The Indigo Mill: Behind the Name

When we decided to put a name on our paper goods and take our show on the road, it really didn’t take us long to find the right fit. From the very first days of our partnership, we have been guided more by our internal meter of what we want our business to represent than making a (literal!) name for ourselves.

The Indigo Mill has a pretty special backstory. Our original intention was to call ourselves the Millhouse. One of the values that is really important to all three of us is supporting our local community, and Greenville really emerged as a standout in the textile industry dating as far back as the 18th century. If you drive around, there is visual evidence of that rich heritage all over town in the old brick mill buildings that have become treasured landmarks. We embraced these old mills because obviously as artists we appreciate the raw beauty of the towering crumbly brick buildings. More than being visually appealing, though, these mills represented a generation of women that we descended from that worked with their hands to provide. They dedicated themselves to a craft within those walls. They led simple lives in the mill houses nearby and made a quiet impact with their steady hands and steady dedication to service.

To us, there is nothing that could have better encompassed our baseline principles of supporting our local community and using our hands to make a product that will hopefully, ultimately bring us together with people from all over and have a positive impact on the world we are part of. Still, as we began referring to ourselves as the Millhouse it didn’t sit quite right. It was cool but left some ambiguity in terms of an actual product. As we looked at the smudgy ink drawing of the millhouse Lindsey did for our logo, one of us blurted out what about Indigo? Indigo is, of course, a staple to anyone offering paper goods, and as it so happens, it is also the state color of South Carolina, thanks to the understated importance of the indigo plant to the South Carolina industry and economy in the era of cotton and tobacco.

Once we hit on Indigo, it was like the clouds parted and the angels sang. Now we knew who we were meant to be! The wax seal logo and handwritten lettering seemed like a perfect way to “seal” the deal (don’t ever take yourself too seriously to miss an opportunity for cheesy joke!). We couldn’t be more proud of the ties to history and place that our logo and name represent and we are grateful to be part of a place with such a rich heritage.