Look, I'm not going to pretend remote work is some dystopian nightmare. It's objectively better than commuting. But let's be real—it's also kind of soul-crushing in its own quiet way.
You wake up. Roll over to your desk. Stare at the same four walls for 8-10 hours. Meetings blur together. Your coworkers are just floating heads on a screen. The boundary between "work" and "life" doesn't exist anymore because they happen in the same 10-foot radius.
My girlfriend felt it first. She'd finish work and just... sit there. Same spot. Same energy. The days blended into this beige monotony.
The Small Things Matter More Than You Think
We started noticing what actually helped. Not the big stuff—not a new desk or ergonomic chair or "productivity hacks." The small stuff.
A shirt that made her smile when she put it on in the morning. A mug with a stupid joke on it. Visual reminders that life doesn't have to be so serious, even when work feels relentless.
She got really into capybara memes. If you know, you know. There's something about those calm, unbothered rodents that just... helps. They exist in a state of permanent chill that feels aspirational when you're drowning in Slack notifications.
So I made her a shirt. "Vitamin Capybara" with a little capybara illustration. Dumb? Yes. Did she wear it three times a week? Also yes.
Why It Actually Works
Here's the thing about mental health in WFH: it's not dramatic. It's not a crisis. It's just this low-grade exhaustion that builds up over months.
You don't need a therapist for every bad day (though therapy helps). Sometimes you just need small moments of levity. A shirt that says "Error 404: Chill Not Found" isn't going to cure burnout. But it can make 9am feel slightly less heavy.
My girlfriend and I both deal with this stuff. Anxiety. Stress. The weight of feeling like you should be "on" all the time. We cope with humor. Dark humor, mostly. Ironic detachment as a survival mechanism.
These shirts are an extension of that. They say the quiet part out loud. "Sorry, I'm busy disassociating." We've all been there. Might as well wear it.
Making Your Space Yours
The 9-5 is dull. That's just a fact. But your space doesn't have to be.
We're building a collection of things that spark up the day—shirts, eventually mugs, maybe prints. Little reminders that work is just work. It's not your whole life. It's not your identity. It's the thing you do so you can afford to exist.
And if you're going to spend 40+ hours a week in the same spot, you might as well surround yourself with things that feel like you. Things that make you smirk when you catch them in your peripheral vision during a boring meeting.
Why We're Doing This
This isn't a business in the traditional sense. It's personal.
My girlfriend and I have both been in the mental health trenches. We've had the rough days, the burnout, the "I can't do this anymore" moments. We get it.
So yeah, we're making shirts with capybaras and mental health jokes. Are they going to change the world? No. But if they make someone's Tuesday slightly less terrible, that's enough.
We're aiming for relatable. Not preachy. Not "self-care queen" energy. Just... we've been there. We're still there. Here's a shirt about it.
What's Next
We're starting small. A few designs. Seeing what resonates. Adding more as we go.
If you're reading this and you're also trapped in the WFH vortex, staring at your laptop wondering if this is just what adulthood is now—yeah. Same.
Grab a shirt. Spark up your space. Remind yourself that even when the 9-5 is dull, you don't have to be.
Jimmy
Founder, KawaiiBara
Professional WFH survivor