[HAS HEART] is a Michigan-based, registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded originally as “Fashion Has Heart” by 8-year U.S. Veteran, Michael Hyacinthe, and artist/designer, Tyler Way. They were first introduced over a cup of coffee in 2010 and from there, they quickly discovered the disconnect between their two worlds.

They realized the power of collaboration once Michael met a local quadriplegic Marine who loved t-shirts and asked Tyler to co-create a design that shared his message. Since then, the HERO[series] has continued to pair Veterans with designers for the shared mission to tell their story through the mediums of art, design, and fashion.

Since its inception as Co-Founder and Creative Director, Tyler has designed, planned, and executed a variety of projects, collaborations, partnerships, and more, including:

• Managed and led design teams, partners, and volunteers in brand marketing initiatives, photo/video campaigns, brand message and storytelling, product design and development, marketing partnerships, and inventory management

• Designed and planned exhibit, retail, and event spaces for Artprize (2012-2019), Forbes Art Galleries (NYC), Detroit Holiday House popup shop, Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room (Seattle), Saugatuck Center for the Arts, and various pop-up shops and exhibits

• Established partnerships, collaborations, sponsorships, and grants with Starbucks, Airstream, Alpha Industries, AIGA, Schultz Family Foundation, USAA, Threadless, Bates Footwear, Shinola, 9/11 Memorial & Museum, Nike, MTV, Adobe, and more

• Conducted nationwide tour planning, facilitating, photographing, promoting, and marketing collaborative HERO[series] design projects

• Created, designed, and maintained brand website, online shop, marketing materials, exhibit layout/design, brand identity, custom-designed font, brand camo patterns, and more

At a local Veterans event, Michael met a wounded U.S. Marine & his full-time nurse. Paralyzed from the neck down & unable to speak due to injuries suffered in Iraq, the young Marine shared his story through a special alphanumeric communication code that was translated with the aid of his nurse. Michael learned of his love of t-shirts and asked the Marine if he would like to design his own. Seeing the larger-than-life grin come across his face, Michael called Tyler to see if they could design a shirt together.

From that first t-shirt design & its powerful creative process, the HERO[series] was created: a Veteran partnered with an artist for the shared mission to tell their story through the mediums of art, design, & fashion.

From 2012 - 2017, [HAS HEART] would partner five Veterans and designers and host a multi-day collaborative design workshop to translate each Veteran’s story and experiences into a graphic design concept to be produced into select US-made consumer products and exhibited as an annual ArtPrize exhibit.

After more than five years of partnering Veterans with graphic designers, Tyler and Kendra organized, pitched, fundraiser, and executed the 50 States: Veterans + Artists United tour, taking the HERO[series] project across the country state-by-state.

The tour has been to 39/50 states thus far. Once it’s completed, the fifty designs, stories, and design processes will be compiled and published into a coffee table book, curated into a traveling art museum exhibit, edited into a documentary film, and produced into a collection of American-made consumer products whose proceeds will benefit the Veterans who co-designed them.

From October to December 2021, the first twelve state projects and the tour were exhibited at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts.

[HAS HEART] was founded over a cup of coffee, and ever since then, each HERO[series] project begins with the Veteran and designer getting to know each other over coffee. In mid-2022, the [HAS HEART] Coffee Shop will be opening in downtown Grand Rapids, MI, located on the grounds of Veterans Memorial Park.