What's In A Name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet."
~Shakespeare~

So, what IS in a name? In my first blog post, I said that I would talk more about my blog and corresponding etsy.com store. It has taken me a while to create this blog (and store, which is still not ready) because I have been trying to come up with a name. I received many wonderful suggestions for my etsy store name and I had the difficult job of choosing the name. It should have been simple, right?

I asked my friends to help me think about names that encompassed the essence of my store and had a fun flair. It was hard for me to think of anything. The names that I thought of were not NEARLY as creative as the names that my friends suggested. Diana came up with the runner up name of "Renewables." She is also the one who is creating the graphic to go along with my blog and store. She was unable to create the graphic until I could pick a name. Thanks for your patience Diana! I cannot wait to see the wonderful design that she is creating. She is a very talented and creative person!

Jason also came up with several clever names that I considered. Among the top contenders were "Newly Used," "New Again," "The Past is Now," and "Amandables." My top choice of his was "Amandables." I loved the suggestion, but when I ran it by others they thought that it sounded like a store that sold fuzzy stuffed animal creatures. I did not want that association, so I decided to look further. Jason is a very funny person and that was reflected in many of his suggestions. Thanks for your humor Jason!

In my search, I looked online for suggestions and brainstormed and still nothing caught my eye. One day Meredith was in my office chatting and suggested several names that she was thinking of on the spot. She said a name and I immediately loved it! I thought she said "Newman Improved," but she actually said "New and Improved." When I repeated "Newman Improved" back to her, she loved it as well! It uses my last name and a clever saying! Meredith gets credit for the name because if she would not have said "New and Improved," I would not have had a name to misinterpret and I might still be thinking of a name for my blog and store. Thank you Meredith! You are the winner! Hmmm....any suggestions on a prize?

And the winner goes to....MEREDITH!