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How about manufacture? This should have the connotations of “hand-made”, “pre-industrial”, “non-mass product”, etc.

Craftsman Artisan

Artisan.

It is how most goods were made before the industrial revolution.

Bespokery

... though prompted by a suggestion above… Craftisan

It doesn’t have the ring to it that Artisan or Boutique might, but the first thing that came to my head was just “Focused”. A big company spreads it weight out over many employees and many different skill sets, whereas a smaller, “Focused” company specializes in a few things and does it really well for their clients.

Again, it may be to simplified for you but that’s what comes to mind.

Craft.

If somebody mentions a craft brewery, you know they’re talking about a small, independent brewery that cares about the quality of its product. There’s no reason that concept can’t extend to other types of companies.

Specialist

“Good”

Ooh! I like Bespoke and Artisan.

Cloudless.

The definitions are “clear”, “unambiguous” and my favorite, “free from what dims”.

Yeah… because “artisan” and “bespoke” don’t carry any connotations of snobbery or pretense. roll eyes

I do like craft, but that has connotations, too.

I also like using perfectly good words that work, like boutique. Maybe instead of focusing on finding new words to replace ones that don’t have connotations (good luck!), the focus should be on running the best damn boutique shop there is, so there’s no reason for people to think the label pretentious.

“Focused”?

Idiointimate, because I like making up words.

And why do we always have to go French on this stuff?

I understand and sympathize with this sentiment, but I’m afraid it’s probably a bit inescapable. Because of the Norman Invasion, French had a powerful influence on English and colored the meaning of many loan words (Cf. parley).

Case if point: I figured maybe we should look for older English words (er, you know, Old English words) for this meaning, so I looked up the etymology of “shop”. Being a short, “common” word, it’s a good candidate for having descended from Proto-Germanic. Here’s what I found:

1297, perhaps from O.E. scoppa “booth or shed for trade or work” (rare), related to scypen “cowshed,” from P.Gmc. *skoppan “small additional structure” (cf. O.H.G. scopf “building without walls, porch,” Ger. dial. Scopf “porch, cart-shed, barn,” Ger. Schuppen “a shed”), from base *skupp-. But it’s likely that the M.E. word was acquired from O.Fr. eschoppe “booth, stall,” which is a Gmc. loan-word from the same root. Meaning “schoolroom equipped for teaching vocational arts” is from 1914, Amer.Eng. Sense of “matters pertaining to one’s trade” is from 1814 (as in to talk shop, 1860). Shopping cart is recorded from 1956; shopping list first attested 1913; transf. and fig. use is from 1959.

Emphasis mine, there. So it turns out “shop” is probably French-derived, anyway. Similarly, store. Latin will lead you the same way, since French comes from it.

Looks like we either need to synthesize something (like Craftisan, though I should point out that artisan is from French), which is a dubious endeavor since intentionally introduced words like this rarely stick, or else bite the bullet and go French. Possibly just a French word that doesn’t have the connotational baggage that boutique does.

Personally, I like the idea of craft… Maybe a craftery? A place where a craft is practiced? Hmm. Doesn’t roll off the tongue too well.

Bistro?

I think shop, studio, and atelier all have wonderful connotations.

Magazinchik? From Russian for “little shop”.

Atelier sounds great — and has the same connotation in english as in french.

niche

I like “shop”.

Craft.

Not French. Not “high-falutin’”. But most certainly implies practitioners who value quality in their work.

Nobody cares more about their work than true craftsmen. (Who needs an agency or “shop” when you can take it directly to the craftsmen.)

Was also going to suggest artisan. Says hand-made, small-batch, personal-touch products without necessarily meaning snobby.

Places like Zingerman’s are sandwich artists, not Subway. And now I want Zingerman’s for lunch… had it for the first time Memorial Day weekend on way to Detroit for a wedding. Loved it so much, had to stop for lunch again on the way out, too. Incredible operation they’ve got.

I think, unfortunately, the words we choose will always carry with them the baggage they are born from.

Yes, I believe that “boutique” does carry around the very French notions that its etymology suggests, and may not be the right term – the “air” is different.

Unfortunately I’m struggling to find something along the same lines. In the same way that “boutique” may carry too much baggage, “studio” or “shop” seem almost barren and bare – like a white-walled room atop glazed hardwood floors. Where’s the furniture?

I saw recently an episode of Nova on the crafting of samurai swords – I’d like to think it fits, although there are other connotations, such as the inherited and passed down traditions, the old-fashioned nature, all which don’t necessarily apply. But “nihonto” does sound kind of cool.

