design, marketing, and engineering. As “mompreneurs,” they knew their chalkboard t-shirts had to be non-smudgy but bright, soft but durable, customizable but re-usable. After years of research, and product testing help from their own kids, Chalk of the Town was born. And even as they’ve become successful, they haven’t lost the personal touch that ensures their products remain high-quality and their customer service remains reliable: Sondra still expertly manages Chalk of the Town’s social media, finances, and product design herself.

In just the few years since their founding, Chalk of the Town has been featured on The Today Show and ABC News, recommended by Good Housekeeping and People Magazine, and sold in over 150 stores across the country. The highly customizable nature of the product also lends itself beautifully to promotional collaborations: Chalk of the Town has already partnered with organizations like Soul Cycle, New York City Ballet, and Girl Scouts of the USA to create limited-edition t-shirts.

As they continue to grow, Chalk of the Town is continuously expanding their product line: they now feature their same innovative chalkboard surface on patches (great for lunch boxes or laptop cases) and tote bags (great for extracurriculars or grocery shopping). There’s even a special “I’m Reading” tote for bookworms, to help caretakers foster a love of reading in their kiddo or to let adults spark conversations about their current literary obsession. Chalk of the Town also offers a rainbow of extra chalk markers and a whimsical range of themed stencils. The stencils were originally intended to provide design inspiration for the chalkboard products, but, thanks to their trendy designs and durable quality, they’ve taken on a life of their own as trusted tools for general arts and crafts.

As families everywhere weather the pandemic, co-founder Sondra has found silver linings. Since last year, Chalk of the Town has not only launched four new seasonal t-shirt designs -- a pumpkin for Halloween, a snowman and a Christmas tree for the winter holidays, and a bunny for Easter (forthcoming!) -- but also donated 10% of a period of website sales to the non-profit City Harvest. And Sondra says having her own kids around during the pandemic has been “invaluable to helping Chalk of the Town keep up with the latest TikTok crazes” and keeping her heart full of the love that has inspired the company from the start.

Chalk of the Town is online at www.chalk-of-the-town.com, and regularly posts product updates and design inspiration on Facebook at “Chalk of the Town T-Shirt Design Kit” and on Instagram @MyChalkOfTheTown.