Many people have asked us why we named our company and web store
"Halas & Phos". The answer is both simple and complex. The new testament is written in Greek, which is the language from which the words Halas and Phos come. When we were thinking about a name for our business and store, we wanted a name that reflected our desire to be
"Salt and Light" to our world, as Jesus spoke about in Matthew 5:13-16 (part of the Sermon on the mount). So we wanted to call our company and store
"Salt and Light Christian Apparel" (or something like that) and have a domain name like "www.saltandlight.com". Unfortunately, that domain name was already taken. So, since Kerusso, our first product line, used the Greek word
"Kerusso" for their name (it means "to herald" of "proclaim") we thought we would find out what the Greek words for
"Salt" and
"Light" are. We found out that Greek for
"Salt" is
"Halas" and Greek for
"Light" is
"Phos", like the first few letters of the common word
"Phosphorus". So instead of calling our company
"Salt & Light Christian Apparel", we called it
"Halas & Phos Christian Apparel, Gifts & Books" and used the domain name
www.halasandphos.com. Later on
www.saltandlight.net became available so we bought it and linked it to
www.halasandphos.com. So if you have trouble remembering
www.halasandphos.com, you can just go to
www.saltandlight.net and you will wind up at the same destination!
"How do you pronounce your company name?" is a question we are frequently asked. Well, the best we can do is to let you hear it for yourself. Just click the green Play Button above to hear the words "Halas and Phos" pronounced.
Our Logo:
Our Logo has an interesting history as well. Inspired by the "Walk in the Light" design by Kerusso,
(Click to see a bigger Image) we wanted our logo to be an expression of being "Salt" and "Light" to the world.
("You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16 NKJV)
So we started with the design of a light bulb and incorporated a salt shaker. Here is what we came up with:
Notice that the man walking in the filament is replaced by the word "Light" and the ampersand sign is in the filament support. The screw-in portion of the bulb is replaced by a top from a 1950's diner-styled salt shaker. We used this logo and another variant of it
(depending on the media we were using it in) for about two to three years until we underwent a major site redesign and wanted something more "clean" and "edgy".
That is when we commissioned a graphic designer we know
(Dave Rawlins of daverawlins.com) to come up with an overhaul of our logo. It is this new logo that you now see at the top of each of our web pages. It evokes the salt shaker top with salt crystals spilling out onto the Greek word for "Salt" (Halas) and the light coming out of the bottom, beneath the Greek word for "Light" (Phos). The "ampersand sign" that was once the filament support in the old logo is now the filament itself, tying the two concepts together in a unified symbol.
This new logo has already undergone several changes including the one that we will be using on our Salt & Light branded apparel. Keep watching for the release of our edgy, eye-catching apparel featuring our company logo and brand. We will be promoting the whole concept of being "salt and light" through the prominent placement of our logo on the apparel and the incorporation of Matthew 5:13-16 in our design.
Our apparel line will probably consist exclusively of Gildan® Ultra Cotton™ 6.1 oz pre-shrunk 100% cotton t-shirts and a similar quality polo shirt embroidered with the emblem which reminds us to be salt and light to everyone we meet.
This is what the logo will look like on our Salt & Light Brand Apparel. We took off the words "Halas", "Phos", "Salt" and "Light" and are allowing the graphic and the bible verse to speak for themselves. We think that the thought-provoking logo of a salt shaker and a light bulb combined together with the ampersand sign as the filament make a powerful graphic representation of what Matthew 5:13-16 is all about. What do you think? Tell us via e-mail and we may post your response on this page!