ANNA MARIA – Mark and Christine McConnell are not your average business owners. The two created a line of t-shirts, hats and other items sold at the Pineapple Marketplace but most, if not all, of their profits go to help local animal rescue nonprofits in the area.
The foray into retail is a new venture for both of them, Mark said in a conversation with The Sun. The couple has two lines of shirts called AMI Guy and AMI Gal and featuring a distinctive turtle logo. The shirts are all long-sleeved and provide 98% protection from the sun.
“It’s just a really good product,” Mark said of the shirts.
When he came up with the idea, Mark said he taught himself how to use Photoshop and Illustrator to design and digitize the drawings for the lines’ surfboard and turtle designs. With some help from other local business owners, including friends at HowLuckyAMI and the Pineapple Marketplace, Mark said AMI Gal is now out-selling AMI Guy, the original line, and they’re looking to add new designs in the future.
One thing you’ll notice upon seeing the couple’s booth at the front of the Pineapple Marketplace, a Pine Avenue store featuring 30 vendors selling everything from crafts to clothing and jewelry, is the signs on top of the clothing racks advertising that purchases help fund local animal rescues.
Mark said that he’s been donating to local rescue organizations since his arrival in Anna Maria Island seven years ago. After being joined by Christine, the idea to give as much as they could to the animal rescues evolved into the business they now run using local printers and suppliers to create their products. In the past three months, he said they’ve been able to donate $3,000 to local rescues. Some of the rescues they’ve helped include Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring, UnderDog Rescue of Florida and Forget-Me-Not, a large dog/pitbull rescue in Bradenton.
“We’re trying to just keep getting as much money as we can to rescues,” Mark said.
Christine said that the rescues they’ve donated to so far are ones that they’ve had experience with. The couple adopted one of their puppies from UnderDog and Christine volunteers with Forget-Me-Not. As for AMITW, Mark said he has a lot of respect for the work the organization does and that “it’s a great cause.”
The couple said they’re open to helping additional organizations in the future.
In the future for their clothing line, Mark is working on websites for the AMI Guy and AMI Gal shirts as well as new designs. The physical retail space is planned to remain at the Pineapple Marketplace where the couple also volunteers.