And in continuing with the Japanese trend… there’s also “ryu” which does just apply to style or school of thought. It’s generally used as a suffix to a pre-existing word. Also maybe “-do” (as used in “bushido”) as that generally means a way of life.

I’m sorry, I thought I had a coherent thought in here!

A phrase commonly used is “long tail” business. Coined by Chris Anderson in book of same name. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Tail

You may find something in Seth Godin’s writings as he has created a high end career based on your first paragraph. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Godin

Love your Vipre. Enjoy your blog. Enjoy your candor. First time poster Thanks S

This is going to be a hard one since most people are going to look for a unique and likely obscure word that immediately makes it more pretentious.

“Creative foundry” invokes connotations of specialization in certain areas and doesn’t pigeonhole a firm into any one particular area. The phrase, IMO , is not quite as bland as shop, nor as persnickety as boutique.

Regardless of the name, how long until the ‘quantity’ shops start referring to themselves as ‘artisans’ or ‘craftsmen’ – when they clearly aren’t?

The corner drug store comes to mind. They know who you are and care about you as a customer. Different experience than CVS or Walmart.

I don’t really see the problem with boutique. Is it that Americans aren’t allowed to use French words? :-)

How about “Freedom Companies”? :-P

In my opinion passion needs to be encapsulated somehow.

Zealous? A little loaded toward the crazy side, maybe.

Ardent has nice connotations, and is inclusive. It would require mass-uptake to take on the spirit of a word like boutique.

I think the problem you’ll come up against is all the words that are readily perceivable as meaning what you’re trying to say, are already weighed down with the variety of preconceptions that have been associated with them over their years of use and misuse.

In the programmer world, I think of words like “agile” and “pragmatic”, which were unloaded until somebody with enough … ahem … ardour … stressed them and gave them their magical meanings.

“Radical industrialists.” “Emotional entrepreneurs.” “Ardent productizers.”

I don’t see the issue with “Indie”. It works well on the Mac for describing developers that are fine being small and producing high quality apps that people love, that like to engage their customers etc. A lot of people consider companies like Panic and the Omni Group to be indie companies even though they’re quite big in Mac terms now (10-20 employees).

what about “Anatomic” ?

Thinking about this some more, what really rubs me the wrong way with this blog post is its anti-intellectual undertones. Often when people use the word “pretentious”, I get the feeling they really mean “smarter than me.” Unfortunately, we seem to be living in a society where being “too smart” is often seen as a bad thing, and where the concept that somebody else may be smarter than I am is so unacceptable that I need to denigrate them, and try to make fun of their intellect, and somehow insinuate that their intelligence is actually a bad thing – they’re not better than me, they’re just more pretentious.

There’s nothing wrong with the word “boutique”, it describes the concept perfectly, and it’s a beautiful word from a beautiful language with many interesting concepts and ideas. The fact that it is a foreign word does not make it pretentious or “hoity-toity”.

Just use “boutique.” The problem is not with the word, but with the, uh, beholder.

I’m looking forward to the “Seeking a less pretentious ‘Kindergarten’” blog post :-)

A somewhat similar discussion is taking place on Josh Kopelman’s blog (more around a new term for what many unfortunately label a lifestyle business).

Worth checking out:

http://redeye.firstround.com/2009/07/we-need-a-new-name-for-this.html

Premium?

Shop is my preferred.

There probably isn’t one word that spans all industries as a generic.

I like “Studio” for services. “Craft” for manufactures.

The word “Shop” carries the same meaning as boutique without the quasi-elitist connotations.

I like shop too.

I’m partial, if going French, with “atelier.” But perhaps we should be more American and just go with “bodega.”

“Indie has other connotations” ... Favorable or not, depending on industry/practice.

I think it’s wiser to take it on a case by case basis, rather than creating a blanket word.

For my own work, I’ve settled on “Studio”. It connotes professionalism/maturity, but there is a sense of flexibility, smaller size, and uniqueness. I think “Shop” would also work well. “Consultancy” or “Collective” comes to mind, but may have some of the same issues as “Boutique”.

I’ve heard this sort of organization called a Bonsai Company

Agree with folks on “studios” – to mean that says creative, small, artistic, yet professional.

Mom and pop agency? ;)

the funny thing is “like 37signals” works best, and with all intended connotations.

“Small-scale agency” could work, too.

I’ve always like “House” …but you’d still have to think of a good modifier to add to it that encompasses what you do (eg Productivity(?) House), that’d be the tough part—though maybe it’s easier for you.

