Many students at Winter Springs High School delve into the creative arts, which has lately come to the aid of this small business owner. Taryn Samara, the owner of ZeelsShopCreations on Etsy, is currently selling custom t-shirts, hoodies, stickers, and sweatshirts. Not only have the stickers been designed by students of WSHS, some t-shirts have been, too.

Samara was inspired to create a business from something she loved. She stated, “I wanted a business where I was able to use my creativity as a way to express my thoughts, opinions, and passions.” She uses her graphic design expertise to create designs to put on various garments. Some of her designs advocate for the rights of minorities, while others are lighthearted and relate to things such as dogs.

Samara’s products are also fully customizable. She stated, “I also create custom t-shirts for events like family vacations and reunions, baby announcements, and pretty much any event.” If a customer so chooses, they have the ability to request just about anything.

When asked where she gets her product ideas, she explained “I take my inspiration from observing around me, browsing the internet, walking through craft stores, and leaning into concepts that are near and dear to my heart such as mental health awareness.” Samara is able to find design inspiration almost anywhere, and that is reflected in the vast variety of her designs.

While Samara is responsible for most of the designs used for her shop, she’s not the only one coming up with things to sell. She mentioned “I have two amazing teen artists that crank out awesome designs.” These two teen artists are students at WSHS, and have designed most of the vinyl stickers. These stickers were designed to be put on water bottles, sketchbooks, laptops, phone cases, and much more.

Due to the plethora of inspiration sources around her as well as her two helpers, Samara’s shop constantly has new products to offer. She stated “I’m constantly brainstorming and rolling out new products every couple of weeks.” While this does refer to new designs, it also refers to new types of products entirely. She also mentioned “Soon I’ll be rolling out wood burn designs, these can also be customized.”

The Zeels Shop mission statement is “to make products that are memorable, expressive, and to help create special moments in your life.” The reviews for her shop always advocate for the quality of the products, and so does Samara. “I wouldn’t sell a garment that I wouldn’t be happy to wear myself.”