Business Matters - What's in a name: Storytime

The voting last week to name my new piece resulted in a win for "hanging out". To be honest, I'm quite pleased with this as I have it in mind to do another one with the first person hanging onto someone else and then calling it "hanging out together"....


Some of the name suggestions got no votes and we did get a couple of new suggestions including "swing up to the sky", "anyone can trapeze" and "topsy turvy". Thanks for voting and your suggestions. Interesting to see how different names appeal to different people....

In the naming post today, I want to look at stories. Does the name of your piece hint at a story behind it?

There was a recent article in the Economist all about contemporary jewellery. The author wrote about how jewelry nowadays is more about ideas than the flaunting of wealth, with storytelling as a key element so that the wearer can be seen as "buying a bit of the artist's brain".

So do our creations' names suggest a story? Would a potential buyer look at the piece and its name and write their own story or try to find your story in it?

When I think of my pieces, I suppose that calling this necklace "Birdcage" is very lame! It doesn't suggest anything. It's just a bird cage. Guess I need to do something about that....

Maybe it would be better to call it "I know why the caged bird sings"...... or "you can cage the bird but not the song"...It adds a little intrigue and....while people may not search for an item with that name, as long as it is tagged/keyword "birdcage", then it still should be found....

What about "in safety's keeping".....That does conjur up more than one image....or is suggestive of a story.. I think it does ....






And how about "Atlantis" by my friend Fabienne from Easterya This conjurs up lots of underwater and seaside stories for me...looking in rock pools for starfish and other creatures.....





So I'm going to check over my names this week and see if I can offer up a bit more of the "artist's brain". Join me! Come on all you "flat" namers - instead of "leaf earrings" or "shell necklace", get creative in naming and suggest a story too....

Business Matters - Stuck for a name?

For this week's "naming" blog post, let's think about what to do if you can't decide on a name. It may be that no name comes to mind, or as is often the case with me, too many names come to mind!

In these situations, one of the easiest things to do is to enlist the help of others. It's good to see what others think when they see your piece, and maybe you won't end up choosing one of their titles, but it might spark off a new idea of your own....Yes, it may seem obvious to ask your family or friends, but why not spread it wider.....and use your blog or forums on marketplaces or social networks or twitter or......?

A couple of times now I've put up pieces here on my blog and asked readers to vote on the poll and choose their favorite name. It's a great way to find out about your piece and what others see in it, and also your audience. If you run a competition for someone to choose a name, it's nice to offer a prize, like I did with "chrome-o-somes" - or else you can put up a poll of your choices and see which is most popular or if another sparks some interest....

Let's try it with a piece I finished off today. While I was making this piece I had a name in my head for it but now that it's finished, I don't think that suits it. So let's take a poll....

So here's my latest piece - an "anyone" figure - so maybe that is in the name?...or maybe not?....and he/she is hanging upside down on a swing:

I won't tell you what I was thinking but I'll put up a poll at the top of the blog in the sidebar and I hope you'll vote on your favorite name or add another of your own choosing in the comments section here.....

Here are some suggestions from me:

Swingtime
Hang in there
Hanging out
Want to hang out?
Swing low
Look at life differently
Anyone can fly
It don't mean a thing (if it aint got that swing!)

Please vote at the top and we'll see what the most popular is.....and what I learn from it! Or else if you come up with something better, then I'll make you something as a prize!!!

Why not try it on your blog this week too - and let us know so we can join in!

Business Matters - What's in a name: Full-time or part-time name?

Last week I mentioned why I thought names for pieces you create are so important. If you want to sell online, every piece really needs a name but I wonder how many of you just give your pieces part-time names?

While you may list the name online, do you also show the name of the piece when you do a show or when your pieces are in a gallery? When the piece is being seen "live" do you take it's name away and leave it untitled?

I think a lot of people do and something is then lost. Maybe it's just the logistics of having these small printed names on display with your art and ensuring they won't blow away - but I encourage you to make your names full-time.

I don't do many shows but when I do, watching people react to the name of a piece is great. They come up and look at the jewelry, but then they notice the words! And then they try to put it all together and see why I named it that way. Then they smile and start talking to me.

So then what about when people buy pieces from you? Do you include a little card with the name of the piece on it? I didn't used to, but I found people would request that I did this. They are buying because the piece and the sentiment behind it means something to them - so why not remind them of it's name as it's all part of it. I don't send names with all my pieces but for those that are more meaningful, I do - like "you are the missing piece" or "special delivery".

A fellow metal clay artist friend Sue McNenly has found a way to name her pieces that always means the name is "full-time". She's just started framing her pieces and the title then is written on the mat. The two of us find we have lots in common in our styles and backgrounds and decided recently that we were twins separated at birth. You'll see the similarity in her work and their names!

Here's the first one: Be Home for Dinner


And Picture Day

"Picture day" was a traumatic day once a year for Sue when she was a little girl. It was the time when she and her sisters would have their "proper" picture taken and meant they had to sleep with hard rollers in their hair the night before!!!!

To see more of her work, go to her blog or website.

So tell us all. Are you a part-time namer or a full-time namer? More on this subject next Wednesday.

If you would like me to feature your work in this series of "naming", please let me know. I'd be happy to show how you approach this.

Hold on to love or Follow your heart....

The voting for the name of the necklace is currently even for "hold on to love" and "follow your heart". The voting ends tomorrow evening....so if you haven't voted - please do! See the full listing from Monday January 12th. The poll is on the right hand side of the blog - just enter your choice!

Don't forget to vote

Just a reminder to check on January 12th's post to vote on the name of my new necklace.