Apple

A few words that come to mind: Specialty, Focused, Craft, Artisan

I read some good ones so far, just trying to spin those further: “Anatomic” isn’t bad. But I’d rather go for “organic” as in “being naturally grown” “Boutique” for me only works in fashion terms (maybe that’s just me). “Freedom Companies” – I get the idea but think that “People Company” is a bit better, but actually it’s not precise enough.

Finally I am thinking that everything that has to do with “art”, “artistry”, “skill(s)”, “design” or “creation” can’t be bad because the roots of these words have to do with a work that requieres, well – skill(s). In German “art” means “Kunst” which again comes from “können” – “ability”, “competence”, “mastery” or “proficiency” as in “profession”. See, it’s all there. We just sometimes need to focus on what’s there instead of making up new things. :-)

Can’t use artisan, it’s a loan word from Italian, and therefore pretentious, just like boutique.

Of you can’t find a word, use a sentence.

specialty-shop?

Independent – agency.

A big heart company

Shop

How about a combo: “smallcraft” or “skillshop”.

They’re a smallcraft operation out of Las Vegas.

Cromulent.

a “GTD” – a Get Things Done company/business

Beeing french speaking, I can’t grasp all the baggage that comes using a foreign world in english, but I’m always willing to do exactly that in french when it helps the message. New words are good. In French, boutique is used for all kind of small shops, not just clothing. So Boutique gets my vote.

Craftique.

Practice.

authentic gets my vote.

i think boutique is fine. its not any more snobby than saying something is good, better, refined, focussed, bespoke, crafted. also work by a small highly skilled craftsman/small specialist team isn’t for the mass market – it is exclusive by nature as it has limited supply and caters for those with specific needs and wants. boutique gets this across fine. small but highly skilled in a specific niche.

ἀποθήκη

“Hand-made software”.

How about cultivated.

I suggest looking at the craft beer movement. Sounds like you’re describing the equivalent of a craft brewer, microbrewery, real beer, homebrew…just riffing here…

kick-ass

What might help is if there was one word to describe a “web-based software producing company” because then you’d be able to add a prefix or an adjective or something.

Way earlier in the comments I saw the word “brewery”. I thought of how you might say that 37signals is like a “microbrewery”: You make your own stuff, and keep the operation neat and focused. Granted, “microbrewery” is a bit trendy, but so are web apps regardless of how down-to-earth practical they are.

Point is, a brewery is a “brewery” and not a “yeast-based beverage producing company”. So why isn’t there a similar noun for what you guys do? If there was, you could qualify it as you please.

By the way, I don’t think the French have a word for it either.

dojo

“haus” – software haus, design haus.

small, but with a germanic attention to detail.

I think ‘boutique’ is kind of uppity, which is exactly why I like it. Nothing wrong with a little luxury in your work. By all means, use ‘shop’. Buy a Volvo while you’re at it. I’ll stick to the private jet. Flossy!

temple

How about, “they’re one of those small companies that really cares about what they make and who they make it for.”

I believe that it depends on the business. Some places do create bespoke products, they engage you in a deign process, like Falcon Motorcycles.

http://www.falconmotorcycles.com/

At times I believe it is a matter of finding the word that fits the product and denotes the quality of the product.

Boutique fits when it goes against the grain of the product. It is a tired word, not because it is French, but because we’ve often wandered into boutiques to find junk. If you call Chrome a messenger bag boutique, you might conjure up a notion of craftsmanship.

http://www.chromebagsstore.com/

Look for a term from the days of craftsmanship. If you can call the person a milliner or a haberdasher, do. Maybe you need to actually make hats.

http://www.louisemacdonald.com.au/

But, maybe you could think of 37 Signals as a Software Haberdasher or a Software Outfitter.

You could consider Zingerman’s a sandwich emporium.

Coulda is a partnership, so I feel that the size and scope and focus on relationships is right in the name.

However, the problem is that it is hard to be good at something, to be successful and popular, and not be accused of pretension. If you are a business that engages with their customers, builds strong relationships, delivers excellent work on time and under budget, well there are a whole bunch of people who are going to call you all kinds of nasty things.

Finally, if you want to avoid pretension in your Anglo-phile world view where those Normans stuffed all those flowy words down your throat, then do as the English do. Understate.

Which is to say, don’t try to find a fancy word for deli or agency. If a person doesn’t want to take your recommendation, let them suffer their own bad taste.

I think the Frenchies are unavoidable on this one. I mean, their whole culture is about JUST this kind of thing.

