Woods College of Advancing Studies graduate student Victoria Jones,’09 with samples from her apparel line, “Mer+ge,” profits from which have benefited several local charities.
A Very Fashionable Business Sense
Art and science fit together for student entrepreneur, Victoria Jones ’09, who seeks to “give something back”
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The concept of artwork in science popped into the head of Victoria Jones ’09 as she sat in a molecular cell biology class during her junior year and viewed a series of slides of plant cell structures.Today, the biology degree-holder, former BC women’s basketball point guard and current graduate student in the Woods College of Advancing Studies has founded “Mer+ge” - her own apparel line that features distinctive science-based logos on clothing that is not only fashion-hip, but benefits several local charities as well.
“I feel that art and science are compatible,” explains Jones, who has developed a line of 25 graphic t-shirts and related clothing items. Her artwork includes such depictions as genetic linkings, the structure of the AIDS/HIV virus cell and unique courtship patterns of wild animals.
“I wanted to get the message across that as human beings, we all need to merge,” she says. “And I felt that science is a great way to show that. Genetically, we all have DNA, we all have chromosomes, and we all have things that make us alike. I thought that a great way to get that point across would be through graphic t-shirts.
“One of my favorite designs is the ‘AIDS Revolution’ shirt,” Jones says. “Sometimes we tend to put AIDS with a race or a country. People don’t know what the actual AIDS cell really looks like. If they did, it might be easier to have a better understanding of the disease.”
Profits from the sales of the “Mer+ge” apparel benefit a dozen local groups such as the New England Anti-Vivisection Society, Rosie’s Place shelter for women, United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation and the Science Club for Girls. She is currently working with students in Boston Public Schools to help them produce designs that will be placed on similar articles of clothing and accessories.
“Our goal from day one was to try to give something back through the shirts,” she explains. “It’s about profit, sure, but it’s more about getting the message out there so that they know it’s not just a bunch of writing on the shirt.
“It was tough getting it going at first,” admits Jones. “I come from a pretty artistic background – my father and grandfather are artists. I did my research and had some roommates who were in the Carroll School of Management who knew something about this, too. They helped me out a lot when I was starting this up.”
Jones is now selling her wares on-line. She recently unveiled a new line of fall fashions, adding sweatshirts, hoodies and scarves to her t-shirt inventory and she is currently negotiating with several boutiques in the Boston area to sell the merchandise.
Jones first enrolled at Baylor University after graduating from high school in her native town of San Marcos, Texas, and was a member of Baylor’s 2005 women’s basketball national championship team. “I loved my teammates and I loved the school, but I felt further away from home there than I did when I had visited BC. I decided that I wanted to transfer after my freshman year.”
In Chestnut Hill, she played three years of varsity basketball for the Eagles while majoring in pre-med studies in the classroom. “It was tough playing ball and keeping up my grades,” she says. “Some people said I might not be able to do it. I am the type of person that when you tell me that I can’t do something, it makes me want to do it more. It was a lot of work – I had to take some of my tests while we were on the road and rearrange my lab schedule and things like that, but I am glad that I did it.”
Jones is currently studying for a master’s degree in educational administration that she is on schedule to receive from WCAS in May.
She also expects to keep her business and her home in Boston. “Boston is an amazing city,” Jones says. “You meet and see people from all over. It’s awesome, I love it. I can’t get enough of it. You never get bored in Boston.”
Additional information and on-line ordering for “Mer+ge” apparel may be found at: www.makethemerge.com.
Reid Oslin can be reached at reid.oslin.1@bc.edu