When Mads Madsen [right] and Dominick Volini launched Baron Wells in January 2010, the look—an amalgamation of an outdoorsy aesthetic and a classic, East Coast menswear one—was hugely important, but so was the idea of building a business they both wanted to work for. The two childhood pals, who bonded over both board sports and artsy pursuits growing up, had had divergent career experiences that made them want to build something really special. “I worked in real estate finance at a big bank at right about the time when banks were starting to fail. It taught me a lot, but it was uninspiring in terms of the way that large corporations function,” Mads explains. “On the flipside, Dominick was working for Burton, which was a very large company but one that had managed to maintain its culture and feel like a family.”

But before the twosome could worry about

perpetuating a culture, they had to build one: They brought thoughtfully sourced materials into the mix (Japanese cottons, South American Corozo nuts) and developed signature styles from the get-go, like button-downs with just-rounded collars. As Dominick recalls, “We wanted them to be unique but not to be obnoxiously different.” They also focused their attentions on nailing down local manufacturing. “New York is kind of where we grew up,” says Mads of he and his Jersey-bred partner. “There’s something to be said for walking into the factory and getting to know the people who are producing things. Most people don’t know the actual people who are making the products that they’re selling and designing.”

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