Christian apparel brand ThreeThirty draws inspiration from Scripture for its casual togs.
By Reuel Eugene Tay
Three Thirty casual tees. PHOTOS COURTESY OF THREE THIRTY.
Well-designed t-shirts with catchy logos and Bible phrases make not just timeless fashion statements but are effective in speaking the truth without speech. Inspired by the Cultural Mandate message of Christ in culture, preached by Kong Hee, senior pastor of CHC, three cell group members from W416—undergraduates Matthew Lim, 25, Nick Peng Bo, 24, and Jeremiah Su Weisheng, 25—set up an online fashion boutique selling apparel inspired by God and His Word.
Set up in May 2010, ThreeThirty is taken from the Bible verse John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” 3:30 (pm) is also the time of service that the trio used to attend at the church’s Jurong West premises before services moved to Suntec Singapore.
The t-shirts make good conversation starters with their witty one-liners. One of ThreeThirty’s earliest designs promoted the biblical principal of monogamy with the line: “One Life One Wife”. The brand’s latest design, “But God”, created by Lim, was inspired by preacher and author Phil Pringle’s book But God. According to Pringle, the words “But God” appear in the Bible 43 times.
“Just these two words—‘But God’—can be so powerful. Regardless of your current situation, God can always turn it around,” explains Lim.
Other popular designs include the “Lion of Judah”, “Olive Tree”, “World Shaker History Maker” and the new “S.A.I.N.T.” series. The t-shirts are priced from S$14.90 to S$29.90 apiece.
Besides drawing inspiration from Bible stories, characters and lessons, ThreeThirty is also leveraging on the crowdsourcing concept popularized by e-commerce t-shirt maker Threadless which invites customers to send in and vote on designs. To date, ThreeThirty has 25 designs to its name.
They have also enlisted the help of their fellow cell group members as photographers, make-up artists, designers and models. The hard work is slowly paying off, with a steady increase of sales and a partnership with local retailer, San Street.
As undergraduates, time management and inexperience are some of the challenges the trio face regularly, but they are taking it one step at a time. “We constantly remind ourselves of why we started the company, and we work towards that goal slowly,” asserts Lim.
ThreeThirty seeks to achieve a wider distribution network at major Christian bookstores, department stores and retail outlets. “Eventually we hope to be well-known in our own local church as well as other church communities,” he says.
Log on to www.threethirty.sg for more information.
14 Scotts Road
Far East Plaza
#04-26,
Singapore 228213
+65 6734 2610
