Why 'Theo'?

I get lots of people at the shop asking if my name is Theo to which I respond ‘no’ and stare blankly at them until they slowly back away and leave me alone. Just kidding! I smile and respond ‘No, my name is Esther! Theo actually comes from the Greek word ‘Theos’ (Θεός) which means God.’ The popular Greek name Theodore stems from ‘Theos’ also and every second day I have people taking photos of the sign outside my shop to send to someone they know named Theo. Every other person who walks by pats the alpaca toy I have on display and says ‘Ooooooooooh, it’s SO soft!’ to which I smile, nod and think ‘I hope you have clean hands.’

Anyway. I usually go on to explain that my personal faith in God and Jesus is my inspiration for wanting to do ethical fashion and is the reason I landed the name ‘Theo’! It’s a nice little reminder for me to keep a God-driven perspective not just in business but in my personal life, and not get caught up in creating a comfortable lifestyle on earth or even in making my business a world-dominating empire (though I admit that would be nice!) because I believe in an afterlife spent in heaven where those things don’t matter.

My faith inspires me to do good stuff in the world (though I'll be the first to admit I do 'bad' stuff too!) and played a big role in why I started the label in the first place. You may remember that before I rebranded almost two years ago (yikes! Two years ago?!) this brand was called ‘Jacob & Esau’ which was also a biblically inspired name. Read more about why I changed it here >>. I also happen to be an incredibly stubborn person who couldn’t imagine working for someone else or being confined to any sort of ladder so I didn’t have a lot of other options career-wise haha!

I added ‘the Label’ because that was a trendy thing to do and because ‘Theo’ was a bit too vague on it’s own so Theo the Label it is and it’s stuck ever since! It’s definitely a lot easier to remember and gently reminds me to question my level of conviction and own my personal beliefs. It’s nearly Easter (which celebrates the greatest and most significant series of events in history for Christianity!) so perhaps this is a good time to ask what on earth Easter is all about. I mean, some guy died on a cross and now we eat chocolate to celebrate? That doesn’t really make sense to me either (but I'll take the chocolate and the public holidays anyway please!).

I just finished watching a YouTube video that digs a lot deeper than the surface level of what being Christian means. It goes for nearly an hour and made me laugh out loud in a cafe so it’s a good watch! You can find the link here >>. There are also a series of discussion groups called 'Alpha' starting soon where you can chat face to face (and get a free meal I believe!) with people about some of the big questions of life. I've done the course and it challenged what I had been brought up to believe about God so I couldn't recommend it more. You can find out heaps more here >>.

Yes! I am deeply passionate about ethical fashion and about making better environmental choices for the sake of people and the planet and that is what Theo the Label is all about! My business is my personal way of living out my values practically and I wanted to find meaning in a name that reflects that. As always, thank you for following Theo’s journey! I hope to continue supplying you with ethical clothing that has been made with a lot of love and that directly supports skilled makers, their families and communities.

Until next time