When I finally got the proposal from Steinhardt Design, I could see how it would be a great appendix to the business plan which is exactly how Alexj and Diane suggested that I use it, as a tool to supplement the plan, an enrichment for the funding process. Aside from just a proposal for designing the website, it also involved the naming, logo and palette, branding and marketing of the site, as well as the store and the whole image of my new venture. It became quite apparent that Steinhardt Design was becoming much more involved and a definite asset and tool that I would be able to capitalize on as I moved forward in this project. Now, obviously, they weren't doing this for free and after seeing the quality of their work in the proposal and with a bit of negotiating we agreed on a rate and price that was fair for everyone.
We had discussed in what form should the business plan be, the standard presentation with a cover or without, would it have a spiral binding or just stapled, 8x11 or landscape and that basic business style was all boring, boring,boring!...not what I was looking for.
Being the graphic artists that they were they started free-flowing ideas such as, who were my potential investors, were they business oriented or artistic in nature, was it going to be presented to the investors in hard copy or by email, how did I feel about images on each page, how should it read, what was my customer base like, How Much Did I Want To Spend?... A lot of brainstorming, which was good for me because it made me think outside the box, but still keeping in mind a budget and trying to stick with it.
What came out of all of this was a artistic magazine style format, matte hard cover with chain stitch binding, graphic, textual image heading on every page, very sophisticated, elegant and rich, a "Magazine" that would look great on a coffee table and definitely stand out above the rest.
Soooo.... Diane went to work over the next month, roughing out a sample, researching font styles, paper quality, layouts, images and headings, page order, printing quotes,etc. What was supposed to take a month turned into two months and then longer with many consultations and reviews and a few setbacks with their own work scheduling. In essence it was like building a house, having to deal with an architect and contractor and the constant delays and hiccups that occur in that process, no different, and of course I WAS
FRUSTRATED!.... Now, take a deep breathe, relax and tell myself that they're artists and that it will all work out.
Now, during this whole process, a major part of the branding is in finding THE NAME. What is the store going to be called? I had read quite a few articles on how to name a business, making lists of names, friends making lists, family making lists, making list of foreign names...French, Japanese, Italian, Celtic, their meanings and definitions. I tried and tried but everything sounded rather mundane and too cute or had been done already. I do digress here, because that process I had been trying to do, I did before hiring Steinhardt Design and part of their proposal was the NAMING of the store!
This was an interesting, very informative process that Alexj and Diane took me through, a two hour plus telephone brainstorming conference, in which they proceeded to ask me all types of questions such as; the competition and what sets this store apart from it, of current and projected industry trends, about my previous store, B.NY. and my personal views and philosophy about selling, buying, favorite colors, cars, and animals, how I felt about customers and how I wanted them to feel about the store and their experience in the store. I told them about my years as an actor and how I transferred my acting over to selling and presenting collections and unique designer items to my customers. Basically, I treat the store as a stage, peopled with collections upon which I would direct and perform (converse, inform and sell) to the delight (hopefully!) of my customers (audience). As I told them, there was and is a great satisfaction that I derive from watching my clients leave the store with items that I know they will cherish for years and knowing that they had a good time purchasing them. They seemed to enjoy this outlook of mine and we continued to talk about many aspects including architecture, lighting and textures, etc. After almost three hours we called it quits and I hung up feeling drained and exhausted but extremely stimulated at the same time.... funny, it reminds me exactly of how I would feel after performing in a play.
It took them a couple of weeks to come up with a list of 15 names and their corresponding meanings and implications. Quite fascinating actually, the associations, the word play, how they sounded, the letter count, lower case or caps, the Google hits each had, all of which was quite illuminating. As Alexj was telling me that before Apple was formed it was just a fruit and now look at all the, innovations, connotations and ramifications of Apple and what it has done and contributed to society and the world. It all comes down to Branding!
Here is the list that they sent me in order of their preference:
anteal From the ancient antea meaning "being before or in front".
macassar Exotic expensive hardwood.
bronzino Mannerist painter.
merida Roman theatre.
taliesin Celtic god of creativity, creative arts, inspiration.
emperador Exotic expensive marble.
banyan Probably the coolest tree ever. So unique.
chrysalis Cocoon.
felidae Family name of wild cats.
leonis Derived by us from Leonid meteor shower.
panthero Modified family name of wild cats.
mei Just sounded good to us.
bedoli Mannerist painter.
morphos Gorgeous butterfly.
ravel French composer.
As you can see there were a variety of names and we had a conversation about the meaning and relevance of each name, how it was derived and the branding capabilities of each. I took a few days to Google them, research, mull them over and made a short list of what I felt were the best three: Anteal, Banyan, Macassar.
Macassar is a gorgeous hardwood and the sound has an exotic, familiar ring to it. The store would look incredible with a counter-top or table made out of this wood. Rich, Luxurious, Inviting....
The Banyan tree is a magnificent, intertwined tree in the East Indies, part of the Mulberry family and very recognizable all over the world. It actually has separate roots that intertwine into one tree. Plus there are the letters B, N and Y in the name and could tie back to my old store B.NY.
Then we come to the word Anteal, or An"te*al\, a. [antea, ante, before. Cf. Ancient.] "Being before, or in front."
This rang true to me, this is what fashion is... in front of, before and "Anteal will place its clientele at the forefront of fashion design, fostering expression of individual identity through unique and exceptionally fine clothing."
Thus the name Anteal...
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