Chicago - June 21, 2005

Random Acts of Kindness

Random Nicole Tees

Once upon a time there was a lovely girl named Nicole.

She was a very serious student. Just sentences away from completing her masters in creative writing. Each day she would sit at her computer perfecting her prose. And each night she would click “save” before heading off to sleep.

Then one morning, Nicole awoke to a terrifying blank screen. Her trusty computer had crashed.

Frustrated, she tossed her notes, books, and even her keypad out the window. “Be gone, words. I’m done with you,” she said. “On to pictures!”

“How random, Nicole,” you might be thinking. But she wasn’t bothered. Random Nicole painted, drew, and sewed to her heart’s content. “How happy am I?” she asked as her line of tees, purses, and skirts started to take shape.

Each hand-crafted design was inspired by relics from her ’70s youth — seedy wallpaper, how-to needlepoint manuals, old crafting magazines. Tees were made of vintage-inspired fabrics and finished with matching trims.

She ended up with a kind of perfection that almost defied words.

Which, it turns out, is not so random after all.

The End.

Available at Tangerine, 1719 North Damen Avenue, between Wabansia and St. Paul Avenues (773-772-0505). To purchase online, go to randomnicole.com.