Marion brothers found Buzzards Bay clothing brand

MARION — Martha’s Vineyard has Vineyard Vines, Cape Cod has Cape Life, and now, thanks to two Marion summer residents, Buzzards Bay has its very own clothing brand — Buzzards Bay Basins.

Brothers Angus and Finnegan Leary started Buzzards Bay Basins in 2020 because “we were looking around the Buzzards Bay area [and] were trying to find a clothing brand that could represent the bay … and we couldn’t,” said Angus.

“There's not one solid Buzzards Bay company,” said Finnegan. “So we thought ‘why not make one?’”

Buzzards Bay Basins sells hats, sweatshirts, shorts and shirts emblazoned with a logo depicting a striped bass against a triangle.

“I'm a big fisherman myself … and striped bass, black bass, It's all prevalent here,” said Angus. “So I think that was a big design piece and focal point for our logo.”

Angus, a senior at Roxbury Latin High School, and Finnegan, a sophomore at the same school, have ambitions to earn business degrees and Buzzards Bay Basins has been a way to get first hand experience running a company.

In their three years running Buzzards Bay Basins, the duo have worked with manufacturers, patent lawyers and distributors.

“One lesson I've learned is communication skills,” said Angus. “Communicating with adults who do this for a living … I think that was awesome and I think that they taught me a lot.”

The pair also had to work to gain the support of their parents, who were initially “a little hesitant,” said Angus.

“My parents saw the numbers … we read it to them, they felt very supportive about this and they thankfully helped us along our journey,” said Angus.

Along with experience, the brothers hope that profits generated from Buzzards Bay Basins will help them pay for college.

Buzzards Bay Basins clothing is sold in Mimi’s of Marion, On-the-Go in Mattapoisett and Padnaram Outfitters in Dartmouth.

“We have plans to continue and develop this because we want this to stay within the community for years to come,” said Finnegan.

According to Finnegan, the support the company has received from the Buzzards Bay community has been “awesome.”

“It's really cool to see how if someone really has a dream, and they want to set their mind to it, they have loads of support,” he said. “I think that's awesome for anyone to experience and I hope that people can experience that.”

Ultimately, Angus and Finnegan said they see Buzzards Bay Basins as a way to pay tribute to this part of Massachusetts.

“People think … The Cape is the spot to be,” said Angus. “For us, Marion, Mattapoisett, this Tri-Town area, that's something special to us that we want to keep and stay forever.”