What's in a name...

What's in a name... Well, quite a lot really when you're off on a mission to create a business and then develop a brand around it.

I have a small business which hand-dyes New Zealand yarns for the crafting community, primarily appealing to providing temptation to hand-knitters. The business has an online presence as well as a physical store in the quaint village of Greytown, in the heart of the Wairarapa region of New Zealand.

When considering names for the business I was focused on finding something that was short and crisp but still able to convey warmth and emotion. I also wanted something that was positive and hinted at tradition but wasn't blatantly descriptive of the business itself. After much navel gazing I had a flash of inspiration! An Archimedes moment if you will and fortunately for everyone concerned I wasn't naked at the time like Archimedes so it wasn't that kind of flash. My Mother's name is Joy and she along with my Dad, Doug, were always supportive of my many madcap ideas and adventures. Inspiration can often be found close to home. Joy sounds short and crisp, it conveyed warmth and emotion, and it implies positivity. All the boxes were getting ticked but then a kind friend burst my bubble of excitement by saying she thought the name wasn't descriptive enough of the nature of the business and was a bit too obscure. After ending that friendship (only kidding) and much more navel gazing I couldn't let go of the name so I came up with the idea of turning Joy into an acronym... and so Joy became "Joy of Yarn"! My re-friended friend agreed that the acronym approach was a master stoke and the name now came across as related to the nature of the business but not blatantly so and still ticked all the other boxes. 

Winner, winner chicken dinner

My eternal thanks go to my maternal grandparents for giving my Mum such a brilliant name and to my Mum for always being so brilliant anyway. I really couldn't have achieved the same thing with my Dad's name... but then again I do have Swedish ancestry and yarn is called garn over there. However Doug or "Delights of Unrivaled Garn" doesn't have quite the same appeal. Sorry Dad, still love you heaps though!