"My mother made Christmas magical. My love affair with it is her gift. She wove magic into Christmas and planted those seeds deep in our young fertile minds and every year like perennials they blossom again." (Alice Taylor, 'Home for Christmas'.)
On my hunt for the perfect business name I did a fair few weeks of research. It was something I took incredibly seriously as I wanted the name to be a true reflection of the the love that goes into making each bauble, and to incorporate the magic of the season as well. So I began by researching the traditions we have at Christmas time and where they came from. From bringing trees inside our homes, advent calendars, Chistmas stockings hung by the fire, and hanging glass baubles on trees, it turns out a lot of these traditions were bought to us by Germany. In particular during the Victorian era when Queen Victoria was on the Throne alongside her husband Prince Albert.
"Christmas tree decoration became fashionable in the UK during Queen Victoria's reign, most notably in 1848 when a picture was published in the Illustrated London News of the Royal Family. In an elaborate image, Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their family were pictured at Windsor Castle stood beside a large tree adorned with glass ornaments hailing from Prince Albert's native Germany." (The British Library)
Original glass blown baubles came from the sixteenth century in the alpine town of Lauscha, Germany. Glass blowing made this little town infamous for bauble production, as did Prince Albert when adorning them on the tree at Windsor Castle.
So, I began a hunt for a traditional German word to be the face of my business. It would encapsulate everything I wanted for my brand, with a good dose of historic backing for authenticity. After many a day scrolling German dictionaries, for elegant words to describe nostalgia....baubles...hanging decorations....traditions....Christmas.... nothing was coming up. Nothing I could pronounce anyway. Until one day, whilst down a rabbit hole on a German Garden centre website, flashed the word WINTERHART. My heart skipped a beat! There it was, my word.
And what does it mean? 'Perennial and hardy'. Which couldn't be a more accurate description of my baubles. They are made from a sturdy ceramic clay, unlikely to break even when dropped - Hardy. And they are absolutely designed to be nestled away in the loft for most if the year, and then come out into the light and adorned on your tree year after year - Perennial.
Within my research I found the most fitting quote that really helps to describe my brand story, and it was written by Alice Taylor in her book Home for Christmas;
"Our Christmas memories are planted in Childhood and every year re-awaken. My mother made Christmas magical. My love affair with it is her gift. She wove magic into Christmas and planted those seeds deep in our young fertile minds and every year like perennials they blossom again."
Katie x