Q&A: What's In A Name?

QUESTION: How do you name the paper? Some of them I get, but some of them I just don't understand. --submitted by JoElla, January 23, 7:28 am

ANSWER: Thanks for your honesty, JoElla! And please e-mail me with your choice of stamp set or paper packet (even one with a funny name) and I'll send it your way with my thanks.

The naming process for our paper packs is really a fun one. We have lots of people submit name suggestions for the papers. Some are serious, some are silly, but they're all welcome. Our marketing team narrows the list down to about the top five or so per packet, and then we pick them as an executive team. Sometimes, these meetings get so funny - and punny - we laugh and laugh and it's hard to stay focused. I wish I could share a specific example of this one, but I'm sworn to secrecy and no one on the executive team is allowed to tell the story. Let's just say whenever it comes up, we all get the giggles.

Sometimes, I really like being very literal and direct with a kit's name. Like the new "Superhero" and "Cruisin'" kits, for example. It was easy for me to choose these names because they are what they are, and I liked the straightforwardness the names.

Conversely, the "Florentine" kit is more metaphorical. When that kit was in development, I kept saying that the warm colors and classic design elements reminded me of the Tuscan region in Italy. Although a lot of the name suggestions for it were about family and heritage, I kept gravitating to that Mediterranean feel that the paper evoked in me. I picked Florentine because it suggests "from Florence," one of my favorite places in Italy. (Yes, one of our writers also pointed out that "florentine" also can mean "with spinach" in Italian cooking, but that just made me love the name all the more!)

Sometimes, we turn to the kit's My Stickease for inspiration, which is where "Perfect Day," "It's a Guy Thing," and "Dreamin'" got their names, for example.

And of course, we love naming paper packets after special people. The "Sophia" kit was named after my sweet granddaughter on the cover of last year's Spring/Summer book, while the "Bella" kit was named after my granddaughter Belle. More recently, the sassy "Roxy" kit was named after that kit's talented artist, our own designer Roxanne!