Our story

Every feeling belongs.

Feelumi makes characters kids and teens can wear, so the feeling they can't explain yet has a name, a face and a place to start.

The eight Feelumis lined up with their names: Pip, Momo, Roo, Nori, Kumo, Piko, Yuki and Boba

It starts with a shrug

It's the ride home from school. You ask how the day went. You get "fine," or a shrug, or a door that closes a little too hard.

Something happened. You can see it in their shoulders. But when you ask "What's wrong?" the answer is "Nothing," or "I don't know."

Most of the time, "I don't know" is the honest answer. The feeling is real and it is big. The word for it just isn't there yet.

Momo the blue puppy wrapped in a blanket at a rainy window

The same moment, from three sides

Kids and teens

The feeling arrives as one loud blur. It comes out as tears, slammed doors, silence or "everything is stupid," because that is the closest thing within reach.

Parents

You want to help and you don't know what you're helping with. Every question seems to make it worse, and nobody handed you a script for this.

Counselors and teachers

You have a few minutes and a child who isn't ready to talk. Starting with "How are you feeling?" is often the hardest way in.

It happened in our house too

Feelumi didn't start as a business plan. It started at home.

In our own family we watched big feelings come out sideways. We saw how hard it was for a child to say what was going on inside, and how hard it was for us, the grown-ups, to know what to do next. We learned that we were far from the only family living this.

We kept wishing for something simple. We didn't want another lecture or chart. We wanted something a kid could hold on to, point at and feel proud of, something that said "this is how I feel today" before the words were ready.

That wish became Feelumi.

Our mission

Help every child find a word for what they feel, and know that the feeling is allowed.

Name it

Give kids and teens simple, friendly words for the feelings they meet most often.

Allow it

Show that no feeling is a bad one. A mad day belongs as much as a happy day.

Start the conversation

Give families, counselors and teachers an easy way in that doesn't begin with a hard question.

Why naming a feeling matters

Putting a feeling into words is one of the first steps in handling it. The Child Mind Institute explains that kids who can recognize and label a feeling tend to feel more in charge of it.

Many parents know the idea as "name it to tame it," from Dr. Dan Siegel and Dr. Tina Payne Bryson's book The Whole-Brain Child. Researchers call it affect labeling. In brain-imaging research at UCLA, simply naming an emotion was linked to a calmer response in the part of the brain that sounds the alarm.

We are careful about what we promise. A shirt doesn't teach a skill by itself, and naming a feeling isn't the right tool for every moment. What a character can do is make the first word easier to find.

Kumo the lavender cloud at a desk, holding up just one sheet of paper

So we gave each feeling a face

We wondered what would happen if "overwhelmed" was a little lavender cloud named Kumo with too many papers, or "mad" was a small fire fox named Roo taking one slow breath.

Suddenly a seven-year-old doesn't have to explain anything. They can point and say, "I'm having a Kumo day."

We made eight friends, one for each feeling kids meet most often, and put them on the thing kids already choose for themselves every morning: what they wear. A shirt goes where the feeling goes. To school, to practice, to Grandma's, to the counselor's office.

What a Feelumi does

It gives the feeling a name

Each design shows the character, their name and one short line a child can say out loud.

It says the feeling is allowed

The feeling doesn't have to be fixed or hidden. It is allowed.

It starts a conversation

"Who's that on your shirt?" is an easier question to answer than "How are you feeling?"

The Feelumi way

Feel→Name→Express→Reset→Grow

Notice it. Give it a word. Share it in a way that's okay. Find one thing that helps right now. Learn a little about yourself. You won't see that printed as a lesson on a shirt. It quietly shapes how each character behaves.

For parents and caregivers

Let them pick. Ask "Who are you today?" and let your child choose. Their pick tells you something before breakfast.
Use the character's name. "Looks like a Roo moment" lands softer than "You're angry."
Go first. "I'm a bit Kumo today. I have a lot going on." Kids copy what they hear.
Don't rush to fix it. Sometimes a feeling needs company more than a solution.
Check back later. "Still feeling Nori, or did it change?" Feelings move, and noticing that is the lesson.

For counselors, therapists and teachers

An easy opener. "Which of these is most like your week?"
Talk about the character first. "What do you think Kumo needs right now?" lets a child explore a feeling at a safe distance.
A quick check-in. Line up the eight characters and let students point on the way in.
Pair the line with a strategy. Roo's pause, Kumo's one thing, Nori's slow step, Boba's break.
Send the language home. Sharing the names with families gives everyone the same words.

What we are, and what we aren't

Feelumi is apparel and characters. It is not therapy, treatment or medical advice, and it doesn't diagnose anything. Use it the way you would a favorite picture book: as a friendly way in. If a child is struggling in a way that worries you, please talk with their pediatrician, school counselor or a licensed mental health professional.