The Ampersand Brand
In case you haven't noticed, there's been an interesting trend, among others, in artisan good company branding of late that involves simply using two words separated by an ampersand or a plus for a company's name. It appears to be an attempt to appropriate old-school, partnership based company naming styles and aesthetics to new companies trying to assume a heritage or vibe perhaps thought to be unattainable otherwise. Surely you've seen countless of these brands, and if you haven't noticed this trend before now, you certainly will after reading.
Fern & Roby
Mizzen & Main
Kent & Bond
Wilson & Willy's
Fisher + Baker
Fred & Owen
...shall I continue? I'd rather not but I feel as though I must.
Cloak & Dagger
Bridge & Burn
Sloane & Semple
Ball & Buck
Some blessed and observant soul even created a website that pokes fun at this naming fad called the Hipster Business Name Generator. Careful, you might mistake some of the generated companies for a local coffee roaster or leather key-ring maker. Jokes aside, perhaps the best names for companies at-hand are simply the names of the founders, or two local animal species or landmarks. But when half of the new artisan companies, microbreweries, etc. coming up have names similar to those aforementioned, one ought to look around and say, "Hey, what are we all trying to get at? What are we trying to emulate?", instead of, "Hey, come check out our stand at this next obscure pop-up shop."
One of the main reasons why Overboeck was created was as a response to the beauty and craft embodied in certain brands, particularly certain American-made brands' approach to business. These are the brands we focus on and feature on the site because, frankly, we think there is something objectively better about the way they do their work. An interesting dynamic has arisen, however, exhibited by companies today by reducing and commoditizing certain branding or ethos dimensions of these steadfast American brands, while not actually emulating what makes these brands truly great.
What's important to delve into is that people are attracted to heritage brands, brands with stories, faces, and a compelling reason for what they did. So why are companies simply adopting and cloning some hackneyed, fabricated facade? Perhaps it's the easiest way to acquire goodwill with consumers who prefer heritage brands? Maybe, though it's easy to imagine many see right through it. Is it a more surefire way to attract consumers with the same desire to appropriate old school nostalgia to one's personal aesthetic when you have a post-1990 birthday? More likely the latter, though this isn't as new a phenomena as one might think. Back in 2010 in his piece for NY Mag titled, What Was the Hipster?, cultural critic Mark Greif describes this phenomena as, "...traditional arts were of little interest to hipsters because their consumer culture substituted a range of narcissistic handicrafts similar enough to sterilize the originals." This apt, though nonetheless critical description accurately diagnoses the behavior.
Well, how does one combat this trend as a consumer? Look for the story behind companies, for those who were provoked by an experience or a need to start making the goods they did, and not to self-appropriate the newer generations' nostalgia for the old with a sham skeleton of the real McCoy. Doing so will support bona-fide brands and incentivize new companies to be more original and authentic.
Overboeck hopes to focus and promote the more authentic American-made and artisan brands, people making crafts their own and taking them seriously because of an authentic passion for them. Though you may have never heard of companies like Alder Stream Canvas, Morley's Cedar Canoes, or Wildlife Workshop Firetools, there are some really incredible people behind them with down-to-earth, worthwhile stories that enable you to purchase in a more informed, human, connected way. Keep stopping by the site to get to know them.