Mercer No More
My couch arrived this morning, which I’m very excited about. There’s no need to have my guests aimlessly milling about in my living room. They now have a place to crash. Whoo-hoo!
There is, however, one small problem. Room and Board shipped my furniture with a name attached (a trend they seem to be sharing with the other evil decorating superstores Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, Restoration Hardware, etc.) It’s called Mercer, and that’s how all my friends have referred to the couch since I showed it to them in the catalog. When is Mercer coming? Is Mercer here yet? How does Mercer look in the living room? Ugh! Stop!
This naming trend is too much like the adult version of Beanie Babies (they of the cutesy prefabricated names and backstory conveniently attached). The problem with naming products like that is it kills the imagination. Admit it! How many of you bother to personalize or rename your stuff if it comes with the name on a little tag? I don’t know about you, but I always enjoyed naming my dollies (when I was little) and the family dog, etc. It was an event! It was a priveledge! It made things yours. I don’t want to give that up to live with some couch persona conjured up a first year marketing hack.
I plan to christen my couch on Sunday night. Its name will be Louie.
