«Is this something Russian?» A girl from Kobryn launched the textile brand Samobranka — and it began
While tastes are not disputed, another name with a reference to Russian culture from a girl who also lives in Warsaw caused misunderstanding among people.
Diana Kamarchuk from Kobryn launched her own brand of table textiles. Checked napkins, lush tablecloths — in short, everything that might be needed for a festive table. All would be fine, but Diana decided to name her brand Samobranka. Exactly so — a Russian word in transliteration.
The Kobryn resident, who frequently visits Warsaw, has been warming up her audience on Threads for a long time. But recently, one of the almost identical posts about the brand "went viral" to a large audience. And commentators were triggered by yet another reference to the culture of another country. Here are just a few comments:
«You, Diana, are doing great. If only you had come up with a brand name somehow related to Kobryn or Belarus in general. No «samabrankas», «balalaikas» and other kokoshniks are wanted.»
«The name for a Belarusian brand is extremely unsuccessful.»
«Samobranka — is this something Russian?»
«Firstly, positioning yourself as a Belarusian brand must, absolutely must, be done in Belarusian! Secondly, "samabranka" (самабранка) in no way connects with anything even minimally Belarusian... With such a name, I advise you to go to the "rashka" (derogatory term for Russia) market, it should go down well there, put a kokoshnik on your head and it will 100% succeed! Wildberries, Ozon, maybe something else there. Good luck to you.»
«What if, for example, nastolnica, abrus-samabor, or raskoša, or charastvo?»
«It would be great for a brand from Belarus to use Belarusian words.»
«I can explain the hate. We are all tired of Belarusians having their identity taken away for centuries — everything was taken, even the language. Now people are rebuilding themselves brick by brick, and everything that is "not ours" strongly triggers the people. This is normal. If you plan to develop your brand in Poland, then, of course, it's better to change the name, because your clients are not only Belarusians, but also Poles and Ukrainians. Good luck with your endeavor.»
Even blogger Hanna Bond didn't like the name:
«The name is limping, of course, one could still think and choose something more presentable.»
Many were also bothered by the red-green flag that appeared in Diana's post. To this, the girl replied that she would not discuss politics — the post was only about textiles and fashion. Diana generally decided that the post "went viral" in the wrong direction. And she answered the commentators with a proverb:
«The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on. This is the first post that went viral in the wrong direction.»
But there were also those who supported the girl:
«Diana, you are smart, go for it, you are a true Belarusian girl!»
«I wish you success and advise you to focus on the Belarusian language for transliteration if you position yourself as a Belarusian brand. And even better, just use Belarusian Latin script (in your case — both are equally applicable/problematic) — Samabranka.»
«Once upon a time, doll production was established in Kobryn, and it succeeded. May everything work out for you too.»
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