I grew up surrounded by creativity.
Music. Television. Movies. Books. Comic books. Fashion. Art. Pop culture.
Like everybody else, I consumed those things. But somewhere along the way, I stopped only looking at what people created and started asking myself a different question:
How can we make it better?
Not just prettier.
Not just more expensive.
Not just something else somebody can buy.
Better.
More creative. More meaningful. More inclusive. More useful. Something capable of leaving a mark after the excitement of seeing it for the first time wears off.
That question became part of the foundation of The House of URSUS.
CREATIVITY SHOULD HAVE CONSEQUENCES
I've always believed that what we create should do something.
When I write a book, I want somebody to close it and be able to say, “I learned something.”
Maybe they understand something they didn't understand before. Maybe it causes them to question something. Maybe something inside those pages helps them deal with something happening in their own life.
The same principle applies to our clothing, artwork, music, scripts, films and visual concepts.
I don't want to create simply for the sake of creating.
I want our actions to have consequences.
Good consequences.
Something you can take with you.
Something you can build upon.
Because creativity becomes much more powerful when somebody else can use what you've created to create something within themselves.
THE PEOPLE WHO BUILT THE PERSON
People sometimes talk about inspiration as though it only comes from famous artists, books, films or historical figures.
And yes, I've learned from all of those things.
But some of my greatest inspiration comes from the people closest to me.
My mother. My father. My wife. My children. My friends.
I find little pieces in people—their creativity, dexterity, ingenuity, resilience and the different ways they see the world.
Sometimes I see something remarkable in somebody that they may not even realize is remarkable.
My mother taught me something I've carried with me:
Everybody sees things differently. Everybody learns differently. If you can meet somebody where they are, you can teach them—and you can learn from them.
That matters to me.
Because I don't believe wisdom only travels in one direction.
Sometimes you're the teacher.
Sometimes you're the student.
If you're paying attention, you're usually a little bit of both.
DIGNITY SHOULDN’T HAVE AN INCOME REQUIREMENT
When I talk about standards, I mean something deeper than whether something looks expensive.
Pretty words are just pretty words if there isn't anything standing behind them.
That's why I don't believe luxury should mean: “Only certain people are allowed in.”
Someone shouldn't need a particular bank account to feel good about themselves. And someone shouldn't need a particular body type, height, age, background or ability to deserve clothing that makes them feel incredible.
The House of URSUS is intentional about people of color, people who have been overlooked, and people who wear big and tall sizes. Inclusion is not a decoration added after the design is finished. It belongs in the foundation.
Everybody has the right to shine. Everybody has the right to show out and show up.
The sun doesn't check your bank account before it shines on you.
Neither should dignity.
WHY THE POLAR BEAR?
The polar bear means something to me beyond being the symbol of URSUS.
I see endurance. I see adaptability. I see an animal existing in one of the most unforgiving environments on Earth and continuing forward.
It may travel tremendous distances looking for what it needs to sustain itself. Conditions change. Food isn't always where it needs it to be. Its environment presents challenges that it cannot negotiate away.
It still has to endure.
That doesn't mean standing still and pretending circumstances aren't changing.
Endurance requires dexterity.
You adapt. You learn. You keep moving. You find another way.
BUILT TO ENDURE
Built to Endure is not a promise that nothing will ever challenge you. It is the belief that challenge does not get the final word.
You can adjust without abandoning who you are. You can rebuild without treating the setback as the end of the story.
Endurance is not standing still. It is continuing with purpose.
WHEN THERE ISN’T A WAY, MAKE A WAY
There are going to be moments when you look at something you want to accomplish and can't see the path.
That doesn't necessarily mean there isn't one.
Sometimes you have to make a way.
I've experienced that even building this company.
When we were developing our Shopify presence, I didn't suddenly become a coding expert. There were things I didn't know how to do. We built, learned, ran into problems, watched things fail, rebuilt and continued improving.
And eventually the thing that once seemed outside my abilities became something real.
That's a small example, but the principle is much bigger.
Continue to dream.
Dreaming doesn't cost anything.
But eventually you have to put action behind the dream.
History is filled with people who encountered a problem and thought:
There has to be another way.
Necessity becomes an idea.
An idea becomes experimentation.
Experimentation becomes failure.
Failure teaches something.
You adjust.
You try again.
And sometimes something exists tomorrow that didn't exist yesterday because somebody refused to accept that today's obstacle had to be permanent.
Imagine how many brilliant ideas have disappeared because somebody convinced themselves they didn't have enough money, enough connections, enough education or enough opportunity to begin.
We'll never know.
That's why I want somebody with an idea—especially somebody who believes circumstances have already disqualified them—to hear this:
Continue to dream.
Then start figuring out how to move that dream one step closer to reality.
It may be difficult. It may take longer than you expected. You may have to change the route.
But changing the route doesn't mean changing the destination.
MORE THAN WHAT WE SELL
I want people to understand The House of URSUS economically, certainly. We're a business.
But I also want people to understand us socially.
What do we believe? What standards do we hold ourselves to? Who do we represent? What responsibility do we believe creativity carries?
Those questions matter to me.
Whether we're creating clothing, books, artwork, entertainment, music or something we haven't even imagined yet, I want us to keep returning to the same question that helped start all of this:
HOW CAN WE MAKE IT BETTER?
Not just for ourselves.
For the person who hasn't been represented.
For the person who has been told they don't fit the image.
For the person with the idea and no money.
For the kid who sees the world differently.
For the grown person who still has a dream they've been afraid to pursue.
For somebody who needs to hear that difficulty and impossibility aren't the same thing.
And for whoever comes after us and takes something we created and builds something even better from it.
Because when you make something better, you don't just make it better for yourself.
You make it better for the world.
Rubens Breeden
Founder & Creative Director
The House of URSUS | URSUS MARITIMU