What's In A Name?
It was March 2016, and I was sitting on the floor in my 3rd story apartment outside Chicago while making crafts to sell on my Etsy shop, and tossing around names for my new staging business. Occasionally I would set my glue gun down to scribble notes on an empty page, then pick up my tools to continue gluing miles of tulle around a wreath form while I let it all marinate in my head.
I was never the type to name a business something simple or obvious like 'Staging Done Right' or 'Ohio Staging' - oh no, I had to be cute about it. Nevermind the fact that a more obvious name might get me more clients faster. Nope, I had to make a statement. 🙄😂
But I was frustrated with myself and getting nowhere, so I decided to do a little word association brainstorm.
What kind of statement did I want to make anyway? What should my business name say about me? Did I even know?
Thoughts tumbled around in my mind...
I was tenacious, independent, and creative. I was an underdog, an overeducated small-town girl with big dreams...I was passionate about the way interiors make people feel, and I was killer at stretching a budget.
In fact, I was particularly good at making small budgets seem huge with just creative solutions and clear priorities. Give me free rein and I could take pennies and turn them into gold. Certainly that was a sentiment my clients would appreciate!
The thought set little bells off at the edges of my brain.
There was something there, and after a few more minutes of stewing over it, I felt a little ping in my mind - the kind I get when I know I've found the right solution.
I googled the phrase 'Diamond In The Rough' just to see it on the screen, and the lightbulb went on.
Actually, it was more like a marquee of flashing bulbs in my head - this was it!! It just felt right.
And Rough Diamond Studios was born.
Over the years it's been Rough Diamond Staging & Redesign, Rough Diamond Staging, Rough Diamond Events, Rough Diamond Staging & Photography, and probably a few more I've forgotten. 😅
But through all the iterations of the business, I've stayed true to the idea that I was a kind of Pied Piper of missed potential and it was my job to find it and bring it out with just a few polishing rags and a lot of elbow grease so to speak.
And I've always loved the name even though I get emails offering me discounted prices on raw and uncut diamonds on a fairly regular basis...
...but it didn't bother me because it said it all!
I was a diamond in the rough myself, with an ability to bring out the best in people, places and things in unexpected ways - ways that others couldn't see.
And nearly a decade later, it's still the skill I most value in myself.
The gift I've been given to instantly see what things could be is a valuable one - something I've never taken for granted.
And I never EVER get tired of hearing Clients say 'Oh my God I never realized it could look like this!!!'
Over the years I've had the honor of helping Investors find the potential in their flipped properties, guiding Airbnb Owners toward a profitable vision for their property that guests would love, pulling the potential out of all kinds of people from staging assistants and business partners to Realtors and homeowners, and staging hundreds and hundreds of homes to show off them off in the best light...all while spending the smallest amount possible on the tools, materials, and training needed to make it happen, and passing those discounts on to my Clients.
But it's not just about making money and helping clients build profits (although that's something I get great satisfaction out of), it's also about saving forgotten spaces and things that people have given up on.
We too often throw away old things only to replace them with new versions, forgetting that a solid oak dining table can be polished up to a brighter shine than any laminate nonsense from Ikea, and that homes filled with love and history can still be brought back to life with a little elbow grease and a lot of vision.
So here's to the old things - the ones that just need a little love, and the people who bring out the best in them.
May we all see the potential hidden behind the cobwebs and faded paint, not just in our homes but in ourselves as well.
Much Love,
Amy 😊
