Because iam a remnant
I created this line to glorify the Lord. In my heart I know these bags are my testimony of the Lord taking all of my pieces and making them whole.
It started with getting sober
The iam brand was created out of two things at once: a love for the Lord and an urgent need to get sober. Early in my sobriety, I learned to lean on Him — that I am nothing without Him, that He is my Savior, my God, my Redeemer.
Psalm 23 and The Fruit of the Spirit
The collection began there. The first Bible bags and totes took scripture and paired a color to each line — Psalm 23, and the fruit of the Spirit. Color as memory. Color as prayer.
The Remnants
Several years in, I had a pile of scrap fabric — remnants, leftovers, the kind of thing most people throw out. I started sewing the small pieces into larger cloth, and while I was doing it I saw myself in it: broken, scattered into pieces — and the Lord reaching down, taking each piece, and putting me back together into something beautiful. That's where the first bag came from. I still carry it. That was over twenty years ago.
The Label
I made a label for it, and the label says everything.
Front: iam — lowercase, colorful, a little wild. That's me. Back: IAM — capital, black and white, bold, simple. That's Him.
Because that's just what He is — bold, simple, and it is us who make it complicated.
I put God in the closet
Then circumstances came, and I put every bit of this work away. I started a wedding floral business and poured all my creativity into it — and I literally put God in the closet.
Seven years later
I was completely broken — still sober, but with nothing else left. A friend and I started doing Bible studies together, and the image of iam came back into my mind. I pulled it out of closets, out of boxes. I pulled Jesus back out of the closet and back into my life. And here I am today.
What you are carrying
Every bag is made from my heart. Every detail on the front is another layer of individuality. Every bag is different, because every piece of fabric is different, and because we are not duplicates — we are one of a kind, created in His image. These bags are a witnessing tool: when someone stops you to ask where you got it, the label gives you the answer.