Stitch And Boots
Roost is taken.
I started off this morning sreaming at my son, after 15 minutes of trying to get him to get dressed, that it doesn't matter if there are no long sleeve shirts, he will either pick a short sleeved one or he will go to school in his pyjamas. Then when the screaming failed to move him I attempted to physically remove his pyjama shirt for him. This finally spurred him into action but has sent him to school hating his mean mother. My only consolation is that other parents with kids with ADD know what I go through every day. And now I can give a name to this impossible problem of his. And mine. Because whatever is his problem is also mine.
Today I bring you a brand new hunt for a website name. My friend Angela has been incredibly busy with her own work lately and so I decided that I would go ahead and start working on my Roost website by myself. The first step is to register your name. Obviously I should have done this months ago, but I didn't. As it turns out, nearly all forms of "Roost.com" are taken. Roost Magazine, Roost Industries, Roost, The Roost, etc. I want a name and url that match. If someone hears that there's a website with some great urban homesteading articles and tutorials on it- I want the site to be easy to find. They should be able to type in the name and get there.
So you all know what that means? I spent most of yesterday evening making up names and doing domain searches. All of the simplest, most obvious names were taken. So I had to get creative. The name should be easy to say, remember, and somehow relate to the content. That's a huge order. "Donkey Balls Farm" is not taken in case you were wondering. (I typed that one in out of frustration.)
"Hens On A Wire" made Max think of electrocuted dead chickens. Philip really liked "The New Dustbowl" but when asked what it made him think of he said "starvation and thousands of Oakies moving to California." Not really the flavor I'm going for. He didn't like "Farmhouse Tart" because he doesn't think I'm that kind of woman. Max didn't know what was implied by 'tart' but he was already so enamored with making fun of all the names I chose that he happily declared it to be seriously poopy.
So here are the names I've narrowed it down to unitl I think of 40 other stupid names (these are all available right now unless someone takes a liking to them and steals them from me which would be so mean and shifty):
Stitch And Dot
Farmhouse Finishing School
Coop And Boots
Stitch And Pinny
Stitch And Boots
Here are a few more that didn't make the first cut:
Needle To Plow
Farmhouse Letters
Farmhouse Apothecary
City Girl Farming
City Spade*
Homestead Revival
Needle And Hoe
DIY Homestead
Oh I could go on and on. There are not many one word domain names left. Did I say "not many"? I meant none. That's not to say they are being actively used but I'm not going to pay a domain name sitter to let me use something that they just snatched up because they knew someone would eventually want it.
One of the very biggest urban homesteading sites, as nearly all of you know is the "Path To Freedom" site. I don't know how often any of you visit it, yes yes- so inspiring and all that shit, but I am so annoyed with them. Here they are espousing this great way of life and a lot of important messages and now they have alienated me by putting ™ after every phrase they use to describe what they do such as "Little Homestead In The City™" and "Grow The Future™" and "Path To Freedom™" and another much longer sentence. It is tacky, it is corporate, and it is against so much of what I believe urban homesteading is about.
Plus, it is intensely arguable that trademarking such things would hold up in a court of law. I learned that when I stumbled across that trademarking issue posting in Etsy. Wow was that a bitter day. But who wants to test it out? The ™ and the ® symbols are the equivalent of territorial piss and I am not going to engage in pissing contests** with people over words that should remain free to everyone.
So needless to say, there's not a lot out there. I can't seem to settle on one that I'm sure I love. I will probably be using the picture of my Grandmother (shown above) with my mother as part of my header because it is one of my favorite pictures of all time and for me it has the flavor of what I do and who I am. I have to say that one of my favorites here is "Farmhouse Finishing School" because my friend Chelsea and I had this great idea for a modern finishing school where you could learn all the homesteading arts that people are no longer learning from their parents and grandparents.
So what do you all think? Please have an opinion and share it because I want to get this together already. I want to move to the second step which is choosing a template and uploading it to my own hosting site. I want to start posting my homestead stuff to a homestead website.
Right now I have to say that aside from the finishing school one I really love "Stitch And Boots" because it embodies all the things you need to wear boots for like building raised beds and mucking out coops, but also gives equal notice to the home arts thought to generally be more femining like stitching and cooking.
