I have spent countless hours correcting people on the name of my company. Sometimes I see it written as “Bards Custom Clothier”, “Bard’s”, “Brads”, “Bard’s Clothing”... maybe I should have gone with Brads and sold Oakley sunglasses and trucker hats… no, you’re right, bad idea. 

When I was thinking about the name for this company, I knew it had to relate to storytelling. My name is Matthew Banever, doesn’t have the same ring as Tom Ford or Ralph Lauren, but who knows, Ermenegildo Zegna and Cristóbal Balenciaga have pretty popular names using their names. 

I was writing my business plan in 2018, living at my parents house, in a room that had slanted ceilings. I would use thesaurus.com to look up word similar to ‘storytelling’; I’d write them down and stick them on the ceiling. One night as I’m looking up at the ceiling I saw a word, “Bard '' and thought, that's pretty strong. I could use that. 

I started to look into it and it all fell into place.

“In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.”

Throughout my career in retail I noticed a common thread, people bought clothing to represent themselves in their daily lives. When the idea came to me to launch my own business, this notion consumed me. An individual has lived this incredible life and choose the cover for their own story when they shop. 

The mission statement became clear: Tell Your Story. When I first work with you it is so that I can create clothing to help tell your story. But my clothing is a luxury, I am a want and not a need. I recognize that, so I want people to feel empowered through our work to tell their own story. See the mission became a call to action for my clients, that they could take with them and buy other clothing with intention. 

In doing so they become their own storyteller, another Bard. The creation of this network lead to the decision to name the company: Bards. We are all telling a story, wether we like it or not, people will make assumptions about us based on the way we look. Take control of your story, control the narrative, become a meaningful specific rather than a wandering generality. I’m here to turn you into the best storyteller of your own life.