What’s in a Name?

I had a hankering to change my name.   My business name that is.  I no longer felt like ‘Calico Kate’.  My work was heading in a new direction and I felt that my business was growing up.  I had no idea what to though.  I knew what I didn’t want, it wasn’t to be my name (although others have used theirs’ with great success ~ ‘Emma Bridgewater’ and ‘Cath Kidston’ are two perfect examples), or the pseudonym I use for my art work (‘Frin’ a childhood nickname).  I didn’t want it to be located anywhere, although I momentarily considered ‘Sew Fyne’, and I didn’t want it to be a limiting word.  I wanted something ‘comfortable’, a single word for preference; I wanted it to be easy to say, so anything Gaelic was out.  I was looking for something with the right ‘mouth feel’, something comfortable, thin ‘Toast’ and ‘Nest’.  I looked around the kitchen for inspiration but realized I was in the wrong room I’m not doing catering!  I went to my studio and dismissed Threads & Threadz, although the floor was strewn with them!

‘Stitch’ hung around for a while in different guises, ‘Stitchkin’ was invented on a dog walk with my father, growing out of Rumplestiltskin somehow, in the way that rambling walks and conversations have a habit of doing.  ‘Stitchsmith’ followed and I thought that that was ‘it’.  The dictionary definition of a ‘~smith is: a worker in metal.  I make my stitches with metal implements.  But, I don’t always ‘stitch’.  I don’t always sew felt for example.  So, that had to go.  
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I looked at what tools I used, and realized that everything I did used a needle, and most of the time the needles are metal …. I was back to ~smith then added ‘needle’. 
Needlesmith. 
That’s it. 
Isn’t it? 
Maybe it isn’t. 
Still not quite right. 
Mulling it over an ‘S’ appeared at the end of it.  Needlesmith-S.  Needlesmiths.
Now that’s better.
That IS. IT!

I looked at it from all angles, slept on it for a couple of days and was still happy with it.  The only other ‘Needlesmith’ is an American company that sells knitting needles.  The UK website address was available.  And that seemed to clinch it.  So ‘Needlesmiths’ I’ve become. 
A new name; a new direction.  Less making and more teaching.  I’m thoroughly enjoying planning new workshops, discussing new classes with new clients.  Keep an eye on the Facebook page and the Workshops page for new dates and details.

All that’s left to do now is launch this website …. and have a celebratory tea party in my new workspace.  
More next time
​K 🙂