Our Story

Thanks for stopping by, and welcome to the 865LIFE®! 

This adventure began with an idea to bring our community together through partnering with local photographers and small businesses in East TN. The thought was simple: showcase all the wonderful things in our area through the lens of a camera by encouraging photographers and local businesses to add #865LIFE and tag us on their photos. The idea worked, and our hashtag was used over 25,000 times on Instagram in the first year and over 217,000 times by year four! We celebrated our four-year anniversary July 23, 2020.

My name is Don Jones, and I'm the founder and visionary of 865LIFE.® My wife Julie and I are Knoxville natives and have been married for 27 years. We have raised three children in this special place, and we're thankful that all of them still live here in Knoxville. 

The people of Knoxville and East TN are proud to call this area home, and we feel our tagline “MORE THAN A NUMBER… IT'S HOME.®" fits the 865LIFE® name well. We offer sustainable apparel where our shirts include organic cotton, recycled plastic water bottles, and Tencel Modal so our customers can feel good wearing our items as well as knowing they're helping our planet. We feel 865LIFE® is so much more than an apparel company. Building community and being a one-stop hub for all things 865 is our goal. We want to sincerely thank each and every one of you for following and supporting us. Please don't hesitate to let us know how we can help you.