Inspiring Conversations with Eliya Knight of Be Good Bi’Good

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eliya Knight

Hi Eliya, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My story begins 3 years ago when I moved to Nashville. I had just graduated college and moved to Nashville for a job. I knew no one and was completely restarting as most do when they start on the path of “adulting”.

For a little context on who I am. I have always been a dreamer and always had big ideas but didn’t always follow through. I started a “business” as a kid called “Eliya Tortillas” where I would just warm up cheese on tortillas and sell them in my neighborhood. (talk about a profit margin)
Later in college I would go on to create presets and sell them for some extra cash. I bought a camper and had dreams to renovate it and create a popup clothing store within in. Needless to say that never happened. But I have always been someone who wanted to create something. But I always felt as if I was lacking the skill set to pull off the dreams and visions that would spark inspiration within me. I would have visions of paintings or designs but can’t draw or work photoshop to save my life. It is also important to note that I grew up with my family heavily involved in ministry work. By “heavily” I mean we literally ran a Men’s Addiction Rehab out of our house and had 30-40 men living with us at all times. So the involvement was about as deep as it can gets and that experience of using our means to help people really helped shaped me and my dreams for my future. My dad is perfect for leading that ministry as he battled addiction for the majority of my childhood. So getting to see his story be redeemed and watch him live out the most obvious calling on his life led me to be hungry to help people in my own way. This ministry detail feels random but is actually crucial for my story. Fast forward to me starting my “big girl job,” I worked at a media company here in Nashville. My job was essentially project management for marketing and I had to work mainly with designers and creatives. It was a good practice for me as I was able to give them direction and watch them bring the things in my mind to life. I wish I had their skills. I find designs so fascinating as they can create art out of nothing. It was through this role that I ended up meeting a designer named Kat Darnell – who would end up becoming my very best and dearest friend. She is truly one of the most gifted creatives I have ever seen or worked with. It was through this relationship that I was able to find my missing link for the dreams I had stirring up within me. I had been praying that the Lord would show me what my “rehab ministry” could be. I knew that God had brought me to Nashville for a purpose but I wasn’t sure what it was yet. It was actually through prayer that the idea/ concept of Be Good Bi’Gud came to me. At first it obviously came to me as a general concept which was the idea of a clothing brand that represents Christian values but not in an obvious or cheesy way. Art is important to me and in a lot of ways originated out of the Church. It mattered to me to try and have the Church creating original art once again. As a Christian, I believe that God is the creator of the universe aka He is the ultimate Creative Director and we as humans are made in His image. To me, this means that we are all creative and we are all innovators – able to build something. So I wanted this brand to be unique and creative. Secondly, I wanted it to be missional. I had this concept to launch different collections from the Be Good brand that all look completely different and each one partners with a different Christian ministry. So what started as an idea led me to pitch it to my designer friend Kat and get her on board to bring the dream to life. When it came time to give the brand a name, I began to look into the Hebrew language (which I had never done) and stumbled upon the word “bi’gud” which means “clothing” in Hebrew and that’s when the name came to me. Be Good Bi’Gud aka Be Good Clothing. We launched our first collection in May and partnered with my dad’s rehab ministry for our first ministry partner which was such a full circle moment. Our next drop
comes out in November and I can’t reveal what this collection is about yet or who the partner is but it’s going to be good. (literally) So that is a little bit around our brand’s story. It definitely sounds like a whirlwind but it was actually a 3 year process from idea to brand launch. It has been a wild ride but the opportunity of a lifetime to get to create while also helping others – and ultimately glorifying God. I am so thankful for how Be Good Bi’Gud has changed my life and I could only hope it could do the same for others.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would say it started smooth and got really rocky really fast. Nothing can really prep you for owning your own business or how to even start owning your own business. It felt like every week I was figuring out a new legal document I needed to fill out or submit. In my industry, clothing production timelines are really where things can get rocky for us. We aren’t a well oiled machine yet to be working ahead of seasons. We hope to get there but we are new and scrappy right now so trying to get our products made quickly and at the highest quality typically leaves us with delayed timelines. To us, quality is the most important. It would be easy to go buy some cheap blanks, screen print a design on them, and then charge people 5x what we paid. However, since me and the Be Good team love clothes, we have had our own run-ins with ordering something online, paying a good bit for it, and then having it come in feeling cheap and not meeting expectations. We never want anyone to ever feel like that. Plus, we believe that when you are working with the Lord and for the Lord on something, you should give it your best. We aim
to always give every collection our best. We hope to smooth out the timeline situations and begin working on all collections for 2025 much earlier.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Be Good Bi’Good?
We are a missional clothing brand that aims to create clothing that is creative and intriguing. The goals
of the brand are two-fold really.
1. We want to make cool clothes that people actually want to rock – not just missional clothing that people wish they liked to wear for the sake of the cause. When I say we want the clothes to be intriguing – that stems from my desire for ALL people to feel drawn to the clothing whether they have Christian beliefs or
not. With every purchase, we put a card in that lays out what our brand stands for. We are outwardly Christian and our brand is our outlet for sharing the love of God with people.
#2. We care about helping people. Getting to partner with different ministry partners helps us amplify and impact multiple organizations. This is the heart of the brand through and through.

I think the most fun part about the brand is that every collection has a completely different vibe and design entirely which gives us plenty of room to play. You cannot put the brand into a box. It will always be evolving and our aim is to really create some new things that haven’t been done before.

At the end of the day – the ultimate goal of the brand is to honor God. The minute we stop making that the #1 thing is the minute I close up shop. This brand is not made out of a place of just wanting to start a business or make money. The dream of the brand is the impact it could make on the lives that come in contact with it.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I feel like more brands will stick to online sales only as we are. Brick and mortars may start going fully online and using social/paid media and influencers as their marketing tools solely.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.begoodbigud.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/begoodbigud?igsh=N2FvNXZmbHptMG16
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/DzjkEdH5Dk9K7uNb/?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@begoodbigud?si=t9qLLg_faCah_Rtm