Changes are Afoot!

One of the things I have been struggling with as a business is getting all my marketing, thematic, and visual/logo "horses" to be running together. I have my name (Fire in the Hand) which is a reference to the Irish/Celtic goddess Brigit/Bridhe/Brigid, and also to the creative process in a very general sense. It's kind of a poetic way of saying "making stuff". And my thematic elements which have to do with nature as it relates to humanity. The symbolism that drives my influences is multi-cultural myth and story or derived from mathematics/science.

So already we have business identity/logo= red-orange & black, and thematic inspiration= green/brown/other colors of nature.

Of course when I started this adventure my work was much less mature and creating a strong business identity seemed to be a good way to go to make my work identifiable as it was evolving. (it will continue to evolve but I have noticed as my work matures, a process of narrowing of focus. I believe this is essential both for creative excellence, and cohesiveness in a body of work).

So I went to the Marketing workshop put on by Springboard, with my business card and signage all full of fire and my Artist's Statement all full of earth and I came to a conclusion: my brand identity isn't working against me (many pieces of it are beautifully done by talented people), but its not working for me either. My business cards and signage don't prepare people to view work about plants and animals, or introduce them to the themes and ideas in my work. They don't begin the process of appealing to the (right) emotions in a prospective customer.

I think a business name change might be in order. I know most potters just use their names and I guess I could do that. But since my work is about ideas and relationships (instead of being about the crafting of the pottery itself - which is a totally valid way to work, its just not my way of working) I think I would be missing an opportunity to convey some of "what my work is about" in not naming my business. The business name can be like a teaser trailer for a movie. It can set up a little bit of an expectation of what you will be seeing, and may draw the kind of people who would want to buy my work to my both (or website or whatever).

The current top contender for the new name is "Understory Pottery". The understory (or understorey) is the area of the forest below the canopy where the undergrowth, wildflower, smaller trees and moss and mushrooms grow. It is where most of the "critters" live. Linguistically it also implies what most people refer to as the "backstory" (what when on before the story currently being told), and can also imply the hidden or deeper meaning in a story. Or it's roots. Many new stories have roots in older myths, legends or folk beliefs.

Quick! name three modern stories patterned after Robin Hood.

Under-story implies the other big influence in my work - that patterns that repeat in living things and human art that are the basis for the human conception of beauty. This comes from my interest in sacred geometry, physics, and the idea that secrets of creation can be found in these fascinating repeated patterns and proportions.

Likely I will shift my entire color scheme to natural wood/green. Which suits me very well anyhow and will be a nice, cool, inviting color scheme for a booth particularly on hot summer days!