There's Art in the Name

I don't know about you, but when I'm traveling through a town that has a Main St or area of cute commerce, I enjoy discovering clever names of the shops, businesses, or restaurants that I find. Some of these include "Groomingdales", " Trash and Vaudeville", "Effing Brew Co", and "Leotardo da Vinci". Actually, the latter was the name that I originated for my dance and active wear company back in the 80's and 90's.

At the time I had started the business designing and manufacturing apparel, I was young and filled with blind ambition. I knew that coming up with the right name would distinguish me from the many other startups including Gilda Marx, Stevie Brooks, Jacque Moret, and Dance France. My own name, Margaret Wiseheart, didn't really lend itself to this business and sounded long and old fashioned to me.

I'll never forget when the light bulb went off in 1983, about a year after I moved to Florida to startup a different business. My niche at that time had been handpainted swimwear. I called the company Echelon Mfg. Inc. dba Echelon Swimwear. By the time I was up to my ears trying to design and paint all of the orders I received, I began to redirect my plans to manufacture a less seasonal, more in demand product line of apparel. Tossing around some tradenames I remember went on for about a week. Then one night, almost as if a voice came into my head that wasn't my own, Leotardo da Vinci was born.

Of course there were no computers available in the early 80s, no Photoshop, Illustrator, or anything that would help me to digitally create my brand, and I couldn't afford an ad agency yet. So, to save money, I took to pen, marker, brush, paper, and a Xerox machine to create my hang tags, brochures, and all of the other items needed to get my name out there. It worked. I had a hit on my hands and the brand was beginning to get national attention by the media (magazines) and industry events. Had it not been for the unique name, I don't think it would have happened that way. It was almost as if customers knew to expect cutting edge and clever designs coming from a name like that. I delivered.

Anyway, the story I'm trying to tell here is that, over my career, I've been involved in art in some way, shape or form, and I have reinvented myself more times that I could shake a paintbrush at. Nowadays, I consider myself an artist, which has really only sunk in just lately. I have many more ideas than I could possibly execute, and the names for things and concepts for making money at my art, pop into my head all the time. I've named my website Wiseheartist.com so that my real name is incorporated with my art business. Clever? No, not really. Uniquely inspired? Absolutely.

So as I accumulate a stack of oil paintings and decide how I will go about the 2026 version of marketing myself, I will begin to utilize all of the tools that are available for a successful art business. Affiliate Programs are designed to be just that. Helping to support creatives by providing a source of income to supplement the sales of artwork. I'm also excited by this because I will honestly deliver my reviews and opinions on many, many products that I use myself related to painting in Studio or Plein Air.

In addition, I plan to also begin a series of life drawing sessions in Bucks County PA, and will teach art to dancers, which I named Project Degas Ga.

Project Peacetrain, a fashion design and upcycling class for all ages, will offer pop-up workshops and summer camps in 2026.

My Amazon Affliiate store name is wiseheartist-20. I'm just getting started so it may take a few days to become completely launched. I hope that you will check back to my blog to discover new and interesting ideas and products to help you discover the art in your name too.

Happy Creating in 2026!

wiseheartist