This is ME

Meet Katie — The woman behind Shattering Silence

My name is Katie, and I am the woman behind Fineline Designs and the creator of Shattering Silence Apparel.

But before I was a small business owner, before I created designs with a purpose, and before I ever imagined my words would reach people I had never met, I was simply a woman trying to figure out how to survive the things life had handed me.

My story with mental health started long before Shattering Silence ever existed.

As a teenager, I experienced severe panic attacks and eventually received a diagnosis of anxiety. Over the years, I would also be diagnosed with depression and PTSD. I experienced domestic abuse, spent time in a women's shelter, and walked through experiences that changed me in ways I didn't always understand at the time.

For a long time, I didn't know how to talk about any of it.

Like so many people, I learned how to hide the hard stuff.

I learned how to smile when I wasn't okay. I learned how to keep going when I was exhausted. I learned how to show up for everyone else while quietly struggling myself.

But eventually, I realized that silence wasn't helping me heal.

And I certainly wasn't the only person living that way.

In 2019, I started breaking my own silence.

What began as my own journey of finding my voice eventually became something much bigger.

In 2020, Shattering Silence Apparel was born.

I created it as a way to use something I already knew how to do — create — to talk about something I was still learning how to live with.

My very first designs weren't created because I had everything figured out.

They were created because I knew what it felt like to need someone to say:

You matter.
You are enough.
You are not alone.

One of the most meaningful designs I created was “You Are Enough.”

That message came from some of the hardest experiences of my life, including losing my best friend to addiction and being beside someone I cared about following an overdose and life support.

I have experienced the heartbreak of loving someone through addiction. I have experienced loss. I have sat with people in their darkest moments. And I have had people I once didn't even know reach out to me and tell me their stories.

People have shared their sobriety milestones with me.

They have told me about people they have lost.

They have told me about their own mental health battles.

They have told me things they haven't felt comfortable telling anyone else.

And every single one of those conversations has reminded me why I started.

Because Shattering Silence was never really about clothing.

It was about creating a voice for the things we are taught not to talk about.

Mental health. Addiction. Trauma. Grief. Loss. Survival.

The things that happen behind closed doors.

The things people hide because they are afraid of being judged.

The things that make someone feel like they are the only person in the world struggling.

I want to change that.

I want my children to grow up knowing that saying “I'm not okay” isn't weakness.

I want people to know they don't have to “man up,” toughen up, or pretend everything is fine just because the world expects them to.

I want conversations about mental health to be normal.

I want people to ask, “How are you really doing?” and actually mean it.

And most importantly, I want people to know there is no shame in needing help.

I don't stand behind Shattering Silence because I have conquered mental health.

I stand behind it because I live it.

There are still days when anxiety gets loud.

There are still days when trauma resurfaces.

There are still days when I struggle to recognize myself.

There are still days when I have to remind myself that resting doesn't mean I'm failing and struggling doesn't mean I've gone backwards.

I'm still learning.

I'm still healing.

I'm still figuring things out.

And I think that's exactly why this matters so much to me.

Because I don't want to be someone standing at the front pretending I have all the answers.

I want to stand beside people and say, “I'm still walking through it too.”

Today, Shattering Silence has become the heart of what I do.

A portion of every purchase is donated to the Canadian Mental Health Association because I believe awareness should be more than words printed on clothing. It should create conversation, support meaningful work, and remind people that their voices matter.

My hope is that when someone wears Shattering Silence, they aren't just wearing a design.

They're wearing a message.

They're saying something they may not have been able to say out loud.

They're reminding someone else that they aren't alone.

And maybe, just maybe, they're helping someone find the courage to finally speak.

That is why I created Shattering Silence.

Not because I have the perfect story.

Not because I have everything figured out.

But because I know what it feels like to be silent.

And I know how powerful it can be when someone finally says:

“You don't have to be silent anymore.”

I'm Katie.

I'm a mom. I'm a small business owner. I'm a survivor. I'm still healing. I'm still learning. I'm still figuring life out.

And I'm using the voice I fought so hard to find to help other people find theirs.

This is my story.
This is my purpose.
This is Shattering Silence.