WALKING THE TIGHTROPE

Creating a brand that combines these two worlds can be an interesting tightrope to walk. On one hand, I want to create clothing that honors and glorifies God, which would be pretty obvious since this is a Christian small business. On the other hand, I’m also creating clothing that express an interest in all things nerdy, i.e. Sci-Fi, Anime, Retro Gaming, RPGs, etc.

The ultimate challenge is being able to combine the two in a coherent balance, where both entities are represented properly without taking away the identity of either side. At the end of the day I’m attempting to create designs that would not only catch the eye of a Christian Nerd, but would also catch the eye of a Christian who isn’t a Nerd, as well as a Nerd who isn’t a Christian.

WHAT IS A NICHE?

When starting a clothing brand, I learned early on that you need to find your niche. What is a niche? Simple put, it's a strong area of interest for a specific audience. Some clothing brands may focus on sports, others fitness, as well as some brands celebrating pop culture like movies and music artists.

When I originally started QMA, it was focused solely on the Christian niche, so the designs were more evergreen. At the time I was experimenting with designs and trying to find the style and visual identity for Quiet Mountain Apparel. Some designs were a hit, others… not so much. But it wasn’t until the beginning of our second year in business, that I rebranded and started working on designs that represented both my love for God and my love for nerd culture.

I later learned that I had created a cross-niche, not cross in the biblical sense, but cross as in two niches crossing over, forming a tag-team, and walking together hand in hand. As I started to research nerdy Christian clothing, I soon discovered that there aren’t too many clothing brands that exist in this unique crossover.

If you Google “Nerdy Christian Clothing”, you’ll find different companies selling nerd-themed Christian tees. The main difference between their merchandise and QMA, is that nerdy Christian clothing won’t be their main focus or niche.

It is safe to say that most of these companies will be selling a variety of t-shirts for different niches (sports, music, politics, hobbies, etc.), but will only have a few nerdy Christian tees on hand for the sake of variety. 

Whereas creating tees that represent this unique crossover is our main focus and passion! We want to produce a plethora of designs to help express who you are. (Go on, Google “Nerdy Christian Clothing… I dare you.)

WHAT IS OUR GOAL AS A CLOTHING BRAND?

The goal of Quiet Mountain Apparel is to create clothing that will open doors to share the gospel within nerd culture. We believe that our clothing creates an opportunity to express our love for fandoms, while staying strong and true to our faith in Christ.

Unfortunately many in the nerd community may have had a bad experience with the church. May it be a parent or ministry leader who didn’t take the time to understand their interests, and automatically categorized their fandom as “Of The Devil” or “Not of God.”  Perhaps their only experience of God may have been the people condemning them outside of a convention center, while holding signs that say,“God Hates You.”

I believe that you can love God and your fandom, always putting God first, but never having to hide or feel ashamed for having a nerdy side. I want this clothing brand to truly be a place where faith and fandom unite!

Thank you for taking the time to read the first of many blog posts, let me know in the comments if you have any questions about QMA.