Creating a clothing line wasn’t Seth Thomas’s original goal. It was through a group project during his final semester of design school, and a constant nudging from God starting at a church retreat, that Seth learned where he could put his design skills to use for God’s glory.

Based in Arlington, Texas, Social Fiber officially began in 2017, allowing Seth and his wife, Fiorella, to “create designs that invoke questions and spark conversations between others, creating a natural opportunity to share [about] Jesus.”

Resolute Magazine chatted with this pair of entrepreneurs through email about how the brand came about, entrepreneurial struggles, and exciting future plans for Social Fiber.

Resolute Magazine: How did you come up with the name Social Fiber?

Social Fiber: The name is a combination of two words that we feel represent who we are and what we do. “Social” because we are a humanitarian brand and donate 30% [of profits] to organizations that invest in their community. “Fiber” was chosen as a reference to apparel--which is what we design. Together, they denote the idea of a community or tight knit group that is woven together.

Why did you decide to make Social Fiber a humanitarian brand?

The [original] purpose of Social Fiber was for me to find a way to utilize my skills as a designer to glorify God. We wanted to contribute to helping others, not only by sharing the gospel through our apparel’s designs but also by giving financially to meet physical needs. It was a natural extension of what we are called to do as Christians. Interestingly, the high donation amount alone has stopped people and intrigued them to further ask what we were all about.

Do you run Social Fiber full-time?

Yes, I left my full time corporate position in January of 2018 to run Social Fiber full-time. My wife has a different full-time job and helps me part time with Social Fiber. The decision and timing to go full-time had less to do with sales numbers and more to do with we felt like God was calling us to take an even further step of obedience. By worldly standards, the timing wasn’t right but God had already provided for us so well and we wanted to be obedient to Him above all else.

What was the biggest factor in you deciding to create a Christian clothing brand?

God. Starting an apparel brand was never something I thought I would choose to do with my career. Social Fiber was something I did as a school project and I thought that was the end of it. The reason that I picked it back up was because I felt God whispering to my heart to use my skills as a graphic designer to share the gospel.

What process do you use to decide which design sells and which don’t?

Initially, I spend time praying and thinking about what God is currently teaching me and what he wants me to share with others. We recently beg[a]n polling our followers on Instagram and Facebook to pick between a few different finished designs and that helps us gauge which one might sell better. Ultimately, we chose to be obedient to what we feel God leading us to share with others. That may or may not be the design that sells the most.

How do you gather inspiration for your designs? Is there a brand that you look-up to?

The concepts for my designs come from what God places on my heart to share. Usually, it is also something that God is currently teaching and refining in my own life. The way he speaks to me varies from sermons, bible studies, scripture, music, or just life lessons. Once I know what the concept will be, then I do a lot of stylistic research from other designers. There are a lot of great designers out there but some brands I really like are; Humble Beast, Native Supply, Grateful Apparel, Herschel, Brixton, Agape Attire, and Black Sheep Collective.

What are some of the difficulties that you’ve faced in starting Social Fiber?

Two of our biggest issues so far have been funding and brand awareness.

How are you planning to overcome this?

Ultimately, it is an issue that we continue to work through every day. We have seen God provide abundantly for us which we have used to invest in the business. And we are currently in the process of securing a few wholesale accounts that should allow us to solve both of those problems at the same time, but we are trusting God to provide.

What is a perceived difficulty you have in being a Christian clothing company in a sea of Christian clothing companies?

The perceived difficulty is immediately getting lumped in with the sea of other Christian clothing companies that aren’t very engaging or exciting.

What sets Social Fiber apart from the other Christian clothing brands?

Our goal is to design an excellent product that is encouraging to believers and intrigues non-believers to ask questions and start a conversation. We believe that our work can be a tool or vehicle to create natural conversations about Jesus and create opportunities to share the gospel with others. I believe that makes us unique because we don’t just pick a verse and a typeface and print it on a shirt.

What piece of advice would you give to someone starting a Christian clothing brand?

I would tell them to be prayerful, unique, and produce an excellent product. Don’t be paralyzed by the possibilities or try to solve everything before it even happens. We decided to start small and learn along the way. We didn’t pull out any loans and that has really given us a freedom and peace to make decisions and learn as we grow.

If you never started Social Fiber, what is another thing that you would enjoy doing?

I would probably focus my designs on branding. I love designing logos and the process of working with a business owner to uncover their vision and present to them a concept that captures what they do and who they are.

What is something that you enjoy doing aside from Social Fiber?

I spend the majority of my time outside of working on Social Fiber with my wife and investing in our marriage. We truly are best friends and enjoy each others company (no pun intended). We also enjoy traveling and working on our fixer upper home.

When you’re stressed from the planning, strategizing, marketing, and designing, how do you find rest?

One of my favorite times of the week is worshiping on Sunday morning in my church congregation. It is during that time that all the plans, strategies and to-do lists evaporate from my mind. It is during that time that my heart is overflowed by God’s grace and love.

Are there any themes that Social Fiber follows?

I wouldn’t say that there are any themes that we follow, but certainly some filters or guidelines that we always take into consideration. We want all of our designs to be biblical, to point others to Christ, and to be intriguing and unique to invoke questions that will start conversations about Jesus.

What is your favorite part about running Social Fiber?

The world we live in today, especially as designers, is so overwhelmingly digital that I find it really exciting to experience, touch, and feel good design on a tangible product. So, one of my favorite parts of running Social Fiber is when a new shipment of product lands on our doorstep and getting to open up the box and see my design on a physical product for the first time.

What is your least favorite part?

My least favorite part is probably the necessary amount of self-promotion. Neither of us were big on social media prior to starting the business but saw pretty quickly the need to get on social media in order to raise brand awareness.