Changes...
We made the following announcement on June 9th to our newsletter subscribers, and on June 11th on our social media channels:
Dear Friends,
How are you doing? I've been thinking a lot about you these past two and half weeks.
I've just plain been thinking a lot, period, these past two and a half weeks. About racism, antiracism, racial justice, and the powerful movement that is in play in our country at this moment. About what it takes for change to happen: murder, outrage, collective grief. And my place in it all. My company's place in it all. And how it relates to you.
A friend said: "If you believe in racial justice, in equality, in antiracism, and you're not talking about it right now, it's time to ask yourself what's keeping you on the sidelines."
For me, the answer was obvious. And it's past time to address the elephant in the room.
We often get asked about the origins of our company name. It is a subject we have always spoken about freely, as it gave us the opportunity to share with you about where our company began: in our home at the base of Black Dinah Mountain on the beautiful Maine island, Isle au Haut.
Several years after we moved our company to the mainland and south to the Greater Portland area, we noticed, to our dismay, that not everyone had the same good associations with our company name. And as our customer base grew, so did our perspective. Last fall, we began, as a team, to make a plan to transition to a new name. It was a longterm goal, after all, these things can't be rushed.
Perspective is powerful. We've been changing ours a lot lately. And I realized I was wrong. The time is now. It's always been now.
By mid-July, we will be making our chocolates and confections under a new name.
We look forward to sharing that name with you and stepping into our new shoes. And stepping off the sidelines. Black lives matter. To me, to the team here in Westbrook, and to our customers.
From now until we have our new labeling in-house, we will continue to use our usual marketing collateral that explains the origin of our current company name. Our hope is that while we transition to a new name as quickly as possible, you will still feel confident sending our chocolates to the people you care about.
If you have questions, concerns, or would like to share your perspective, please don't hesitate to email me directly: kate@blackdinahchocolatier
With warmth,
Kate
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