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burendasan4I first heard of Rae Dunn when about two months ago, when my dad sent me a link to an article about Rae Dunn pottery. The aesthetic of these ceramics (like mugs, bowls, plates, and canisters) looks homemade, yet minimal. They're usually painted in white with words or phrases in tall black lettering that almost looks handwritten. The words are either just a label for what the product was supposed to hold or had very cringey, middle-aged mom words and phrases like "Be the Light," "Dream Big" or "Blessed." They became very popular over the years and then became an obsession for many people, mostly middle-aged women. The article listed all the hallmark signs of the obsession for this product: women waiting outside Marshall's and TJMaxx stores before opening time; the mad rush for the merchandise once the stores opened; fighting over the products like it was Black Friday; people reselling the items at a high markup; spending crazy amounts of money amassing large collections of Rae Dunn pottery and having to buy multiple china cabinets to store it all; social media groups where collectors can obsess about finding particular items; Rae Dunn herself becoming idolized.
It reminded me a LOT of my experience with the Field Notes brand. There isn't a lot of mobbing stores by Field Notes fans since the main source for buying these notebooks is the Field Notes website and the notebooks are not stocked by any major retailer. But in the Field Notes Facebook group I was part of, people were definitely obsessed. There was seriously high anticipation whenever the new limited edition notebooks were set to drop every three months. People would crow about their triumph at having snagged the latest edition or a super-rare edition. Minutes before my brother-in-law's wedding, I got an email notification on my phone announcing the latest Field Notes edition and for a few moments, the joy of that overcame my joy at being at an actual family member's *wedding*. In the Facebook group, people would post pictures of the startlingly large number of Field Notebooks they had acquired, often over a short amount of time. There were also pictures of shelves and storage boxes people had to acquire to store them all. I found myself seriously contemplating spending $80-90 on eBay on a very rare edition of a *3-pack set of pocket notebooks*. The founders of the Field Notes company were seen as celebrities and those who managed to approach them at some event and get a selfie with them would proudly post the picture on the Facebook group like it was some major accomplishment to be envied.
It was an obsession that could have easily become an addiction for me.
And in case anyone thinks these obsessions with brands are something that happens to only women: there were both men and women among the collectors of Field Notes, and the majority seemed to be men. So it shows that this kind of obsessive behavior is also apparent in men. Besides, anyone heard of Supreme?
So needless to say I had no interest in buying any Rae Dunn products.
So fast forward to this past Memorial Day weekend when R and I rented a house in WV with some friends. The rental house had a fully equipped kitchen and in one of the cupboards were two Rae Dunn mugs. One said "Relax" and the other "Enjoy." I totally did NOT expect to be seeing Rae Dunn products in person. Nevertheless I found it rather amusing to see them. It wasn't until our last day there that I drank some tea from one of the mugs. The mugs were large and had uneven yet smooth edges. And surprisingly...they felt really good to hold and to sip from. I decided right then and there that I would go to TJ Maxx and buy a Rae Dunn mug with words that hopefully weren't too cringeworthy.
So I went to TJ Maxx and...there was Rae Dunn branding everywhere! Rae Dunn had taken over the store like an invasive species! Besides mugs, there was cookware, homeware, sheets, throw pillows, decorative ceramic birdhouses, and even dog food bowls with the distinctive RD lettering. It was a bit excessive, even though I *was* tempted to get a canister that said, "Quinoa". Later I even found a RD-branded t-shirt that had "Recycle" written on the front (major cringe). So as for the mug, I ended up getting one that is painted yellow on the inside and says, "That's All Yolks." The pun is so bad that it goes beyond cringeworthiness to being silly and nonsensical. It was either that mug or ones that said, "Woke", "Bliss", "Adorbs", "Dreamer", "Tied the Knot", "Wifey"...the list goes on. Later on my sister said I could have gotten the other ones for joke value but...I'm really happy with what I got. I daresay...the mug sparks joy (at least for now).
