How to Pick a Craft Business Name
Ahhhhh, so you’ve finally got up the guts to decide to start selling your crafts online.
First of all, congrats…that’s AMAZING!!
The very fact that you are brave enough to want to make something and put it out in front of the very judgemental world, risking rejection (among other things) is downright impressive.
Now that you’ve sealed your impending fate (JK, am I scaring you?? 😉), you’re about to run into a string of hard-to-commit-to decisions that are going to dictate your future brand for years to come.
Things like:
picking craft business names
picking social media handles
registering your business correctly
deciding what products to sell
setting your pricing
defining your brand aesthetic with colors, fonts, tags, etc
and a bunch of other stuff!
Any one of these can be a decision that you look back at 3 years from now and think…man, I wish I had done (???) instead.
Unfortunately, at this point, there’s really no way to know what the rest of that sentence will look like that for you, and that’s ok.
The goal at the beginning is just to do as best you can with the information you have now…just make a decision and move forward.
When I’m working with new craft business owners, I consistently see them get stuck when they reach any of these big decisions, but one of the hardest decisions for them to commit to by far is picking their craft business names.
I think this is the hardest one for artists because it feels so final.
Most of us are in this for the long haul, and who wants to completely change their business name in 3 years? People will be confused, your online presence will suffer, ugh, what a pain.
Now, while I can’t guarantee you that you won’t eventually have to change it, I can help you make the best decision *for NOW* that will also hopefully stick with you for a good amount of time, ideally forever!
In this post, I’m going to share a handful of questions and thoughts that you should consider as you’re deciding on your future craft business name ideas.
I’ll also share the process that worked for me when I did it myself back in 2010 (which you can steal!)
Ready? Grab a pen and let’s go.
1. Make it clear
Clear > Clever. Words to live by in the online business world, and it applies to everything! Product names, store names, even online course names.
When I changed my online course name from “Pinterest-worthy Printmaking” to “Block Printing Bootcamp” my sales went up 2x at least! Just because it was SO much more clear and obvious.
Craft business names should be clear. Ask yourself:
“If someone read my shop name without seeing any images/products, would they be able to figure out what I’m selling??”
If not…what can you do to make it more clear? (pssst…check out #7 on this list).
Clear craft business name ideas:
Luna Minimalist Jewelry (we know they are selling simple jewelry)
Masks by Mary (we know she sells masks)
Bead Boutique (we know they sell bead supplies or beaded jewelry)
Cornhole Boards Co (we know they sell cornhole sets)
Less clear craft names:
Bella Design Studio (what kind of design??)
Letterfest (is this a lettering shop? stationary??)
Case Space Design (laptop cases? phone cases??)
Very unclear craft names:
Love 2 Make It (this could literally be anything)
Hanging Branch (no idea)
Turtle Soup (no idea, but I hope it’s not what it sounds like!)
I know you may be reading this and are thinking, crap, I had all these cutesy names in mind that are leaning into ‘very unclear’ territory.
However, before you flush your dreams of having a flowery, foo-foo business name down the toilet, let me offer a sort of compromise -
Try adding or adjusting one word in the name to make it a little more obvious.
For example, Turtle Soup can become Turtle Soup Jewelry, or Turtle Soup Macrame. Bella Design Studio can become Bella’s Candle Studio, or Bella’s Bracelet Studio.
Making these slight changes will help to clarify your online presence and make you appear to be more of a specialist/expert in your craft.
2. Make it easy to remember
Try incorporating rhyming words, a pun, or alliteration to get people to remember your craft shop name easily.
Sonia’s Sea Salts uses alliteration (all words start with the same letter) so it’s a pretty catchy craft business name.
Just Perfectly Tea uses a little rhyme that flows off the tongue.
Bottleneck Glass Studio uses a pun for their glass company.
This is just another way to make your name easy to remember.
3. Give yourself some wiggle room (create an umbrella brand)
At the beginning of your handmade business, you might not be certain if you want to sell *fill in the blank* craft for the next 5+ years.
