What’s In A Name?
Today’s TOPIC is revealing some fun facts about our name and why I chose it.
This is a question I get asked about often, and today is your day to be let in on the background of how our name came about, as well as the hidden meaning(s) behind them.
As you learned a few weeks back, our logo was revamped when we moved into our previous location in 2015. Not that there was anything wrong with the previous one. I just knew I wanted a cleaner design that appealed to everyone. I wanted it to be free of any masculine or feminine energy all the while appealing to all ages and races.
For those few of you who have been with me from the start, you are some of the few who know that we once had a whole other logo and even name! But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start from the beginning...
When I was in school for esthetics we were assigned the task of creating a business plan for our business class. Being the overachiever I am, I took this assignment very seriously. Unlike so many others in my class, I didn’t want to spend time creating a business plan that was purely hypothetical. If I was going to invest time into this project, I was going to make sure it would serve a purpose and provide guidance for my future as an esthetician. I poured so much time and detail into this plan. (*Fun fact: I am currently on my 7th revision of my business plan and I still have them all in my files for nostalgia!*)
I was 98% finished with my business plan but was really struggling with that last 2%, which happened to be what product line I would use. So much thought went into every last detail of my plan, and I wasn’t about to compromise on one of the most important parts of a skin and beauty business: the products used! There were so many times I almost gave in and just put down that I would use Eminence, a very well-known line of organic and naturally derived products that can be found at just about any high-end spa. Nothing wrong with Eminence, please don’t misunderstand my statement! It is a perfectly fine line of products with good ingredients. However I didn’t want perfectly fine. I wanted clean, eco-conscious, results-driven products that wouldn’t break the bank. And for me Eminence wasn’t it.
Frustrated, I went to Starbucks to try to spike my creative juices with a caffeine jolt, when I turned the page of my planner to be faced with a quote I had seen multiple times in my lifetime, however this day it just hit differently. “You must be the change you wish to see in the world” - Mahatma Gandhi. Eureka!! So, making a skincare product line couldn’t be that hard, right?!?! (**insert huge belly laugh here**)
Fast forward to naming this hypothetical skincare product line. Another huge mental block. Another trip to Starbucks to jolt creative juices. (Fun fact #2: one of the options for a name was LuLo Organics, named after my dogs Louie and Lola!*) After some time pondering over names, a few things became clear: I wanted the name to begin with an “A” to be on top of the alphabetical order list, I wanted the name to be synonymous to something health or wellness related, I wanted the name to be organic in itself. One thing that kept popping to mind when thinking of something healthy was the saying, “an apple a day…” which we’ve all heard many times before. The appeal for me was that the word apple itself was synonymous with a multi-billion dollar tech company. This meant that anyone local typing the word apple into their search engine would pop up my name. Lastly, I love how the Greek alphabet is derived of 24 letters, beginning with “A”, Alpha, and ending with “O”, Omega. “AO” the Alpha and Omega, or A-Z, of skincare.
This was it. This felt right. And this is how the name Apple Organics came to be.
My original business plan had me working by myself in a one room location. It was called Apple Organics Spahhh (notice my love of wordplay? Looking back I’m mortified * insert eye roll. Who remembers this?? I’d love to hear about it!)
Once I outgrew my first place and business plan, I came across our first expanded location on N. Pleasantburg Drive. This 12 room place was a humongous jump from my one-person-show. How blessed am I that the moment word got out that I was expanding so many colleagues came forward expressing how they wanted to be part of it? Suddenly I went from a solo act to having 3 more estheticians, a massage therapist, an acupuncturist, 2 spray tanning artists, a receptionist, 2 hair stylists…this was enough to give me whiplash!
So many artists and so much talent under one roof. Together we were so much more than just a spa. The word spa itself comes with so many preconceived ideas about what to expect. I didn’t want to limit us to someone’s idea of what a spa is. I had created a space for artists, creatives, healers, therapists to come together and pass along our gifts to those who walk through our doors. To me it was a blank space. A space to come hang out, enjoy some good conversation, feel empowered, and leave feeling better than when you came in. A safe space. A beautiful space. A kind space. A non-judgmental space. A welcoming space. A loving space. The Space. AO-The Space.
If you look closely, the word “spa” can still be found within the word [spa]ce. We just like to think of ourselves as just a bit cooler than those other spa’s, with a lot more heart to boot!
There ya go, a little history on how our name came about. I had so much fun going down memory lane for a bit with you. Let’s do this again soon!
Stay healthy, stay well, and have a beautiful day!
xoxo - Jessie