And since my mug purchase, I can see how one can easily get sucked into the RD craze (or any brand craze for that matter). I went on eBay to see if perhaps I could get another mug that said, "Tea" that I could use for the office. I discovered that the prices there are a lot higher than just going to TJMaxx and getting a RD mug for $7. There, I saw the wide variety of words and phrases that can be found on RD products. Besides the cringe-inducingly "inspirational" and "woo" words and phrases, there are also ones with snarky and irreverent words and phrases. There were even examples of "meta" items that had phrases like "Dunn Hunter" and "Never Dunn". And honestly, I think this was done intentionally to appeal to a wide variety of people.
So, as many people have tried to figure out in YouTube videos and articles: Why is there such an obsession with Rae Dunn products, or the products of any other brand with a cult following for that matter?
When drinking out of my Rae Dunn mug, I get this feeling of coziness and even...safety. I imagine that this feeling of coziness is a big part of what has drawn people to this brand, especially with all the chaos that's been going on these past few years and the feelings of uncertainty that comes from that. So people keep buying more and more of these products, hoping to recapture that feeling of coziness and safety.
Also, the products are, on the face of it, inexpensive and easily obtainable. Field Notes sells their standard notebooks for under $10 for a 3-pack. Rae Dunn mugs are no more than $7 at Marshalls or TJMaxx. It's the equivalent of "the first one is free”. But supply is artificially limited with "limited editions"--this is especially apparent with Field Notes. This creates scarcity, desirability, and artificial value. So the products become more coveted and in order to get the truly desireable products, you have to pay a lot of money for them, which is why there is a frenzy among people to obtain the items when they are still inexpensive. The expectation and hope that you can obtain a highly desirable item at the "base" cost is what drives the Rae Dunn women to ransack the shelves at TJMaxx or for Field Notes fans to buy a pile of pocket notebooks that they will probably never use.
I admit, I think my Rae Dunn mug is pretty cute and I really like it. But I realize that all Rae Dunn mugs are basically the same mug, but with different things written on them. Buying more of them would not make me enjoy these mugs better. Besides, I don't have room in my house for extra china cabinets...let alone a lot of mugs! And if I were surrounded by a wall of Rae Dunn ceramics, they would stop being cute. I prefer a variety of dishware and kitchenware.
Anyway, that's my rambling meditation on Rae Dunn, brand obsessions, and shopping addictions. And well...That's All, Yolks!
....I'll see myself out ;-)
It reminded me a LOT of my experience with the Field Notes brand. There isn't a lot of mobbing stores by Field Notes fans since the main source for buying these notebooks is the Field Notes website and the notebooks are not stocked by any major retailer. But in the Field Notes Facebook group I was part of, people were definitely obsessed. There was seriously high anticipation whenever the new limited edition notebooks were set to drop every three months. People would crow about their triumph at having snagged the latest edition or a super-rare edition. Minutes before my brother-in-law's wedding, I got an email notification on my phone announcing the latest Field Notes edition and for a few moments, the joy of that overcame my joy at being at an actual family member's *wedding*. In the Facebook group, people would post pictures of the startlingly large number of Field Notebooks they had acquired, often over a short amount of time. There were also pictures of shelves and storage boxes people had to acquire to store them all. I found myself seriously contemplating spending $80-90 on eBay on a very rare edition of a *3-pack set of pocket notebooks*. The founders of the Field Notes company were seen as celebrities and those who managed to approach them at some event and get a selfie with them would proudly post the picture on the Facebook group like it was some major accomplishment to be envied.
It was an obsession that could have easily become an addiction for me.
And in case anyone thinks these obsessions with brands are something that happens to only women: there were both men and women among the collectors of Field Notes, and the majority seemed to be men. So it shows that this kind of obsessive behavior is also apparent in men. Besides, anyone heard of Supreme?
So needless to say I had no interest in buying any Rae Dunn products.
