Our Naming Story
Christy Mack credits her upbringing and subsequent experiences for leading to the inevitable formation of her brand studio called Bess.
The studio is Christy’s platform for doing what she loves. Naturally she wanted a name for the studio that would embody her purpose and honor what got her here, and so the naming journey began.
The Route to the Name Bess
Being a brand creator, Christy pursued numerous routes to find that “magical name” for her studio. She had long (okay ridiculously long) lists of names that she continuously added to across different categories for several months. She came up with made-up names, descriptive, geographical, and metaphorical names, acronyms, founder-based names, names combining different words, and last, but not least, names imbued with meaning and memories.
Christy mapped the list of name options against a lengthy set of criteria. Is the name memorable? Easy to pronounce and spell? Is it future proof? Does it tie to the story and character of the studio? Is the name even available? How would it look in visual implementation – in digital, print, packaging, and in the studio space? Lastly, perhaps most importantly, did she love the name?
Naming turned into an exciting yet agonizing adventure, especially because she was founding a brand studio. The pressure was on.
“I was getting closer to choosing a name while visiting my in-laws in Florida during the Thanksgiving holidays. Being away from home gave a fresh perspective and time to think. During our visit, I narrowed it down to three names; but I wasn’t in love with any of the three names. Like, yes. Love, no.”
She goes on to say, “Aside from landing on a name I loved, I had another creative task to solve. My son Noah and I have an annual tradition of baking a pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving Day. However, this year Grandma beat us to the punch. As soon as we arrived back home Noah and I headed straight to our kitchen to begin work on our belated pumpkin pie. When I opened my well-worn baking binder to dig out our family’s pie recipe, Aunt Bess’s Cherry Drop Cookie recipe fell out onto the counter.”
As soon as Christy saw “Bess” on the recipe card she knew that was the name for her studio. Bess ticked all the boxes, met all the criteria and most importantly, she was finally in love with a name.
Aunt Bess epitomized the heart of the studio Christy was conceiving. Bess was a true unifier, caretaker and maker. Christy was also completely enamored with the way “Bess” looked in print on the Cherry Drop Cookie recipe card. She knew Bess would come to life beautifully as her studio name. Aunt Bess’s personality, style and way of being continues on in the ethos of the studio, continuing to fill the world with purpose and meaning.
