Why the Mallard:
The Story Behind Our Logo
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) - a water bird that is abundant in Europe and North America. The most common wild duck in the northern hemisphere, the mallard is the ancestor of most domestic duck breeds.
*Note: It is the drake, or male, that bears the mallard’s characteristic coloring—the iridescent green head, white neck band, chestnut brown chest, yellow bill, and patches of blue in its wings.
Ever since Ryyan was little, his favorite animal was a mallard duck. As a child growing up in Denver, he loved to go with his parents to visit the ducklings at Washington Park in the springtime.
Then, when he was four or five years old, his mother bought him a stuffed mallard he named “Ducky Esb.”
And while Ryyan had dozens of toys and stuffed animals, Ducky quickly became his favorite.
Ducky went everywhere with Ryyan—on family trips to Paris, Istanbul, Beijing, and Kyoto—to the point where he was probably better traveled than most humans.
When Ryyan’s grandmother in Lebanon learned of Ducky’s world travels, she exclaimed, “That’s one lucky duck!”
Ryyan gave Ducky a rich backstory and a fully realized personality.
Ducky was an original thinker. He was kooky, creative, and entrepreneurial. He ran a successful car dealership called Ducky’s Motors—and he was a very savvy businessduck.
Ryyan and his father would spend hours upon hours playing with Ducky. They drew up an elaborate map of Ducky’s Motors, and arranged dozens of matchbox cars to form the lot. Together, they built an imaginative world in which Ducky got into all sorts of adventures while running his dealership.
Ryyan breathed so much life into Ducky that the stuffed duck became more like a pet than just a toy. He even gave Ducky lineage. When Ryyan was about 10, he went with his parents to an art exhibit, where he spotted a drawing of a mallard. Ryyan whispered in his father’s ear, “That is Ducky’s dad—Fred Esb.”
Even as Ryyan got older, ducks remained his favorite animal.
While ducks are common enough that most people might overlook them, Ryyan thought the mallard drake’s iridescent coloring was beautiful. But there was also something in their whimsical expressions, their quacks, and their waddling gait that he found endearing.
He refused to eat duck his entire life—and whenever he went out to eat, whoever he was with didn’t dare order anything with duck in it.
About Our Logo
Our logo, a mallard drake in flight, felt like an appropriate way to honor Ryyan’s legacy.
To us, the story behind Ryyan’s love for ducks embodies his immense gift for finding beauty in the everyday. It exemplifies his sensitivity, his creative spirit, his sense of whimsy, and his great propensity for love—qualities we hope to channel through our work.
