Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan And Dominique Christian.
Hi Ryan and Dominique, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
UNi began as an idea in 2015 as movement intended to unite the city in response to some recent events of gun violence. God was dealing with my heart and then he revealed this verse of Psalm to me. “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity.” – Psalm 133. We ran with that as our tagline and from there was born “Unity begins with you and I (UNi). It’s been a journey truly navigating this space within the faith-based apparel community and Christian HipHop adjacent community, but it’s certainly been worth it.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It certainly has not been a smooth road. We struggled with the normal stuff that small businesses typically have and on top of that life happens. We took some time away to really go back to the drawing board on our apparel line but during that time we developed our sector for custom apparel printing with our local community businesses being our primary customer base. It was important to us that we developed these connections and knew of other small businesses like us—many of which had pretty positive impacts on the communities that they served. As time has grown on, we’ve really just gotten more serious about pushing the company forward and really embodying the vision God gave us. We’ve made it particularly important to involve our children and get their input as well on the creative side. We use those opportunities to really teach them about God’s Word and the importance of our faith as well as how business works. We believe this approach takes the parables and principles and make them more relative and applicable to our everyday lives.
As you know, we’re big fans of UNi Clothing Co. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Our aim isn’t to be different as much as it is to be a witness. We want to produce clothing that always points back to God and His sovereignty. When we look good, we feel good. And even on those not so good days, we want our customers and their circle to be reminded of God, His love and His faithfulness. It’s about spreading God’s love one shirt, one quote, one verse at a time and in that let us exude the love of Christ as God’s people. We’re proud of the endurance and strength we’ve built through the journey as business owners. But we’re also proud of the faith walk we’ve been on throughout this journey. We never really know how things will turn out but we know for certain, we aren’t losing when we’re aligned with God’s will. We surrended the vision to Him and we’ve done our best to be obedient to the call.
Our collections creates just enough questions to draw others in close but allows the customer to share their unique story while still giving God glory. That’s what it’s all about.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Our business, like most faith based apparel, is CHH (Christian Hip Hop) adjacent and we have seen a big shift in the music industry becoming more and more mainstream. Celebraties, athletes, and influencers alike are being bold about their faith more and more. We suspect the faith based apparel will follow suit.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.TheUNiClothingCo.com
- Instagram: @UNiClothingCo_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1DbtFvUfKF/?mibextid=wwXIfr
