Five questions with F2O Designs creator, Fatima Al-Othman.

What inspired you to start designing t-shirts and selling them?

Well, my first and utmost passion is drawing cartoons. The idea of designing t-shirts came after participating in the Villa Moda T-shirt Designing contest; this was back in 2004. Villa Moda held the contest during the summer, and my sister and cousin decided to enter. They started brainstorming, sketching, and gathering materials for their t-shirts submissions. Both of them kept telling me to join as well, but I was not intending on doing so. Three days before the deadline, I got excited and decided to participate. Quick sketches were made, and plain t-shirts were purchased. The end-product was two designs – one was of a guy with an afro, and the other was of a girl with an afro; I won third place among around 40 participants. After that, I started designing t-shirts and giving them away, to my sisters, cousins, and friends. Later, during the Spring of 2005, I was approached by the president of the Kuwaiti club at AUS, with an idea; he suggested that I run the gift shop at the Kuwaiti club pavilion during the Global Day. I sold t-shirts along with other items, including key chains, posters, and car hangers. The t-shirts were a big hit, and over 30 orders were made during Global Day.

What is the process for commissioning an F2O design?

Anybody who is interested in ordering an F2o T-shirt can follow these steps:

1. Choose a design - either from the Website ( www.f2odesigns.com), or any other idea that you have in mind.

2. Choose the type of t-shirt:
> T-Shirt (round-neck or V-neck)
> Polo Shirt
> Long-sleeves
> Other

3. Choose the size and color (t-shirts are taken from Topshop, Zara, Giordano, Marks & Spencer, and Mother Care; therefore, sizes and colors are known)

4. Choose any extra additions to your t-shirts - stras (Swarovski crystals), accessories, specific words .. etc.

5. Include your full name and contact number.

6. All of the above information must be sent to f2odesigns@gmail.com in an organized manner to avoid any confusions regarding your order. You can order several t-shirts within one email order; just make sure they are organized one after the other.

7. Payment: Payments are to be made to a bank account which will be provided to you upon confirmation of your order. Orders are going to be shipped to you as soon as the payment is done.

How long would it take for an F2O design to reach me if I emailed everything correctly and paid you immediately?

It all depends on the number of t-shirts ordered, as well as the complexity of the design. What can also delay the order is the availability of plain t-shirts in the market; this is because I still haven’t consorted to a specific garment factory, which leads me into purchasing the t-shirts from shops such as Topshop, Giordano, Marks & Spencer, and H&M. If all goes well, then the t-shirts are usually done in roughly one week.

When did you first launch the f2odesigns.com website?

The F2o website was originally http://f2o.q8students.net, due to the lack of experience of my side with building websites. That old website was created in 2005, using Frontpage; one year later, I decided to learn how to build websites, got me a copy of Dreamweaver 8 for Dummies, and started studying on my own. By the end of the summer of 2006, my first attempt at the website was finally launched. My next attempt is going to be learning how to create a Flash-based website, making it more attractive and easier to view and navigate through.

What are your plans for the future? Where do you want to take F2o designs?

I’ve got lots of plans for F2o, but the first step for me to take is to make F2o an official brand. After doing so, I plan on dealing with a garment factory that will manufacture my t-shirts. I plan on holding several exhibitions before attempting to opening up the F2o Boutique.

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That’s the end of my quick five question interview with the creative force behind F2O Designs. I hope you enjoyed it. Are you a Kuwaiti designer? Would you like to be interviewed? If your answer is yes, send an email to .