Our first brands

This is more of a quick 'background blog' for everyone that doesn't know us yet. In a couple of weeks' time, I'll become a bit more current with news in this section. These are just by way of introducing ourselves.

Thank you for reading.
Miranda x

Roland and I discovered that we had some things in common ten years ago at university. Then we got a bit tipsy on a student night out and discovered we had some more things in common.

One of the things we shared, even before we really understood much about it, was that we loved impressive brands.

Roland was typically “boy” because he loved Apple computers, his Sony video camera, his Nokia mobile phone and how they compared in quality and hardware spec. I was typically “girl” because I was really taken by the new clothes brand that had opened in Bristol called “Jack Wills”… and how they were clear about targeting students and how they had taken components from Crew and White Stuff but made a more inclusive brand.

We also often talked about objects and organisations in terms of how they should brand themselves beyond their logo and visual identity. Our favourite topic was always films; how they had a good content but had no idea at whom they were aiming. Or how they spent “all this money on such-and-such a star that was completely wrong for the film”. Or, “Why did they use that PR stunt, when it could have been so much simpler…”

We’d rewrite plotlines, casting decisions and entire marketing plans for films we’d seen on our walk back from the Cineworld on Fulham Road. It’s not to say we’d have made a better film but we knew what we were looking for and, most importantly, we definitely knew when we didn’t feel we “got” it, or we didn’t feel like they’d “got” it.

We also looked at charities and events and talked about how we thought they could look and feel better and asked, “why don’t we feel like we want to go to that?”.

The key was that we started to discover and understand much better the realisation, “maybe they’re just not aiming at us?"

Then we had the idea that we wanted to own a brand ourselves.

I’d like to think that this started the passion rolling to start Muddy Boots but I wonder whether it was equally that, for our cinema dates in London, we’d walk there (free), use a Times Eat-Out voucher for a £5 meal before, go to the Cinema on our Cineworld monthly card – meaning that the third week and the fourth week were free, sneak M&Ms into our pocket to have inside (cheaper than pic n mix), and walk home again (free)… Maybe, without realising, we were training to be self-employed and completely penniless!

Next up… our current corporate crushes: “When we grow up, we want to be like….”