Since I seem to be one of those hobbyists who woke up one morning and realized they were in business, I will no doubt have a zillion questions.  This is the latest installment:

Does your jewelry business have a name other than your personal name?  What are the pros and cons of having a descriptive business name rather than using your name when you are sole proprieter? 

my business used to called SparkleBee. about a year ago I realized it was way to cute for where I was at. I asked TONS of people for advice and the general answer was to go with your name because it's more professional, and they are buying the work of YOU. it is nice though when I place wholesale orders I usually use SparkleBee because it sounds more official.

I don't know about just using your name, maybe a nice mature sounding name that has something to do with you love of horses would be nice, Dressage Woman Studios, the art of Jane Doe. That way you have a it both ways.

I also used my name because I felt it sounded so much more professional.  I also was extremely paranoid about using the name of a business that already belonged to someone else.  I've heard horror stories about people being sued over that.  So, I felt the odds were more in my favor if I used my own name.

Laura

I used my name: Jenny Alexander. If you go this route then you do not have to register a fictious business name with the state, which my husband had to do and has to renew every 5 years or so. Also for some reason, people get a kick out of it. They will answer someone who compliments their jewelry by saying it is a "Jenny Alexander". Also a big thing for us is selling to tourists and such. So we have a tag line that says "Hand Crafted in Independence, MIssouri" We sell our items in a store on our histori square and people have actually bought because our tags say this and people have not bought when I was in tag transistion and some did not say that. I have also had people ask, "What is a Jenny Alexander?" or "Who is Jenny Alexander" and I just stand up and say that is me. Then they know that hey this is not mass produced or sold items, that they are speaking directly with the artists. But now my husband joins me and I still use my tags. So on the back I write what it is and that it is made by him-and I do the same for my son when he creates. Our websites all have "alexanders designs" in it, because Jenny Alexander was already taken as a domain name, so I have tried to stick with the Alexander's Designs on the web. So there is goes. I may change it one day, but for now it is what I want. Best of luck to everyone Jenny www.alexandersdesigns.etsy.com www.alexandersdesigns.com www.alexandersdesigns.blogspot.com www.beaderydestash.etsy.com www.twitter.com/alexandersd

Most people know me by my name, but I also have a business name that is registered with the state, so that I can buy wholesale.   I also didn't want anyone to register my business name and take that away from me.  Since my state does not have a sale tax, it makes it very difficult to prove I am a business, so having my business name really helps.   On the flip side, most of my customers are not completely aware of my business name and think of my personal name as my business name.   I now just go by both names, and also have both names registered as my domain names, so if you goggle either my name or my business, you'll get the same website.   If you want to sell, you can go by your name or if to make it sound more professional, then come up with a business name.  If you add a .com at end of your name, that sounds professional as well.

People forget personal names in a business setting where there is a high volume of customers.  I chose Kreative Karats, deliberately spelled with two "Ks".  No one ever forgets this.  It is alliterative, upbeat, and unique.  I can think of no "cons" but a lot of pluses.  Even my mail from the IRS spells my business name correctly!

I personally have a combo of my last name and my grandparent's name. Turned out pretty good. Businesses in this town are old and to have an older sounding name is a plus.

you can use combination of both { your name's jewelry store} like this. it is very comman in Italy also . they name the business after their name and add the business type in last.

I wanted a person's name because I see so many 'too cutsie' or weird names as I look thru the advertising sections in beading magazines. (And I am more hesitant about checking out those businesses because of that.) So I decided to go with a name, Allegra Luna, which is not my real name. I did it to honor my grandmother. In English Allegra Luna means "Cheerful Moon." My gran's last name was Moon. The one thousand and thirty four people I asked said they liked it and many said they liked how it rolled off the tongue. (I might have exagerated the number of people.)

I think a ficticious name - a nom de bead, if you will is a good option. I found also that it often opens dialogue with customers as they ask me who that is.)

• Good luck!

I would use a name not your personal. Two reasons imo it looks more pro, and also better for search results.

In hindsight, I wish I had gone with my own name as so many people have trouble spelling 'MAILLE", but I do like the idea of Bentiron's, that of using a professional name and your name eg. Kelly Clitheroe of Maille Fantasy Jewellery. Mind you, just as many people would have trouble spelling my surname. I like the anonymity of a professional name, but agree with the other suggestions that it makes your work personal and more accessible if you use your own name, or derivative of. How about initials and surname? My girlfriend uses two names separated by & (Qupa & Mint), can you use your surname and a favourite aunt/uncles/long-lost relative's christian/surname???

Unless your name is personally embarrassing to you or if you need to keep it separate from your 'other' life (as a school teacher, I do NOT want my students to know that I make maille bikinis for example)...I'd say use your name or derivative of it.

 I've gone, at least in the near term, with "Jewelry by Deborah Levine Latter".  Latter is my husband's name, which I never adopted legally.  I'm going to use a "marker's mark" for clay products  using D L and L so that the a3 verticaly strokes are equally spaced and vertically staggered, with the D overlapping the first L.  I have tags made up with "handmade" and my name currently, but may switch to the mark.  I'd like to figure out how to "sign" wire pendants...

 

Thanks to everyone who weighted in on this, it helped me a lot!

Kelly, LOL with the schoolteacher image!  Love the business name, though.  I can't resist a pun.