Tiffany “Tiff” Freund has something to share with Riverside Bake Shop and Reeses Barkery and Pawtique.

The owner of McHenry’s Freundly Designs teamed up with McHenry High School Athletics to create limited-edition “Riverside Strong” T-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies.

From that fundraising effort, she is set to pass two checks – totaling $13,250 – to the owners of the two Riverside Drive businesses in McHenry recovering from a Jan. 18 fire.

“It has kept us very busy” since they starting to sell the fundraising gear at the Jan. 30 McHenry-versus-Hampshire girls and boys basketball varsity doubleheader and then online at freundlydesigns.com, Freund said.

McHenry schools and sports teams have kept her busy too, since she opened her retail store at 3322 W. Elm St. in August 2024.

“We are primarily a spirit wear store and do custom apparel,” Freund said. “We print designs for local organizations and sports teams.”

She didn’t expect the fundraiser for the two businesses, with whom she shares an alleyway, to take off like it did.

“Once we put it online, there were tons and tons of orders,” Freund said.

Each order was also filled individually, in sizes ranging from youth extra small to adult 5x.

“We had to go through every single order. ... It was a bit of a monster” to track and deliver, she said.

Freundly Designs started in 2020 out of her home in McHenry as she sought a home-based business that would also give her the freedom and flexible schedule needed to raise her two children. An avid crafter, she posted a few designs online and started picking up orders.

“I was shocked at how many were ordering from me and kept up with it” for subsequent orders, Freund said.

Then one of those customers asked if she could do a larger order, for a school club. The business kept growing, and then the storefront on Route 120 became available.

“I took the leap and business has been exponentially growing,” Freund said.

That growth led her to open a sister store – literally. Her sister, Tawny Haberski, is the proprietor of Curated by Laney Boutique. The women’s boutique was one of McHenry’s Riverside Shoppes in 2025, and will be returning for the 2026 season.

On Black Friday, the two opened a shared space in downtown Crystal Lake at 30 N. Williams St., Unit G.

“We are two separate business sharing a space ... with an imaginary line down the center,” Freund said.

Taking on a second location has been a lot, she added, but the schools and sports organizations have responded.

She offers the same brands popular in the promotional clothing industry, including Port & Company, District and Independent Trading Co. She also is licensed to sell Nike, Under Armour and Adidas brands.

“I just have to put something on it,” she said.

Tie-dyed styles still are popular, so Freund creates those colors on her own, hand-dying T-shirts and hoodies.

Half-and-half sweatshirts – half in one team color and half in another – also are a big draw. She works with an area tailor who cuts the shirts and sews them back together again to get the look.