The Story Behind The Name “Gingiber”

The first iteration of “Gingiber”

Maybe the #1 question I get asked as a business owner is about my art business name: Gingiber. I have an entire blog post written to help you name your own business that you can check out HERE.

What does Gingiber mean? It is an old Latin version of the word “Ginger” (I have a friend who teaches Latin, and she confirmed this for me long ago).

BUT HOW DID MY BUSINESS NAME COME TO BE?

When I was a Junior in college at a small liberal arts college called Drury University, I had a graphic design professor who gave us an assignment: Create a magazine all about YOU.

And, who was I? I had no idea, really. I was a newlywed and assistant manager at Starbucks. At the time I loved printmaking, and cooking, and decorating my tiny little cottage of a house.

PART OF THIS ASSIGNMENT WAS TO BRAND YOURSELF, CREATE A FAKE MAGAZINE, AND REALLY LET YOUR DESIGN SKILLS SHINE.

It was easy enough for me to take some photos of my home, write “articles” about my life as a 21 year old, and lay out my magazine in InDesign. But, what would I name this fictional magazine all about myself?

That is when I went to the university library and found an old latin dictionary. I was really into “g’s” at the time (typography nerd) and so I went straight to the G section. I just started scouring the dictionary until I saw the word “GINGIBER”. And instantly I liked it. It simply meant ginger. It really could mean anything. And I liked the double “g’s”. So I just went for it and called my fictional brand “Gingiber”.

AND YOU CAN SEE THE COVER OF MY MAGAZINE PICTURED ABOVE, MADE IN 2007.

I advertise “gingiber.com” and I would have never imagined that just 2 short years later I would have a real business based on my art called Gingiber, and that someday I would own that domain.

In 2008 my first daughter was born, and in 2009 I still hadn’t decorated her baby room. I was working full-time as a store manager at Starbucks at the time. When I would get home from work, I would play with my daughter and doodle.

My husband had recently heard of Etsy, which at the time was a small, nurturing e-commerce platform for young artists and handmade businesses. I browsed Etsy and STILL couldn’t find art for my daughter’s room that I loved. So I doodled some art to hang on her nursery walls (the drawings were made with sharpie on manilla envelopes). I finally had a lightbulb idea:

I WOULD TRY TO SELL MY DOODLES ON ETSY. SO I DECIDED TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

When the time came to name my shop, I thought about it for a while. Would I use my favorite words for a brand name? Should I use a “cute” baby decor name? Should I name it after myself, Stacie Bloomfield Art? Ultimately, after dragging my feet for a week to find the perfect name, I remembered that college magazine project from 2 years prior.

And I made the simplest solution: I grabbed my branding for the magazine and plugged it into my etsy shop: Gingiber!

 Voila. I had the name of my new Etsy shop. Now 12 years later, Gingiber has grown from a small Etsy Shop to a Mighty Strong Small Business that employs 9 people. Granted, many people do not know how to pronounce “Gingiber” (to pronounce it say the word “ginger” and ad an “ib” in the middle). It is a great conversation starter 🙂 

I HOPE THAT THIS STORY REMINDS YOU: THERE IS NO PERFECT WAY TO NAME YOUR BUSINESS.

SOMETIMES THE SIMPLEST SOLUTION IS THE BEST SOLUTION. SOMETIMES YOU’VE GOT TO LEVERAGE WHAT YOU’VE GOT RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU TO GET YOU TO WHERE YOU WANT TO GO.

That is the story of Gingiber, and I hope you enjoyed the story and that it inspires you with your own art business name!