I don't know. Now I'm just irritated at all those "big" bloggers who are ruining this great movement with corporate style ownership. I need more coffee. I need to have a coffee klatch with other people. It's so obvious why I'm always going to be poor and short tempered.
I may have unconsciously just chosen "Stitch And Boots". Pippa purring in my lap is making me feel a little less prickly.
*I loved this one but first of all I seem to be the only person who calls a trowel a spade and secondly, it sounds like just a gardening site which it won't be limited to.
**OK, wait, maybe just a little...it is so annoying to me that everyone out there is always trying to gain ownership over ideas that weren't exclusively theirs. Before "Angry Chicken" made it seem that she was the first person in my generation to love aprons, I was (at the exact same time) collecting vintage aprons and wearing them. Before I was wearing and collecting vintage aprons, my friend Lucille was doing it. No one owns ideas, no one is ever first at anything. Urban homesteading wasn't anywhere on the internet when I first started doing it and calling that. Maybe I should have grabbed the ® and the ™ for it when I had the chance, but I didn't. Not once did I think I was the only person doing it or that I had individually and exclusively made up that term for it. A lot of ideas happen collectively. So I don't claim ownership of my interests and ideas and it really bothers me when other people do or when they get credit for a collective idea. Madonna used to get sole credit for making it popular to wear vintage clothing but my mother was doing it before her. Piss over.
Today I bring you a brand new hunt for a website name. My friend Angela has been incredibly busy with her own work lately and so I decided that I would go ahead and start working on my Roost website by myself. The first step is to register your name. Obviously I should have done this months ago, but I didn't. As it turns out, nearly all forms of "Roost.com" are taken. Roost Magazine, Roost Industries, Roost, The Roost, etc. I want a name and url that match. If someone hears that there's a website with some great urban homesteading articles and tutorials on it- I want the site to be easy to find. They should be able to type in the name and get there.
So you all know what that means? I spent most of yesterday evening making up names and doing domain searches. All of the simplest, most obvious names were taken. So I had to get creative. The name should be easy to say, remember, and somehow relate to the content. That's a huge order. "Donkey Balls Farm" is not taken in case you were wondering. (I typed that one in out of frustration.)
"Hens On A Wire" made Max think of electrocuted dead chickens. Philip really liked "The New Dustbowl" but when asked what it made him think of he said "starvation and thousands of Oakies moving to California." Not really the flavor I'm going for. He didn't like "Farmhouse Tart" because he doesn't think I'm that kind of woman. Max didn't know what was implied by 'tart' but he was already so enamored with making fun of all the names I chose that he happily declared it to be seriously poopy.
So here are the names I've narrowed it down to unitl I think of 40 other stupid names (these are all available right now unless someone takes a liking to them and steals them from me which would be so mean and shifty):
Stitch And Dot
Farmhouse Finishing School
Coop And Boots
Stitch And Pinny
Stitch And Boots
Here are a few more that didn't make the first cut:
Needle To Plow
Farmhouse Letters
Farmhouse Apothecary
City Girl Farming
City Spade*
Homestead Revival
Needle And Hoe
DIY Homestead
Oh I could go on and on. There are not many one word domain names left. Did I say "not many"? I meant none. That's not to say they are being actively used but I'm not going to pay a domain name sitter to let me use something that they just snatched up because they knew someone would eventually want it.
One of the very biggest urban homesteading sites, as nearly all of you know is the "Path To Freedom" site. I don't know how often any of you visit it, yes yes- so inspiring and all that shit, but I am so annoyed with them. Here they are espousing this great way of life and a lot of important messages and now they have alienated me by putting ™ after every phrase they use to describe what they do such as "Little Homestead In The City™" and "Grow The Future™" and "Path To Freedom™" and another much longer sentence. It is tacky, it is corporate, and it is against so much of what I believe urban homesteading is about.
Plus, it is intensely arguable that trademarking such things would hold up in a court of law. I learned that when I stumbled across that trademarking issue posting in Etsy. Wow was that a bitter day. But who wants to test it out? The ™ and the ® symbols are the equivalent of territorial piss and I am not going to engage in pissing contests** with people over words that should remain free to everyone.
