What’s In A Name?

But most importantly, and anyone who knows anything about business and advertising knows that people like names. I went to Temple University and studied advertising, branding, PR, all of that. People like catchy phrases, they like specific colors and they like stories. I like stories. That’s the biggest thing of all. I like a good story that goes along with a product. Spanx. Spanx…the story is memorable. A woman decides to make a product to hide any kind of imperfections of the female form and she names it a catchy one word name. Spanx. She had hardly any money to make the product, she made it, went to Neiman Marcus…showed a higher up the idea in a bathroom..yes, in a bathroom in Neiman Marcus and the Neiman Marcus buyer, I believe, liked it. That’s all it took. A needed product for so many curvaceous women, with a great story. Nike, easy to remember. Apple, with a great logo. You get the point. Sometimes I like longer names. “Hello, Gorgeous!”-an Onyx piece, but a name you won’t forget. “Breaking Bad,” a necklace with what looked like a drug in blue hanging from it. What a great show, huh? “Happy Hour Necklace.” Wouldn’t this be a great necklace to wear during happy hour? It’s sexy and trendy.

All art has a story. All products have a story. Why did this artwork come into being? My necklaces and jewels aren’t made because I didn’t go to Santa Barbara, but when I look at that necklace, I see a necklace that reflects something. A moment in time that was wonderful, but where I didn’t make it to Santa Barbara and I was thinking about that very fact while I made that necklace.

But even more importantly, my customers/friends love to know why something is named what it is, or they just like the name. A couple years ago I made earrings named, “The Estimated Prophet Earring.” They looked very Dead Head. Swirls of vibrant colors, trippy and whimsical. Anyone who likes the Grateful Dead knows that song. Not the earring part, the word “earring” is not part of that song. So, a woman loved the Grateful Dead and she had to have them. I named a bracelet, “The Swarthmorean.” A woman in Swarthmore saw it on my site and had to have it as she was moving from Swarthmore, but wanted to take a bit of Swarthmore with her. She said that she felt good knowing that she had something named after Swarthmore around her wrist at all times. Nice! A keepsake.

People identify with names. They like names and especially when it’s one-of-a kind and they know that they will have that piece that was made “once” with a unique name. Clients will bring up, “Oh, I bought The Waterfall Necklace about ten years ago.” Yikes! I remember it. When I can recall what that necklace looked like, they smile. Now, this does not always happen, but I remember that necklace because it looked like a waterfall.

Names give a meaning to the piece. A name sets it apart. A catchy name sticks around. A name that means something to the client/friend because it’s a place they like, a name they like, or it just fits perfectly with the piece will forever give this special piece a place in their heart. This is important, because it should touch their/your heart literally and figuratively.

My friend named her car, Carlos. Easy enough, right? It’s a car, why not name it CAR-LOS? Every time I see this cute little car, I smile. It reminds me of my friend and this cute name, it reminds me of how she bubbled up when she said it and I have never forgotten the name even though she only mentioned it once.