How long has it been since I last blogged? Don’t answer that. It is a rhetorical question and the answer is a very long time. I used to blog regularly and with great gusto, but 2020 changed that. The truth is I just haven’t felt like writing anything to be shared publicly in a while. Workwise, 2021 was reasonably productive for me. It was definitely more productive than it’s precursor (no surprise there!) but it was also a year full of intense personal stress, and trying to work through trauma with very little time to myself. Most of what I felt like writing about was intensely personal, and I’m a private person. So, plenty of diary entries but no blogging.
With the start of a new year, however, I would like to start the practice up again. I’ll start gently. Instead of kicking off hard with a list of sparkly resolutions, and aims for 2022, I would like to reach back and revisit my thoughts at the beginning of Noctiluna. I think this will help me focus in on my vision for this year, as well as serve as a reintroduction for new visitors here. So, I am going to answer questions that people often ask me at markets, that always take me far too long to answer coherently in person!
Q. What does Noctiluna mean and how did you come up with the name?
Honestly, I wanted a logo and name with a moon in it. I love the moon, and the fact that it represents female energy, creation, and intuition. I scribbled out moon related words and phrases that I knew of in different languages. Initially, I liked the Sanskrit term Purnima, but when I typed it into search engines, it kept leading to questionable websites that I definitely did not want to be linked with!
Noctiluna is an amalgamation of the latin words for night and moon. This seemed appropriate considering the fact that I started the company when I had just had my son, and was often literally thinking through my ideas by moonlight. The logo kept evolving and simplifying, but the name stuck. It still stumps a lot of people, both in terms of pronunciation and meaning, but for better or worse I am now ‘the Noctiluna woman’.
Q. Was the tagline your idea? Where did that come from?
Yes. That is something that I am most proud of. The tagline, Happiness by Design, is a perfect fit for the company. It makes me smile everytime I read it. First of all, I love a good play on words. Secondly, I was scribbling down a manifesto of sorts about what I wanted Noctiluna to be, and the two phrases that just kept popping into my head were joyful work and well designed. I want joy, or happiness to run through everything the company does. Even the pink color I chose for my logo is meant to symbolize rose tinted joy. I believe that creativity, and physical making brings people a very specific type of satisfaction and happiness that can make us feel whole. We all need it, whether we realise it or not. I experience this when I am printing, sewing and painting and the students in my camps experience that joy too. Hopefully, they will carry that practice into their adult lives.
I would like us all to be advocates for good design. Good, universal design can improve and change lives. It is the key to better living and a better future. When the phrase Happiness by Design popped into my head, it seemed to encompass all those ideas. It is simple, and yet has so much meaning folded into it (like the best designed things).
My hope for Noctiluna is that, we will continue to make carefully designed products and experiences, that bring joy to people’s lives. I want the company to be what small business advocate, Holly Tucker MBE , calls a ‘Good Life Business’. A business that will affect our lives, and our local community in a positive way.
In 2022, I would like to teach more people about the joy of making, and produce more products using upcycled remnants and clothes to help reduce textile waste. I’m hoping this will be the year of the big summer camp’s return as well. Most of all, I want it to be a year of taking time to notice all the little things that bring us joy and inspiration.
Happy New Year All!
