Have you ever seen a word or a phrase in writing for so long that when you finally hear it said aloud, it jars in an unsettling way? I’m thinking of the way my jaw dropped when, after reading the first two Harry Potter books as a pre-teen, I was informed that Hermione is not, in fact, pronounced Herm-ee-own. And don’t even ask how I pronounced colonel for far too long.
Last time I wrote, I told you my brand was evolving and changing, and that it would involve a rename as well as an update of some key details in the visual brand identity.
And the revelation that this needed to happen began when, after showing up in person at several markets and popups through the fall and winter, I heard my own shop name spoken aloud many times.
Don’t get me wrong, I do love The Story Kept. I love its nod to provenance, history, and storytelling. It is unique in its structure as a shop name, and it conveniently conceals me, as the founder, behind its abstractness, allowing the pieces I curate to shine front and centre.
That being said, I came up with the name The Story Kept when I exclusively sold vintage homewares and had no intentions of ever branching out to include more. I had wanted to differentiate my shop from my previous endeavors while still keeping myself safely anonymous.
Back then, still bouncing back from an uncomfortable experience that led to me deleting my entire online presence, this had felt like a safe and comfortable way to conduct business. The Story Kept was the perfect name for a cottagecore-esque shop that sold antique and vintage transferware, pottery, brass and artwork.
But things do change. And when I heard the name spoken aloud—by me, by event organizers, by customers and passers-by—it felt a little off.
Off because at this point, I was curious about what it would mean for me to expand my offerings to include vintage and preloved clothing alongside a little more content that included, well, me. With this in mind, my business name felt (feels) impersonal.
Off because, at least to me, it sounded a little… twee. Overly sentimental and not quite aligned with my personal style anymore.
Cue a slight freak-out and several hours spent trying to rework my logo to slap a bandaid on this emerging issue.
Not long after a market, one snowy evening in late December, my husband and I made the mistake of heading out to do errands while a blizzard (by Vancouver standards) loomed. We spent a couple lonnnng hours stuck in snowy traffic and I passed the time in the passenger seat on my phone tinkering with my logo, slowly realizing my branding problems couldn’t be bypassed by changing typeface or layout.
This was both good and daunting news.
Good news because I could see that in pushing my comfort zone and giving my whole heart to this business over the last couple years, I had grown. Had shaken off the trauma of being seen as “cringe” online, and was ready to be in the business and not just behind it.
Daunting because I now had to come up with a new name and plan a rebrand.
Which brings me to where we are today. I know what I need to do when it comes to the name of my business. I know now that I’m not just growing an Etsy shop or a cutesy vintage store. I’m growing a brand that needs to grow with me, and I have to name it after something I’ll never grow out of or change.
I’ve been making mood boards and playing around behind the scenes. But as I type this today, I’m confident in the direction of my new (very permanent) business name.
Any guesses what I’m working with?
Let me know below and look for a little clue in the mood board.