Monday, August 15, 2011

The Name Game: quiltish

This week I'm so very pleased to have Allisa Jacobs here from quiltish. quiltish was one of the first blogs I started reading on a regular basis a couple of years ago, and since then Allisa and I have become friends, one of the greatest things about blogs. She lives in the Portland area and I hope that one of these days we will be able to meet in real life.
Allisa has an Etsy shop specializing in really beautiful clutches, with her signature felt flowers, and cute baby items. I'll tell you a little bit more about why I like Allisa so much, after she tells us how she chose the name for her blog.

First off, thank you so much for including me in your weekly series! I look forward to reading the other posts and am thrilled to share my own story.

How did you choose the name quiltish?

The name, quiltish, was dreamed up by my husband back in 2005. At that point I had been making quilted tote bags for friends and family...with more and more requests coming in it felt like I needed some sort of name! Since the bags had a quilted exterior but with a little more modern touch, my husband combined the quilty aspect with my habits of adding -ish to the end of just about every word (small-ish, funny-ish, cute-ish...maybe this was a tad annoying-ish?!) Anyhow, it seemed like a good fit at the time so we went with it.

Were there other names you considered, and can you share any of them with us?

I did ponder a few other names but I honestly can't recall any of them. I do remember my good friend (and major entrepreneurial encourager) suggesting I should just use my own name, Allisa Jacobs, as a brand. Initially I felt silly about it and went ahead with quiltish.

Now that you are recognized by quiltish, are you happy with it, or do you wish you could change it to something else?

Well, the name itself has been of sentimental value to me and is part of my creative journey. However, my collection of bags has transformed greatly since 2005 and there came a point where 'quiltish' no longer seemed applicable. If I'm honest with myself I can say that from the beginning I thought perhaps it wasn't the best fit--mostly because it was difficult for people to pronounce and was more like an inside joke than a strong name. I struggled with this conflict since both my blog and Etsy shop had used that name from the start.

In 2010, however, I made the switch to brand my bags as "Allisa Jacobs" and have kept "quiltish" as my blog name...for now. I would definitely say that naming my shop was a huge learning experience and while I would probably do it differently had I the opportunity, I'm thankful for the lesson in brand building!

Thanks so much, Allisa. I encourage everyone to say hi to Allisa at quiltish. And then read through the archives, particularly her series "Business Bits." I can't tell you how much I have learned from Allisa about business--she happens to get great enjoyment about reading anything to do with business. She has been a wealth of information for me, answering questions about business problems and pointing me in the direction of her favorite supply vendors. She is currently working on an eBook about running a successful Etsy shop and if you have questions about branding your business, Allisa is a great source of information.Thanks, Allisa. It was a pleasure having your share your story with us.

9 comments:

05 08
Anonymous said... #

Thanks for using the time and effort to write something so interesting.

My site:
dsl angebote vergleich und dsl anbieter

Mrs Flying Blind... said... #

I think it's a great name! I love love love those clutch bags!

CitricSugar said... #

Those bars are so cute!

CitricSugar said... #

Bags. Stupid auto-correct...

Rene' said... #

Cindy, I really enjoyed reading about Allison and her story. Love, love the "quiltish" name! So glad to know I'm not the only one who adds "ish" to everything....my son even uses "ish" as a word in itself ;-)

allisa jacobs said... #

Cindy! Thank you so much for featuring me & my shop :) Your questions really got me thinking...and you know me- I love some good introspection!

Also, I appreciate the feedback- good to know the name resonates with some folks :)

Mama Pea said... #

These posts are always so fun. I enjoy reading them. I really love her work!

Anonymous said... #

great clutches and I love all the unusual colored zippers, especially the plum.

Letterpress said... #

Those felt flowers on the purses are beyond wonderful--they really make these clutches different, unusual and very fun (and yes, I covet one of them--have to get on Etsy and get one.)

Thanks for these posts about other bloggers--it's fun to broaden my horizons!

E.