Big in Buffalo

Sometimes I realize how much nostalgia has shaped what ACL was. Part of my interest in made in America is, of course, shaped by it. The same goes for my love of heritage brands, old diners, and all the other institutions that step into tradition, which I constantly seek. I remember the first time I saw an Oxford Pennant, and I remember instantly appreciating the nuance and quality of what they make.

The idea of creating a pennant business may seem a bit insane, but that didn’t deter Brett Mikoll and Dave Horesh from following their passion for design, heritage, and made in America. The resulting Oxford Pennant has been an enormous hit, rekindling a nostalgia for bands, kids, fans, and lovers of Americana.

At one point, we discovered that we all have some mutual friends, and we connected about a trip to Buffalo. I was headed home to Cleveland for a week, and while I was in NEO, we planned a quick trip to say hello in Buffalo. It’s been a while since I was in that part of the world, but I was quickly reminded how much I love that city and Western New York in general. Geographically and spiritually, Cleveland and Buffalo are close. There’s a familiarity there that makes these places feel like cousins. There’s a certain Rust Belt mentality that instills a massive sense of pride in place for both communities. Accordingly, everyone I have ever met from Buffalo seems to be an enthusiastic representative of the Greater Buffalo tourism board. Never have I been so besieged by recommendations like I was after posting that I was headed to Buffalo. Since I was on a boy’s trip with my son, we made the trip together. We had so much fun that we are going to try to make it an annual pilgrimage to the land of Oxford Pennant, O’Connell’s, and charred-roni pizza from Picasso’s.

If you came up with the idea for Oxford Pennant in an MBA class, everyone would try to talk you out of it. People must have said: You’re going to open a factory and make old school pennants? There’s no way that’s going to work! Although I sometimes think an idea needs to be so far outside the box that people can’t help but be drawn to it. When you see the colors and hold an Oxford Pennant in your hands, you can’t help but to feel something. That’s what’s missing in our consumer culture.

The American consumer culture is often characterized by a focus on quantity rather than quality. The capitalism machine works best when it’s fast, cheap, and dirty. That’s what crushes those Wall Street quarterlies. Move the production to whatever exploitable, impoverished market and hit those margin targets. Mikoll and Horesh managed to find a category where people cared about where and how their product was made. Having sewers and making everything by hand became a massive advantage, rather than the albatross people assumed it would be.

Keep Buffalo A Secret.

That’s the cheeky mural on the side of the multistory brick building that houses the Oxford Pennant workshop and offices in downtown Buffalo. It’s a love letter to the city from two of its biggest believers. It reminded me that these are Buffalo guys who didn’t sneak away to Brooklyn (ahem, like I did) to create something creative and important. Brett and Dave are hometown heroes who have charted their own path right in their backyard. I have to admit that it’s inspiring to see them do it.

Oxford Pennant is the rare convergence of good intentions, creativity, and hard work that gives rise to something meaningful and lasting. Every banner, tee shirt, and pennant embodies the hard-working, good-natured spirit that you’ll find all over Buffalo. It illustrates the characteristics of the people in the Rust Belt. It’s also a poignant reminder of who we really are as Americans. At the end of the day, everyone wants the same things for their family and is working hard to improve their lives and communities. My time in Buffalo was a reminder that when you use your own eyes and judgment, you can really see things for what they are. Everything isn’t terrible. Good people are doing meaningful things in this world — even if it’s just making simple things like a T-shirt or a pennant. It’s still out there. It’s in Buffalo.

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Brett and Dave have a sizable vintage archive collection, which they were happy to bring out and show me.

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They made me a custom banner for fun while I was doing the tour. I saw every step of the process and it all happened under one roof.

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Brett’s ridiculous Oxford Touchdown Plow truck because what’s more Buffalo than Lake Effect snow? I guess maybe jumping on card tables?

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