What's in a Name?

When starting a business one of the most difficult decisions is what to name your new venture "baby". We agonize over it and eventually, hopefully, a name strikes us that has meaning to us and resonates with our customers.

For some of us (raises hand) it takes a few tries to find a name that suits who we are, or who we wish to be. I started my first bath product venture with my daughter, Teagan. When the time came to type a name on the line for the business paperwork I froze. I just stared at that line as the panic crept up my spine. Teagan, being the reasonable kid she was suggested her store (yes all along it was "Her Store") be named after her. She was sweet. So Sweet Teagans was born. To this day our mother company is still operating under Sweet Teagans. Your PayPal and Credit Card receipts proudly bear the original name. Her empire lives.

It didn't take long before the name didn't fit who I was at the time. Well, honestly it never fit "me", which made sense because it belonged to Teagan. Teagan was the artistic director, while I was the worker and bank roller who kept it all afloat. As she ran out of time, I realized I wanted to keep moving forward and needed something of my own.

Mr. Scenter Square and I moved to the historic town of Woodstock, IL in 2003. We fell in love with the charm, especially of the historic Woodstock Square where the movie Groundhog Day was filmed. Every cobbled brick in the road made this place feel like home to us. The shops that line the perimeter all beckon people to shop while visiting old friends and making new. It was instantly home. One day I dream of having a shop on the Square. I will be The Scenter on the Square with charming custom blends for every occasion and every individual. That description was a mouthful, but the Scenter Square part stuck. I still love the name and what it represents. I found the "me" for this stage.

Opportunity dangled a new challenge to me about 4 years ago. A good friend asked if I had

ever considered opening a shop at the Renaissance Faire. I laughed to myself because at the time the thought had never, ever even come to mind. What would I want to do THAT for? But my friend meant the world to me so we made a visit to the faire grounds and instantly fell in love with the new possibility. The hurdle was, yet again, to come up with a new name. The name had to fit our new shop, be 'renaissancy' and not be too embarrassing. It took a few days of tossing ideas to come up with one that fit: BeesWyck Chandlery. We are heading into our 4th season of the Bristol Renaissance Faire and look forward to many, many more.

The Faire is our "summer home". Teagan loves being whoever her imagination comes up with.

Some days she is Astrid, a nature witch with Acorn her animal familiar.

 Or a Viking Dragon Tamer with two Furrocious beasts.











Some days she is just a kind peasant who loves rainbows, sparkles and, of course UNICORNS. Seeing how she blossoms more every season is inspiring, challenging to keep up with and always stirs an overwhelming feeling of gratefulness.

Who do YOU want to be today? I can't wait to see what we all become in the next iteration.