You might be worried that you’ll get bored (it’s possible).
That’s why if you have many interests (as all artists do), then you might consider giving future you a little wiggle room to be able to easily pivot slightly if needed.
By choosing a business name that is a little less niche, you can easily create what’s called an “umbrella brand”.
This means to pick a name that is not so specific so that you’ll be able to sell a larger variety of products using the same business name and it will still make sense!
For example, if you chose a name like “Boho Belts”, people would expect you to sell boho style belts. It would be distracting or potentially confusing if you sold shoes or other things.
In this case, if you wanted to design belts, but you also were considering eventually branching out into other leather accessories like wallets, clutches, etc, you should instead make your business name less niche.
This might mean changing “Boho Belts” to “Boho Leather Goods”. That way if you completely stop making belts in 2 years and start selling wallets, your business name will still be perfect.
4. Do your research
One of the most important steps in choosing your craft company name is to research any existing shops with the same name that could cause future conflict.
This is especially important if you plan on trademarking your business at any point in time because those shops will be contacted and they might end up shutting down your master plan.
First, you should Google your craft business name idea and check domain availability to see if it is already taken. If it’s unavailable, it doesn’t mean you’re completely out of luck yet.
You can tweak the name slightly, or add the word “shop” in front of it, or even change the .com to a .co or something else. Get creative and list out the possible variations you can create.
If you are interested in eventually trademarking your name, more information can be found at the United States Patent and Trademark Office website found here.
I suggest you do plenty of research and speak to some professionals if this is a path you want to pursue.
5. Don’t worry too much about social handles
If you’re planning to sell your art on social media as well, again, don’t worry if your business name is taken. It’s increasingly common to see a shop name on Instagram that is slightly different than the actual shop name.
You might need to add a period, or an underscore…or add another word in. Don’t stress too much about it, this is not super important.
6. Consider a tag line if your biz name is not super clear (but you still love it!)
If you are dead set on having a flowery business name that is somewhat cryptic to anyone but you, that is up to you!
However, I would definitely recommend including a simple tag line that goes along with it so people have a general idea of what is being sold when they come into contact with your website or business card.
Continuing with the “Bella Design Studio” example from earlier, that might look like:
“Bella Design Studio…Macrame Wall Art for Beach Babes”
Or, “Bella Design Studio…ceramic tabletop accessories”
When you have that little add on it clears up any confusion right away.
Pick your craft business name:
Here is the process I used to pick my craft shop name. Try it out (or tweak it and make it your own). I spent a few weeks narrowing down my list, so just spend as much time as you need.
1. Make a list of every name you are even remotely considering (don’t censor yourself).
2. Sleep on it
3. The next day, cross off names you immediately don’t like, or that aren’t clear
4. Sleep on it again
5. Repeat until you get it down to your top 10 names
6. Share your top 10 names with a few people you trust/value their opinion (but remember, YOU get to make the final pick…not everyone will agree with your decision, and that’s ok.)
If someone disagrees with you, consider if they are someone who might be your ideal customer. If so, maybe you should listen to them. If everyone is saying they don’t like the name, that also might be a clue you should pick a new name.)
7. Narrow it down to your top 2 shop names
8. Consider how each option might work with your branding, how well it describes your brand, what your gut is telling you, and how clear it is
9. Sleep on it
10. Make your final decision!
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Hopefully, these tips will help you make your online brand as obvious as possible to your future potential customers.
(Of course, if it’s not working out you can always change things later. Nothing is ever really set in stone!)
In my opinion, all the hardest business things you need to do happen at the very beginning of your journey because there are just so many damn steps to take and decisions to be made that feel impossible!
So make sure you keep taking little baby steps forward and you’re celebrating every step of the way :)
Now that you know how to come up with your craft business name, you’re going to have to figure out how to actually make some money!
Read this next post to learn about 5 different ways you can start making money in your craft business, and the skills you’ll need for each path.
