Steve and Lisa Abel, who live in Westminster, have a business called Cane & Abel Creations.
Steve Abel has been designing T-shirts and other kinds of merchandise for 30 years. He started drawing at a young age — he loved to draw the cartoon character Snoopy.
As a student at Woodlawn High School, he was the art director of “Totem,” the yearbook. As part of the sales promotion, he designed a banner that hung in the cafeteria, depicting a warrior, the school mascot, with the slogan, “Get ’em Totem NOW!” As part of a choir exchange with students from a Massachusetts high school, he designed a banner for the bus the choir rode to get there. It read “Warriors on the warpath … to Newton, MA.”
Steve Abel met his wife Lisa during their first week in 10th grade at Woodlawn.
“[Lisa] has always been very creative,” he said. “She loves doing all types of needlework, counted cross stitch, sewing, flower arranging, decorating, and just about anything arts and crafts.”
Steve Abel studied art at Catonsville Community College and later transferred to Long Island University/CW Post, receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in graphic design. After graduation, he began designing logos, T-shirts and merchandise for several local organizations such as the North Carroll Soccer Program, Liberty Showcase Theatre, Cockpit-in-Court, and Northwest Baptist Church.
Lisa Abel began to have some medical issues. She told her husband, “Don’t worry, God’s got this.” Then she said to him, “You need to put that on a T-shirt, to inspire others who are going through a difficult time.”
That was their first T-shirt design, and Cane & Abel Creations was born. Lisa Abel came up with the idea to design Christian-themed and inspirational T-shirts. This not only provided an opportunity to earn a little extra money to help offset medical costs, but also served as an outreach ministry to encourage others.
Their business name, Cane & Abel Creations, is a creative play on words: Cain and Abel are the first two sons of Adam and Eve in the Bible. Lisa Abel walks with a cane. Abel is their last name. God is the creator. Their business name seemed like the perfect fit.
The couple’s 22 merchandise collections include: scripture, inspiration, just for fun, pets, Gilda, and many others. The Gilda Collection features Gilda Radner’s character from “Saturday Night Live,” Roseanne Roseannadanna, along with her famous quote, “It just goes to show you, it’s always something.”
The Pets Collection contains designs printed on pet bandanas, bowls and pet blankets. Steve Abel’s favorite is “Comfort Dog. Will work for comfort food.”
The Just for Fun Collection is “anything that makes people smile, or lift them up, because the world can be really harsh, and you simply need something to smile about, every day,” Steve Abel said. The Disability Awareness Collection gets people thinking. One design reads “Handicapable” instead of “Handicapped.”
When a close friend of theirs died and was resuscitated, they asked her, “What was it like?” She took a long pause, then said, “It’s ALL God.” That inspired a T-shirt design that reads, “It’s ALL God. Go ahead, just ask me.” They also designed a T-shirt for this woman that read “Prayer Warrior,” because she led a prayer ministry from Northwest Baptist Church.
Today, Cane & Abel Creations offers 22 collections, with 380 designs that are print-on-demand. They sell more than 80 items, ranging from T-shirts, hoodies, stickers, magnets, cellphone covers, baseball caps, bucket hats and home decor to mugs, wall clocks, pillows, coasters and much more. Some designs are available in a variety of ink colors and can be customized with your color choice. They also take customer orders.
“I like to create designs that get people to smile,” Steve Abel said. “If we can do that with our designs, to lift others up and encourage them, then we’ve done our job.”
Cane & Abel Creations is only available online. Check out their website, redbubble.com/people/ubgsla/shop. You can contact them at stevenabel361@gmail.com or 443-375-7637.
Lyndi McNulty is the owner of Gizmo’s Art in Westminster. Her column, An Eye for Art, appears regularly in Life & Times.