So fast forward to this past Memorial Day weekend when R and I rented a house in WV with some friends. The rental house had a fully equipped kitchen and in one of the cupboards were two Rae Dunn mugs. One said "Relax" and the other "Enjoy." I totally did NOT expect to be seeing Rae Dunn products in person. Nevertheless I found it rather amusing to see them. It wasn't until our last day there that I drank some tea from one of the mugs. The mugs were large and had uneven yet smooth edges. And surprisingly...they felt really good to hold and to sip from. I decided right then and there that I would go to TJ Maxx and buy a Rae Dunn mug with words that hopefully weren't too cringeworthy.
So I went to TJ Maxx and...there was Rae Dunn branding everywhere! Rae Dunn had taken over the store like an invasive species! Besides mugs, there was cookware, homeware, sheets, throw pillows, decorative ceramic birdhouses, and even dog food bowls with the distinctive RD lettering. It was a bit excessive, even though I *was* tempted to get a canister that said, "Quinoa". Later I even found a RD-branded t-shirt that had "Recycle" written on the front (major cringe). So as for the mug, I ended up getting one that is painted yellow on the inside and says, "That's All Yolks." The pun is so bad that it goes beyond cringeworthiness to being silly and nonsensical. It was either that mug or ones that said, "Woke", "Bliss", "Adorbs", "Dreamer", "Tied the Knot", "Wifey"...the list goes on. Later on my sister said I could have gotten the other ones for joke value but...I'm really happy with what I got. I daresay...the mug sparks joy (at least for now).
And since my mug purchase, I can see how one can easily get sucked into the RD craze (or any brand craze for that matter). I went on eBay to see if perhaps I could get another mug that said, "Tea" that I could use for the office. I discovered that the prices there are a lot higher than just going to TJMaxx and getting a RD mug for $7. There, I saw the wide variety of words and phrases that can be found on RD products. Besides the cringe-inducingly "inspirational" and "woo" words and phrases, there are also ones with snarky and irreverent words and phrases. There were even examples of "meta" items that had phrases like "Dunn Hunter" and "Never Dunn". And honestly, I think this was done intentionally to appeal to a wide variety of people.
So, as many people have tried to figure out in YouTube videos and articles: Why is there such an obsession with Rae Dunn products, or the products of any other brand with a cult following for that matter?
When drinking out of my Rae Dunn mug, I get this feeling of coziness and even...safety. I imagine that this feeling of coziness is a big part of what has drawn people to this brand, especially with all the chaos that's been going on these past few years and the feelings of uncertainty that comes from that. So people keep buying more and more of these products, hoping to recapture that feeling of coziness and safety.
Also, the products are, on the face of it, inexpensive and easily obtainable. Field Notes sells their standard notebooks for under $10 for a 3-pack. Rae Dunn mugs are no more than $7 at Marshalls or TJMaxx. It's the equivalent of "the first one is free”. But supply is artificially limited with "limited editions"--this is especially apparent with Field Notes. This creates scarcity, desirability, and artificial value. So the products become more coveted and in order to get the truly desireable products, you have to pay a lot of money for them, which is why there is a frenzy among people to obtain the items when they are still inexpensive. The expectation and hope that you can obtain a highly desirable item at the "base" cost is what drives the Rae Dunn women to ransack the shelves at TJMaxx or for Field Notes fans to buy a pile of pocket notebooks that they will probably never use.
I admit, I think my Rae Dunn mug is pretty cute and I really like it. But I realize that all Rae Dunn mugs are basically the same mug, but with different things written on them. Buying more of them would not make me enjoy these mugs better. Besides, I don't have room in my house for extra china cabinets...let alone a lot of mugs! And if I were surrounded by a wall of Rae Dunn ceramics, they would stop being cute. I prefer a variety of dishware and kitchenware.
Anyway, that's my rambling meditation on Rae Dunn, brand obsessions, and shopping addictions. And well...That's All, Yolks!
....I'll see myself out ;-)
