Tender Loving Empire started as a wild idea between two creative souls. Fresh out of college in East LA County, Brianne and Jared Mees were surrounded by a tight-knit community of underground artists—musicians, illustrators, fiber artists, poets—and totally in love with the magic of people making things with their hands and hearts. But something was broken: there was no permanent showcase to share it with the public. The art that inspired them was often abandoned in storage units or scribbled on Sharpie’d CD-Rs.

Jared and Brianne started throwing rogue concerts and art shows in abandoned office buildings and cheap motel rooms—anywhere people could gather to connect with creativity. These underground events sparked something real. People bought things, exchanged ideas, and made friends.

The Meeses saw firsthand how art could change lives—and after a cross-country search for a new home, decided to build a permanent homage to creativity in the Pacific Northwest.
In 2006, they moved to Portland, Oregon, and began silkscreening shirts and albums from their tiny apartment. A shoebox labeled “Tender Loving Empire” held their savings from their service industry jobs. The name was tongue-in-cheek utopia: a vision of a strong, expansive civilization rooted in art, love, and community rather than conquest. By 2007, they’d scraped together enough to open the first Tender Loving Empire store—800 square feet of art, music, and mission, launched with zero business experience and right before a recession.

Against all odds, it worked.

Today, TLE is a thriving ecosystem with seven stores in two states that employs over 60 people. TLE sells the art and music of over 700 makers and musicians, a full line of house brand apparel and accessories, and boasts an internationally distributed record label with over 100 releases in its catalog. At its heart, it’s still what it always was—a space to celebrate creativity, amplify connection, and build a world where love (and great art) rule.