I love answering questions on social media! And if you ever want to know something about me, or walk in love., or whatever really, feel free to comment on one of my Instagram photos and ask! I am an open book and will try to answer as honestly as I can. There are a few questions, however, that I tend to get over and over again, so I thought I would spend some time answering them here in this blog post. Here we go!
Photo from 2006 Trip to Russia. Look at that hair!
Q: Why did you start walk in love?
A: In 2005 I wanted to go on a mission trip to Siberia, Russia with my dad. My dad has been a missionary my whole life and every summer he would head off to Russia for a month to teach kids American sports and tell them about Jesus. I was in college and had just really turned my life around to follow Jesus, and wanted to go to Russia with my old man. So, I decided I would raise money by selling t-shirts that said "walk in love." on them! I ended up going to Russia three summers in a row. I fell in love with selling shirts and haven't stopped. In July 2016, it will be 11 years since I sold the first walk in love. shirt!
Q: Where does the phrase "walk in love" come from?
A: Ephesians 5:1-2 - "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."
Q: What is your favorite Bible verse?
A: Honestly, I try not to have one. I know that God can use any verse in His word to radically change my heart and life, so when I read the Bible I try to do it with fresh eyes. I try not to focus on my "favorites" allowing God can use His word to speak to me however He wants to.
Look how little June is! 😭
Q: What is your favorite walk in love. shirt design?
A: If I had to pick one, I would pick the original walk in love. shirt because that's what started it all. But again, it's so hard for me to pick, so I usually say "my favorite shirt is whichever one sells the best", because it is my business and I want it to grow and be successful.
Q: What do the tattoo bands around your arm mean?
A: I really wanted to get a tattoo that represented Brooke, so I decided that I would get a band around my forearm. As I was getting it done, I thought it would be cool to get one for each kid we have. So, currently one band is for Brooke and one is for June. If you ever see that I've added a third it means we are having another kid!
Q: How do you come up with new shirt designs?
A: Inspiration is everywhere. Sometimes we start with a specific verse, sometimes it's a style of art and sometimes it's a general idea. For example when we planning for the Summer 2015 collection, I knew that I wanted it to be photographed on the beach in California. So, we dove into that idea and eventually ended with the Salt + Light Collection. This year for Summer 2016, which is called Shine (Coming Mid/Late April) we knew we went with one of Brooke's ideas for a camping/1970's look. It's starting to arrive from the screen printers and it looks amazing!
Q: Do you and Brooke design all the shirts?
A: When I first started walk in love. I designed all the shirts, but as we've grown, that is no longer the case. There are so many talented designers out there, and now that we have money to do so, we do hire other designers to design shirts. It's great for us because we get to just come up with ideas and watch talented designers make it their own. I did design the Summer 2016 collection, but we are looking for other designers for Fall 2016. It all depends on the look we are going with. All of our shirts have the designer listed in the description of the shirt online.
Q: How many more kids do you want to have?
A: Brooke and I honestly don't have a number on this. Whatever God wants us to have we will have. I come from a big family, so I am cool with many more, but if ends up just being June, I am okay with that too, although I would love for her to have some siblings!
Q: What is next for walk in love?
A: To keep creating great products that remind people to live and love like Jesus.
Those are some of the most common questions I get asked. I hope you find the answers helpful! If you have anymore be sure to ask them on Instagram or Snapchat - @tjmousetis.