So needless to say, there's not a lot out there. I can't seem to settle on one that I'm sure I love. I will probably be using the picture of my Grandmother (shown above) with my mother as part of my header because it is one of my favorite pictures of all time and for me it has the flavor of what I do and who I am. I have to say that one of my favorites here is "Farmhouse Finishing School" because my friend Chelsea and I had this great idea for a modern finishing school where you could learn all the homesteading arts that people are no longer learning from their parents and grandparents.
So what do you all think? Please have an opinion and share it because I want to get this together already. I want to move to the second step which is choosing a template and uploading it to my own hosting site. I want to start posting my homestead stuff to a homestead website.
Right now I have to say that aside from the finishing school one I really love "Stitch And Boots" because it embodies all the things you need to wear boots for like building raised beds and mucking out coops, but also gives equal notice to the home arts thought to generally be more femining like stitching and cooking.
I don't know. Now I'm just irritated at all those "big" bloggers who are ruining this great movement with corporate style ownership. I need more coffee. I need to have a coffee klatch with other people. It's so obvious why I'm always going to be poor and short tempered.
I may have unconsciously just chosen "Stitch And Boots". Pippa purring in my lap is making me feel a little less prickly.
*I loved this one but first of all I seem to be the only person who calls a trowel a spade and secondly, it sounds like just a gardening site which it won't be limited to.
**OK, wait, maybe just a little...it is so annoying to me that everyone out there is always trying to gain ownership over ideas that weren't exclusively theirs. Before "Angry Chicken" made it seem that she was the first person in my generation to love aprons, I was (at the exact same time) collecting vintage aprons and wearing them. Before I was wearing and collecting vintage aprons, my friend Lucille was doing it. No one owns ideas, no one is ever first at anything. Urban homesteading wasn't anywhere on the internet when I first started doing it and calling that. Maybe I should have grabbed the ® and the ™ for it when I had the chance, but I didn't. Not once did I think I was the only person doing it or that I had individually and exclusively made up that term for it. A lot of ideas happen collectively. So I don't claim ownership of my interests and ideas and it really bothers me when other people do or when they get credit for a collective idea. Madonna used to get sole credit for making it popular to wear vintage clothing but my mother was doing it before her. Piss over.
Comments (25)
That is absolute nonsense at what the PTF blog is doing! I got a sour taste last week after reading more thoroughly and seeing the "their way of walking the old ways" listed with "tithing, stewardship and day of rest." Tithing is a xtian based biblical requirement. Yes, I know, religious tolerance but this pagan cannot support someone(s) who bases their beliefs on a religious group who repeatedly and emphatically preaches hate. Having been in that world until I was 18 gave me firsthand knowledge. I'm just going to say it, I'm anti-xtian. gasp, horror, shock, right? So there will be no tolerance for a hate based religion from me. Damn, I sure turned that into something far from your post.
Posted by Kathy | March 5, 2009 11:05 AM
Posted on March 5, 2009 11:05
Oh, man! That totally sucks, Angelina - "Roost" was so perfect. Boo.
My favorite is "Farmhouse Finishing School," I think. It makes me think of an actual place that I can go to learn and grow and meet people. I also love the irony because "finishing schools" were historically so hoity toity and had nothing to do with such mundane and dirty tasks as raising chickens or baking bread.
Posted by EmmaC | March 5, 2009 11:41 AM
Posted on March 5, 2009 11:41
I like Stitch and Pinny best, but I think you have a good point about Stitch and Boots. That was my second favourite. I think I'd like it better if it were Stitches and Boots. I think the rhythm is nicer. (Please completely ignore me if you don't: I have a weird thing for words. I'm trying to get pregnant, and the other day I decided I really hated a pretty-sounding, Welsh, classic girl's name: Ffion. I thought "it didn't look graceful on the page"!!)
Posted by Beth | March 5, 2009 12:16 PM
Posted on March 5, 2009 12:16
Beth- I've never heard that name before but not knowing how to even pronounce it I think it's very pretty and elegant on the page! I loved Stitch and Pinny too because it is not only a British word for Apron, it's the name of my Rhode Island hen.
