So, What's Your Name???

Naming your studio has to be one of the most difficult decisions an artist has to make because it's also an important decision. The logical choice may be to use your name like some of my friends do. Janel Dudley Beads - That says it all.  So does Lutrick, Lara Lutrick's studio name.

But you may get hung up on "who knows me??" Or the privacy issue...It can be intimidating to put your name "out there" on the Internet. So the next logical choice may be something that reflects your name like LA Jewelry Designs ( studio name of fellow Fire Divas admin, Lea Avroch) or Tease Beads (Another Divas admin, Theresa Ehlers. This is a play on her first name: "T's Beads"). Yet another idea is to name it after someone. Artist Lori Bergmann named her studio, Ashlyn Designs after her daughter Ashley.

Another option is to name your studio after a place near and dear to your heart. Dorset Hill Beads and Rivers Edge Glass are two such examples. I thought long and hard about naming my studio after the mountains or town I live in but Verdugo and Sunland really didn't say much. I also thought about the river I hike near daily...but no one outside of this area can even pronounce Tujunga. Why think small and local when your market could be bead lovers anywhere, right?


But this brings up yet another issue. Many artists like the anonymity of the Internet and having a studio not related to your own name provides some level of that. But after a while, it becomes obvious that customer and fellow glassers want to know who YOU are. I've literally seen posts in the Etsy threads that go like this:

"Lauren, cute snowman! Lisa - love your new set. XYZ - That's a really pretty focal."

People don't know who they are talking too and have a hard time putting your name with your studio when it gives no hint of your own name. Of course you can always close posts with your name so people start to associate the person and studio together.

In the end, am I happy with my studio name? Yes and no! Yes in that it's part of my name and I don't keep people guessing. No in that I should have taken my own advice. When I work as a marketing consultant on a product launch, I insist on Internet name searches and if the company is big enough, we do a legal name search as well. I did neither. I liked the name and the rhyme and went with it. When I first launched my glass bead website, I wondered why I had so many very short visits for folks looking for Holly Folly instead of Holly's Folly. Holly Folly is a popular gay pride holiday festival. I always feel like those folks must be a little disappointed when they find my beads instead!