Art teachers spend their day teaching students the principles of design and art, but taking the time to put this to practice themselves can become a difficult feat. From hats to shirts, to customized footballs and art prints, art teachers Jeb Matulich and Fred Rodriguez have  done just that with their own online design companies.

Matulich decided to start his Texan culture inspired company along with marketing teacher and Independent Study Mentorship instructor Brian Wysong in 2011, with the thought of turning his artwork into a business. Since then, Tumbleweed Texstyles has become a successful brand in which Texans and non Texans alike are showing their true lone star colors.

“We got together in the late summer of 2011,” Matulich said. “At some trainings up here we started talking about doing something with the prospect of my art turning into a business.”

Similarly, art teacher Fred Rodriguez’s company Aesthetic Supply Co, is a reflection of his creativity.

“That’s one of the goals I want to achieve in the future,” Rodriguez said. “Part of it was to make things I found interesting, but a part of it is also to help people along the way of my journey.”

Both online stores offer original designs that appeal to many types of styles, particularly to students. Students can also feel peace of mind when purchasing merchandise from either store due to their giving back policy.

“It’s our designs and our products, but it wouldn’t be any success without the people that support us,” Wysong said. “We’re real lucky and blessed to have thousands of followers and fans not just in Texas but throughout the state and country. But it was the people that were within our own community that supported us first that helped us get to where we are today and so we like giving back for that reason.”

Meanwhile, Aesthetic Supply hopes to contribute to the Cafe Momentum organization, which gives opportunities like a culinary arts internship, life-skill training, and mentorship for juvenile offenders to better themselves and equip them for a beneficial future.

“I love what they’re doing as far as taking kids that are coming out of the juvenile detention center and teaching them and giving them a second chance,” Rodriguez said. “They weren’t just letting these kids stay in their failure, they were letting them fail forward and learn and grow from those mistakes.”

Tumbleweed Texstyles donates a percentage of sales to the Frisco Education Foundation which assists graduating high school seniors by financially helping them receive a post secondary education scholarship.

“As teachers we have a heart for education, but as locals we have a heart for community,” Wysong said.” And so we felt like the Frisco Education Foundation was a perfect fit.”

Aside from having a heart for others, inspiration is what fuels the design process and the teachers’ drive to create.
“As your chasing ideas you never know which one’s gonna take,” Rodriguez said. “You just kind of have to chase it and see where it leads you.”