Emma- I think I'm going to have "Farmhouse Finishing School" be the subtitle or tag line of the website. I really love it but Philip kept saying "It's too long!" and then I thought "Stitch And Boots" really has a ring to it. So why not both?
Kathy- you know I feel pretty much the same as you do, and even if I didn't, there's no reason why you shouldn't say how you feel here. even if it's off topic. I do it all the time. I'm glad you got it out! I hadn't noticed the religious flavor at PTF, but that gives me even more reason to stay away and do my own thing. I'm glad they've done so much to show people what can be done on a small lot but I don't need to hang out there.
Posted by angelina | March 5, 2009 12:58 PM
Posted on March 5, 2009 12:58
Yeah - this suggestion was back when you were thinking printed magazine. Most of those one-word domain names are long-since taken. I would have pointed this out long ago if I thought you were thinking of owning the domain name proper (I am a compulsive domain-researcher). Farmhouse Finishing School has my vote!
Posted by Danielle | March 5, 2009 1:17 PM
Posted on March 5, 2009 13:17
I'd like the name "Pinney and Boots", combining my two favorites. 'Cos I can just see that archetype, the capable woman in her apron and wellies, always willing to learn more, and balanced between the home and garden arts. I think I need to draw her picture... if I do, I'll send you a scan.
And I have been to look at the PTF site, and somehow, it, even though there was tons of information there, it just left a funny ungood taste in my mouth. Like, well, those folks wouldn't like me if they met me... kind of the opposite of how I felt when I found your site actually...
(Oh, and once my snowdrops are done blooming and able to be dug up, I can split the clump and give you a start. I'll send a message later in the year and ask where to send them.)
Posted by alison | March 5, 2009 3:14 PM
Posted on March 5, 2009 15:14
Farmhouse Finishing School is so perfect! You could also go with Homestead Finishing School. Both can encompass so many things, and really fit in with the TM business, too - homesteaders and farmers never worried about "stealing" ideas - if something worked for a neighbor, it worked for them and no one thought anything of it as they were all too busy living their lives and surviving in a brutal world. Not much has changed, eh?
Posted by Mary | March 5, 2009 3:47 PM
Posted on March 5, 2009 15:47
I'm voting for "Farmhouse Finishing School". I like the alliteration of farmhouse and finishing. Plus, I love the idea of learning all these skills as "refinements" for our modern selves. "Stitch and Boots" is concise but not as straightforward. I guess a little mystery is fun. Whatever the title and tag line, it's going to be great.
Posted by Taj | March 5, 2009 5:52 PM
Posted on March 5, 2009 17:52
I love Farmhouse Finishing School. I actually created a bachelor dregree program for housewifery. I should dig it out and post it for you to see.
Posted by Jenn | March 5, 2009 6:28 PM
Posted on March 5, 2009 18:28
I like the Farmhouse Finishing school for the same reasons everyone else gave but I also like the Farmhouse Letters. Sounds comfy and homey with interesting information like you would get in a letter form home.
Robin
Posted by robin | March 5, 2009 6:36 PM
Posted on March 5, 2009 18:36
When I read the list of words - Stitch 'n Boots immediately caught my mind.... but then it sounded more like a child's play site than something urban homesteaderish. But, maybe that is what you need - a name that catches the immediate and makes people want to look.
Posted by Karmyn R | March 5, 2009 8:27 PM
Posted on March 5, 2009 20:27
Path to Freedom sounds so...born again, yuck!!!
Stitch 'n Boots sounds good, but it also sounds like Home Ec for dykes...better try some new names.
I'll get back to ya.
Posted by Casa de Lulu | March 5, 2009 8:52 PM
Posted on March 5, 2009 20:52
Farmhouse Finishing School is perfect!
Especially with that image and dustbowl-ish graphics.
Your categories could be themed thusly:
Manners, Poise, Etiquette, etc.
Im sorry about Roost, but I like the coy humor of FFS even better.
Posted by kim w. | March 6, 2009 12:23 AM
Posted on March 6, 2009 00:23
p/s--i had never heard of "Path To Freedom" (which to me sounds like a military campaign disguising itself a la "Right to Life") and had to go check it out. im not going to be snarky. I will just say: no competition.
and pp/s-- slightly off topic, but in the finishing school vein: did you ever hear the term "M.R.S. degree" applied to the pursuits of women who went to college just looking for a husband?
