Some brands begin with a clear direction, while others grow naturally along the way. Anu Merchandise is one that embraces the undefined, allowing ideas, themes, and products to evolve over time.
What is the meaning behind your brand name? Is there a story behind how you chose it?
There’s actually no serious or deep meaning behind our brand name. At first, we wanted to sell merchandise, but we wanted it to grow and keep making many kinds of merch. Then we thought, in some cultures or languages in Indonesia, when we can’t answer or say something specific, we say “emm, anu.” So we thought, because we want to sell many undefined things, we don’t want to say “oh we sell stickers,” “we sell merch,” or “we sell pins.” We want our products to be shown in our brand as unpredictable. So, we chose Anu Merchandise.
Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you started your brand?
We were formed by two people, we are partners. We went to college together, and we studied Visual Communication Design together. Because we often talk and think about visuals and media, we started to think, “why wouldn’t we create something that truly shows who we are without anybody or any task telling us what to do?” So we created Anu Merchandise.
Which product best represents your brand, and why?
Stickers, because even before we started Anu, we loved collecting stickers, and we thought stickers are something that can be stuck anywhere, even in people’s minds.
Thank you, Anu Merchandise, for sharing your story. You can explore their collection on Paper & Peel.