The two stalks of wheat come together in a V.
When Kimmie and Matt Bridges founded their clothing boutique, First Harvest, they were looking for a logo that captured their intentions with the business.
The design had to be stylish, but also call back to a Bible verse that formed the basis of their business — “Give the first of your harvest to the Lord.” Their intention to use profits from the store to give back to women struggling with abuse, addiction and sex trafficking.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
Since unveiling it last year, the logo has gone on tank tops, t-shirts, hats and other clothing — a sign that people are as interested in their mission as they are in their fashion.
“People associate it with something more. When they wear it, they feel like they’re giving back,” she said.
Through First Harvest, Bridges and her husband, Matt, have been able to provide free-flowing fashion ranging from sundresses to kimonos to cottony-soft t-shirts. What started as an online boutique has grown to include a brick-and-mortar location in Indianapolis, as well as a new shop in the Greenwood Park Mall.
But more than just a fashion line, the business has helped support women that have been abused, suffered from addictions or caught in sex trafficking.
The brand makes not only a statement about style, but makes the community a little bit better place, Kimmie Bridges said.
“The overall concept of that charity was really important to us. We were selling women’s clothing, and it all tied together,” she said.
First Harvest started with $1,500 from the Bridges’ savings and a love of fashion. Kimmie Bridges grew up in Texas, where clothing boutiques were common.
Moving to Indiana five years ago, she noticed that there weren’t as many options for funky, one-of-a-kind clothing. She was working as a paralegal, and though it helped support her, it wasn’t fulfilling work.
She came up with the idea to open her own boutique here. Matt Bridges told her to give it a shot.
“Just go for it. It was her dream. Worst-case scenario, she gets a new closet,” he said.
Kimmie Bridges purchased clothing that she wanted to feature — t-shirts, blouses, dresses and other items that fit her laid-back personality. She did professional-grade model photos of the clothes she was featuring, and built a website to showcase it.
She went to markets and other vendor events to learn from other boutiques.
“We just immersed ourselves in the industry as much as we could in it, because we had no experience in it,” she said.
First Harvest opened online in 2016. The name stems from a play on Proverbs 3:9, which explains how using the first of your harvest can honor God.
“I thought that First Harvest would be a cool name, because it matches everything, our farm roots from Texas and Indiana, and then also the proverb behind it and the principle of giving what you reap,” said Matt Bridges, who graduated from Center Grove High School. “We wanted to be more about than just selling women’s clothing; we wanted to make an impact.”
The plan was to use 10 percent of their profits to benefit others. Kimmie and Matt Bridges chose to give their money to Mercy Multiplied, a nonprofit Christian organization dedicated to helping young women break free from life-controlling behaviors and situations.
Their programs focus on everything from eating disorders to unplanned pregnancy to sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
Their first physical location was a pop-up store in Clay Terrace, an outdoor shopping mall in Carmel. The initial response after opening in September 2017 was good, but once the weather turned cooler, foot traffic waned.
Kimmie Bridges had quit her job as a paralegal to run the store full-time, something Matt Bridges had been doing for close to a year at that point. With their family relying on the income from First Harvest, they started looking for another place to open in order to support themselves.
A spot at the Keystone Fashion Mall on Indianapolis’ northside became available, and within five days, First Harvest was open at its new location.
“We’ve done really well there. It’s turned out really well,” Kimmie Bridges said.
The Greenwood location became available suddenly in late July. Kimmie and Matt Bridges had always intended to increase their presence on the southside, and with an open slot at the Greenwood mall, that became a reality.
In the span of nine days, they gutted the storefront, painted it, installed new lighting and decor and made it their own. A handmade shiplap checkout counter — complete with the First Harvest logo on the front — is the centerpiece of the rustic chic space.
“We wanted to do something different that wasn’t in Greenwood before,” Matt Bridges said. “Greenwood and the southside is growing, and there’s so much potential. We want to give both the northside and the southside some love.”
