For the Love of Merch: A History

<h2>Merch is Emotional Connection Made Tangible</h2> Ah, merch. So misunderstood! So casually dismissed as mere novelty! But that misses what’s so compelling about it. Merch is a distinctive category of thing among our other things. After all, most of our stuff comes from need or desire — a new coffee grinder or a jacket that you just have to have. Merch, however, is born of a relationship — with a band, team, brand, product, place, or event (from “I survived the Company Picnic of ‘87” to “Coachella 09”). Merch is fundamentally wound up with our identity. It’s a memory, a badge of honor, a flag in support of a cause. It’s our membership in a club. Merch is inherently imbued with feeling — it’s an emotional connection made tangible. Like new lovers who never want to part, we don’t want to leave our favorite band — so we wear our t-shirt out and about. We want that love to last. And we want to flaunt it. So while you may love that jacket in the window, that kind of love is one-way. With merch, you don’t just love whatever it is: it speaks to you. Despite its portrayal as disposable, merch is in fact quite emotionally intimate. We now bring you a brief tour — note that brevity is relative — through the history of merch, from its grassroots to luxury and beyond. <a href="https://medium.com/the-juice-box/for-the-love-of-merch-a-history-733e1480d980">Visit Now</a>