Magnetic Star Stuff

[van]

So, in light of my change in merchandise, I've renamed my Etsy Shop to "Magnetic Star Stuff." I really like the name because I sell magnets and I love space/the cosmos, and everything in existence once was forged in the heart of a star, so we really are all (as Sagan famously said) "made of star-stuff"--including my magnets

Comments

[beatricebenedic]

(Hi, this Donna Leonard --in case you didn't recognize my LJ user name)

When I see "Magnetic Star Stuff," I think I'm going to find star-shaped magnets--glittery ones like Lisa Frank stuff: http://tinyurl.com/73jp4yy Now, I do like Lisa Frank, but I don't think this is what you are selling.

Does your shop name really have to do with your product? I thought if you put some sort of description about your shop, that is what will show up in the google search when people type in: "Doctor Who Magnets." For instance, when I see the name "Oriental Trading Company," honestly, I think of MUCH nicer things than what that place actually sells (cheap crap made in China); but the title doesn't tell me EVERYTHING they sell. Still, if I typed in: "tiny plastic ninjas," that website would be one of the things that comes up in my search.

Just brainstorming:

Magnetic Cosmos Creations
Magnets, Vintage & Art (okay, that's kinda boring...)
Magnetic Universe
Cosmos Art Creations
Van Donovan Designs
Van Donovan Art
Van Donovan Art Designs
Van Donovan
Van Dono Van (okay, I'm just messing around now...)

[van]

I do suspect that, down the line, I'll sell some actual star/space inspired designs, but yeah, its definitely not going to be star-themed, and certainly not Lisa Frank style. (I grew up in the 80s! I definitely know her style! XD) It's definitely possible that "Magnetic Star Stuff" is going to initially make people think "star-shaped magnets" because not a lot of people will get/know the Sagan-quote, so that's another concern. However, Etsy does have a fantastic tagging/search system, so even if I sold car parts through "Magnetic Star Stuff" so long as each individual listing was properly tagged with I dunno, "Ford, muffler, 2007, chrome" whatever, it'd come up correctly. So yeah, your shop name DOESN'T have to do with your product, so I'm making a lot out of nothing. Chances are people searching for "Doctor Who magnet" will never even notice my shop name.

Magnetic Cosmic Creations is sort of fun, but a bit of mouthful. Magnetic Universe really just runs into the same problems Magnetic Star Stuff does. Perhaps it should be "Magnetic Star-Stuff" with the hypen. Or maybe I am just worrying about this too darn much, since, like you said, the tags will work far more to my benefit than the shop name.

Still, thank you for the thoughts!!

[nuriko]

The fact that people don't search by store names (I don't even remember the names of the stores I've ordered from) means you can just be creative with it. I say go with your gut.

[van]

Yup, you're totally right. I remember a few store names, but the majority I'm like "I WANT A GROOVY VINTAGE SHIRT THERE'S ONE *PURCHASE*" without ever really paying attention at all to the name...