Happy French Gang. It rolls off the tongue naturally for me now, without a second thought. I say it without thinking about the depth of its meaning and the uniqueness of its origin. It’s the name of my business, after all, and so I’ve grown very accustomed to saying it and seeing it without thinking twice.
But what now is so commonplace for me used to be a new and novel idea with entirely different connotations. It all started with and idea: the idea that I would take my skills and passions and fuse them into something that would eventually grow into a business.
Every business needs name, and every name needs a logo. As a French native living in the San Francisco Bay Area, I wanted to bring some of my cultural background to the foreground of my brand. Around this time, I believed that perhaps there were others from my background who would want to contribute and sell their work alongside the work that I was creating. I smiled to myself as I thought of creating a “Happy French Gang”—a group of people all happily contributing to something they were passionate about while at the same time striving to do the little things create a sustainable, positive impact in the world.
With these ideas fresh in my mind, I knew I had something—I would call my business Happy French Gang!
Something about the name was instantly recognizable, and beautifully conveyed the values and aspirations I wanted my brand to represent: style, goodness, joy, creativity, culture and community. My business grew in unexpected ways, and while I never did find that community of French craftspeople, I did find a wonderful community around me that was ready to embrace Happy French Gang.
This are the wooden blocks that we use in India to block print our jumpsuits and other items. Cool right?
Now the meaning is more ambiguous but just as meaningful—everyone who has been involved with my work on any level has become a part of this Happy French Gang.
Now that I had a name, I needed a logo. I felt that the my business had evolved very organically, and so I thought a handwritten logo could suit it very well. I experimented and landed on the current version of the logo—the rest is history! I’ve always liked how simple yet recognizable the logo is and how elegantly it builds on the brand elements contained within the name itself. It says “hey, come be a part of our fun, happy, carefree community!” Better yet, it probably says it all with a French accent!
A brand is always more than its name or logo. It’s true essence lies in the people who are pulling for it, the members of the community itself. In that way I like to think that Happy French Gang is as much about our brand audience as much as it is about who we are.