Featured Interview: Ball & Buck

by guestofaguest · September 18, 2007

Mark, we’ve been hearing a lot about your line after you event at Cellar Bar. I guess the first question I have is, how did you come up with the name, Ball and Buck?

When George Washington was rallying his troops during the American Revolution he told his troops to use the "buck and ball" method of loading their muskets in an effort to combine smaller efforts to contribute to a greater good. Ball and Buck took Washington’s innovation on the battlefield and made a revolutionary twist on the American tradition of shot gunning and created "Ball and Buck" and our logo, Roger, an American outdoorsman holding a shotgun.

What does the brand mean to you?

Ball and Buck is a brand representing the rugged side of preppy. We incorporate a strong foundation of American heritage (made in USA) with an environmentally friendly organic cotton to create a set of unique and traditional products that appeal to our customers.

How did you come up with this idea of the “pocket tee”?

Being from Atlanta, the pocket tee is a very popular choice in the college wardrobe as it is truly an original American tradition. Ball and Buck took this tradition another step by incorporating recycled fabrics and making unique and original pocket tee's out of those fabrics with100% certified organic cotton shirts. The Ball and Buck Pocket Tees give customers a way to express their individuality through understated style.

How do you balance school and building a business?

I do my best work when I am under a completely full schedule. In fact, I actually get better grades in class when I have multiple obligations in my life. For example, when I was starting Ball and Buck, I was consulting for three companies, overloading my class schedule, acting as the president of Greek Council and Invenio Group, writing a CD in my band, and still managed to achieve the highest GPA of my entire Babson career. I guess I was just meant to operate under pressure.

Wow. Do you have any advice for college students about juggling multiple activities? Looks like you’ve gotten it down to a science…

Recently you had an event at the Bryant Park Hotel. How did you think your event turned out? It was an absolute dream to work with the Bryant Park Hotel and Red Carpet Events during Fashion Week 2009. Our runway show in their Cellar Bar was a great success and we really spread the word about Ball and Buck – we even got written up in Time Out New York!

How’d it feel to see your name in the press? Were you excited?

What types of clothes can we expect to see from Ball and Buck in the near future? The Ball and Buck product line will always incorporate its Original Pocket Tee's but we are incorporating a new product line called Roger's Frontier. In this new line our design team considers the current trends in fashion and uses them to influence our Ball and Buck traditional style.

Where would you like to see the brand in 5 years?

In five years, Ball and Buck is going to be a force in the fashion industry bringing together unique style with environmentally and socially friendly manufacturing. We will have retail locations in Boston, New York, LA, as well as a large online store (presence).

We love them already. For more information, visit ballandbuck.com