This budding car designer is curing breast cancer on the side

Mason Watson lost his mother to breast cancer when he was 13. When he graduated from high school, Watson launched Cars for a Cure Apparel, which featured T-shirts with his own automotive designs, with each sale sending 20 percent of the profits to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Today, the 21-year-old student at L.A.’s Art Center College of Design continues fighting this deadly disease via his original artwork inspired by the machines we all love. His activism — now in the form of a fresh endeavor called Cure Collection — is inspiring.

The rebrand as Cure Collection comes after much thought on how he wants to position the shirts. “I jumped in blind,” he says, “and there was a huge learning curve — things like finding suppliers and printers. I’ve definitely gone through a few to get the quality right.” His suppliers now produce the look and feel he envisioned, with everything sourced entirely in southern California, and Watson is keen to make Cure Collection a premium automotive lifestyle brand while still fulfilling his initial mission to fund breast cancer research.

And now that he’s happy with the product, Watson is looking for backing via crowdfunding site Indiegogo. His campaign runs through the end of April, with the goal to raise $10,000, which will fund the initial run of shirts and posters. Funding options for T-shirts begin at just $26, with stickers available for half that and posters available for $55. All the designs are broken into themed collections, and cars include the Mini Cooper, Mercedes 300SL, BMW 2002 and 3.0CSL, a variety of classic Porsches, and more. Designs for American muscle and Japanese classics are in the pipeline.

As the brand gets its legs, Watson plans to add other accessories to the fold, including sweaters and hats. In the meantime, if you’re looking for some sweet new threads, or if your life has been affected by breast cancer, consider contributing to Watson’s funding campaign. Rock a great, 100% ringspun cotton shirt and change the world in one fell swoop.

Learn more at CureCollection.com, and help fund the campaign at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cure-collection-curing-cancer-with-cars#/