Shoptique Specialtique Craftique Designtique Artisantique

Wow, I like them all. I think I’ll use them. :)

What no “play”? I guess there aren’t any scumbag VCs here… ;-)

Uhm, to all the people (uh, americans?) who are down on word of non-english origin, you may want to have a peek at ‘Lists of English words of international origin’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_English_words_of_international_origin). Half the words you just used came from somewhere else. You all must be very ‘boutique’ ;b

I would like to suggest ‘Coterie”. It strictly means a small, often select group of persons who associate with one another frequently. However the term was often used to describe a group that gathered to share their unique skills to further aid larger organisations – think League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

I think the word has been out of general circulation long enough for us to revive it in the context that you mean.

‘We should go with a coterie agency…’ has quite a ring!

AICS Artisan Indie Craft Studios

Why do we need to work so hard at finding a unique word? Seems the very exercise is adding unnecessary complexity to a relatively simple exercise.

Our parents and /or grandparents used one simple word - great - to describe their outstanding experiences.

Why the need to complicate that any further?

disco business

It’s all about customer service for me. When we discuss vendors it usually comes down to whether or not we think they ‘get it’. So there’s your term.

You can refer to those firms as ‘get-it firms.’ It’s not snooty or pretentious yet conveys a certain level of talent and professionalism.

Is it my imagination or did Chris just ask SVN readers to become a thesaurus?

We don’t really need a new word. Asking for new words tends to get you things like “methodology.” Use boutique and be happy.

ABasketOfPups: Are you referring to me asking readers to be a thesaurus?

I don’t believe I did, unless my comment read wrong. Just giving my two cents.

Boutique is nice. Studio is nice. For a kick butt company like 37signals you need something like:

Great software’s home

‘Shopkeep’

This is how Stewie Griffin would want it.

On reflection, I think “boutique” is the perfect word for what you want to describe.

You said, you want to describe companies that are small; boutique implies small. You want to describe a company that cares about quality, and a boutique (if you think about it in fashion terms, which I don’t actually think the word is limited too, but anyway) focuses on high-end, quality craftmanship in their products. And you said you wanted to describe a company that wants to do something great for a small number of customers, and then turn around and say that “boutique” sounds exclusionary. Well, guess what? Focusing on a small number of customers over mass market is exclusionary. It’s excluding some potential customers because of the knowledge that if you took on too many, you wouldn’t be able to provide the same level of service. Exclusive isn’t necessarily bad, in fact, in the companies you are describing, it’s one of the qualities that helps them be great.

So I think you should stick with boutique.

“Architects, painters, sculptors, we must all return to crafts!…” Bauhaus Manifesto

http://www.dmoma.org/lobby/Bauhaus_manifesto.html

We need an equivalent manifesto for the boutique movement.

sharpened

Agree with the boutique problem. I must add that boutique is sometimes used for products more expensive than they should be but offered in wonderful wrapping (at least in my corner of the world).

We usually talk about ourselves in terms of craftsmanship, artisan or even symbolic terms: clockmakers or, my favourite, precision programming.

I think that coterie from Matthew and get-it firm from Chris are suitable also.

And why do we always have to go French on this stuff?

In Germany, French words have been “driven” out of fashion lately, getting replaced by English ones. There are replacements that work well and there are those that don’t. But I feel that lately, we “always go English” on this stuff…

I like “boutique”, even if not for that particular purpose.

Oh, and I vote for “Artisan”.

The minute you attach a new word to it, the word will start acquiring hoity-toity meanings. The very assumption that a special name has to be applied to such businesses is a bit snobbish in itself.

Just call them small businesses, leave it at that, and get on with the work, in my opinion.

“Specialty Firm”

If you don’t want to use words of French origin you’re going to need to stop using over 28 percent of the words in modern English.

I swear, sometimes 37signals can come off sounding as anti-intellectual and as Sarah Palin.

Why don’t we just look at language’s tricks straight in the eye and call such companies “the hoity-toities”?

... ok, ok, just joking… ;)

Sorry Chris, I was apparently very drunk and misread the “latest by” as the author. MATT , apparently asked readers to be a thesaurus.

a small-cup business

how about the word trust?

the words trust and business are synonymous. in addition, the verb trust is defined as “the belief and acceptance of something good.

Boutique has a negative connotation in French (and coterie is even worse!). Atelier is a good candidate, and it hosts artisans.

I like “Agile”.

I like the suggestion of Bonsai. It suggest a perpetually small, yet perfectly groomed company.