The Coffee Cup That Changed My Mind About Merch
I used to think merch was for bands, influencers, and that co-working space in Wellington with the brutalist hoodies. Then I bought a coffee at a local design studio's pop-up in Grey Lynn and walked out with a ceramic espresso cup that has since reorganised how I think about brand loyalty.
It wasn’t even branded in the traditional sense. No logo, no website, just a faint thumbprint near the base. But the story behind it? Hand-thrown by one of the junior designers, fired in a shared kiln out west, part of a limited run they made to celebrate finishing a rebrand for a tiny dog-food startup. They were basically selling the residue of their creative high. I’ve used it every morning since.
This is what merch can do when it becomes an expression of energy, not just identity. You can’t fake that vibration. It’s got to come from within the team, not the strategy deck. I’m not talking about beige totes with a tidy sans serif in the corner. I mean objects with emotional residue. Physical proof that a brand can be alive,
not just active.
More brands should be making things that feel like they came from a moment, not a warehouse. We’re in a time where everyone can white-label a water bottle. But no one else can recreate the morning I had with that cup and a playlist called 'Stick and Slip'. You want loyalty? Make something weird, risky or deeply personal—ideally all three. We don’t need more merch. We need more mementos.
It wasn’t even branded in the traditional sense. No logo, no website, just a faint thumbprint near the base. But the story behind it? Hand-thrown by one of the junior designers, fired in a shared kiln out west, part of a limited run they made to celebrate finishing a rebrand for a tiny dog-food startup. They were basically selling the residue of their creative high. I’ve used it every morning since.
This is what merch can do when it becomes an expression of energy, not just identity. You can’t fake that vibration. It’s got to come from within the team, not the strategy deck. I’m not talking about beige totes with a tidy sans serif in the corner. I mean objects with emotional residue. Physical proof that a brand can be alive,
not just active.
More brands should be making things that feel like they came from a moment, not a warehouse. We’re in a time where everyone can white-label a water bottle. But no one else can recreate the morning I had with that cup and a playlist called 'Stick and Slip'. You want loyalty? Make something weird, risky or deeply personal—ideally all three. We don’t need more merch. We need more mementos.