Posted by kim w. | March 6, 2009 12:57 AM
Posted on March 6, 2009 00:57
Sorry you couldn't get the name you wanted....
I liked "Stitch and Boots" at first ......but after a bit, yea, it did sound "wrong" (??)
I always have to be different, so I'm gonna put a much-outnumbered vote for "Coop and Boots"
Posted by Sue | March 6, 2009 3:07 AM
Posted on March 6, 2009 03:07
I'm in the Farmhouse Finishing School camp.
I'm sending you a hug because I know how very frustrating dealing with ADD is.
Posted by Mary D in Texas | March 6, 2009 7:43 AM
Posted on March 6, 2009 07:43
Great input everyone! I have registered the domain "Stitch And Boots" and this morning I will be registering "Farmhouse Finishing School" as well. The website will be "Stitch And Boots, The Farmhouse Finishing School"
I see what you mean about the Home Ec for dykes, but one of the reasons I really like it is that it implies both the more feminine home art of stitchery and also the more traditional farm work of mucking out chicken coops and such.
Kim- So true!!! PTF- the name has always bothered me too and evoked something similar. No- never heard of the M.R.S. degree- that is so funny! Can you imagine being a woman who went to school for that?
Oh, Chelsea, at some point when I'm not quite as large you and I are going to dress up as headmistresses of the farmhouse finishing school and have Philip take pictures! Yep. because even if you don't actually write for it, you are a huge inspiration for it.
Sue- have you commented here before? Do you have a blog? thanks for your input! I really like Coop and Boots too but I thought it sounded too much like a poultry raising site without the rest of the homesteading.
Posted by Angelina | March 6, 2009 7:52 AM
Posted on March 6, 2009 07:52
Mary- thank you. I have you in my mind often when dealing with the frustrations of parenting such a challenging kid because you've shared so much of your experiences with me too. You and Kathy and some other commentors have been so open and forthcoming about your own experiences it really helps me feel less alone.
Posted by angelina | March 6, 2009 7:55 AM
Posted on March 6, 2009 07:55
Angelina
I'm so sorry that Roost was already taken. I think you've come up with an excellent alternative and I can't wait to see what your creative mind comes up with for your "Stitch and Boots" web site.
I meant to comment on your runway to real life post. The photo of the women with the bicycle actually triggered me to get me back on my healthy diet plan. I LOVE those clothes; they are like something right out of my head. The sad thing is, I keep saying to myself if only I was thin I would dress the way I want. The truth is that I have never been thin. Why can't I dress the way I want now?
Posted by Sarah | March 6, 2009 9:56 AM
Posted on March 6, 2009 09:56
www.RoostMagazineOnline.com seems like it's not taken yet... or www.RoostAtHome.com
but I love your other ideas, as well!
Posted by Jen | March 6, 2009 10:00 AM
Posted on March 6, 2009 10:00
I like Stitch And Boots.
Posted by magpie | March 6, 2009 12:39 PM
Posted on March 6, 2009 12:39
I like "stitch and pinny" best. Oh, and I'm wearing a vintage apron RIGHT NOW! (white with grey and brown mushrooms all over it, a caramel colored trim and a nice big pocket... it's really dirty, though,from cleaning the studio, so I'm gonna take it off and put on a "Visit Rock City" apron with an unusable tiny pocket.
Posted by Lucille | March 6, 2009 1:30 PM
Posted on March 6, 2009 13:30
How about "a stitch 'n' thyme?
or mother's cluckers?
Posted by Lucille | March 6, 2009 1:32 PM
Posted on March 6, 2009 13:32
roostmag.com is also free.
Posted by Anonymous | March 10, 2009 4:12 PM
Posted on March 10, 2009 16:12
Love seeing all the names you came up with! I too liked "Farmhouse Finishing School". Course I loved "Farmhouse Tart" too. So was "Seriously... I'm Not A Lesbian" already taken?
Posted by happy zombie | March 13, 2009 2:01 PM
Posted on March 13, 2009 14:01