New England Outerwear launched in Lewiston, Maine during 2012, and quickly earned an international following. Today nearly 25 percent of all orders ship to Japan, with the likes of The Bureau Belfast, Royal Cheese, and Drake's of London rounding out the remaining overseas roster. Meanwhile, shops including Nepenthes and Portland Dry Goods have anchored retail back home in the States―all while direct-to-consumer sales continue to increase. Additionally, from its inception New England Outerwear evidenced obvious and legitimate "authenticity," that old marketing chestnut that so many companies self-attribute but so few actually have. Dan Heselton and Greg Cordeiro, both New England natives, founded the business with a strong DIY ethic and developed all aspects of the enterprise in-house: branding, design, and most importantly, manufacturing. The guys entrusted operations to Bill Herrick, a master handsewer and Lewiston native who hand-laced at Warren Shoe before heading up the last-room at the original Quoddy, learning plant management under Dave Rancourt at Cole Haan, and then working at the latest iteration of Quoddy before joining Dan and Greg.

With that kind of brand equity, why change the NEOC name? The answer involves the evolution of the original brand vision, Greg's decision to leave, and five years of people asking, "So, where's the outerwear?" 

Dan talked to us about his decision to rebrand the company.

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Next week Someone Else will publish an in-depth profile on Maine Mountain Moccasin and its home of Lewiston, Maine. Subscribe to our newsletter and we will nudge you when the story goes live.