WHAT’S IN A NAME?

“What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.” William Shakespeare wrote this line in his famed play Romeo and Juliet. His point? That a name is irrelevant. Yet a name can play an incredibly important role in our identity, particularly brand identity. A name can carry deep personal, cultural, familial, and historical connections. They also give us a sense of who we are, the communities in which we belong, and our place in the world.

So, what’s in a brand name then? In the world of tattooing, like in music or acting and many other creative pursuits, pseudonyms are a common practice. We need to look no further than the late great tattooer Sailor Jerry, born Norman Keith Collins, as an early pioneer in the example of expressing yourself on your own terms and that tradition of having a tattoo moniker carries on today.

As artists our names become our brand. Unfortunately not all of us were blessed with cool, memorable and distinctive names that roll off the tongue with ease and help us stand out from the crowd while they give form to our identity as tattooers. In 2014 I humbly began my tattoo journey and with great humility I came into being as simply Nic LeBrun Art & Tattoo. Not to state the obvious, but that’s my name and that’s what I do, what else would I have called my brand, a brand that was, de facto, me?

It seemed pretty straight forward at the time but as the years passed and I began to expand my brand, my name began to carry with it glaringly obvious downsides. While it is a family name it is anything but a great brand name. A name that is both attractive and recognizable, a name that flows off the tongue, is easily identified, memorable and at the very least easy to pronounce. LeBrun, pronounced luh bruhn, has been spoken as many variations throughout the years; lee broon, lay bron, loo burn, lee bran, lube run, and on and on. I usually just shrug it off because well, you know, “A rose by any other name……” Right? Not exactly.

In an ever growing industry that is more than fully saturated with an abundance of talent, branding is key to making a memorable impression and distinguishing yourself from your peers. That’s hard to do when your name is so easy to make a mess of and does anything but carry with it a uniqueness less found in tattooing’s sea of common names. The solution? A name change.

It had been nagging me in the back of my mind for quite some time, a rebranding, a fresh start, but not too far from my origins. I wasn’t looking for a complete rebirth, just an evolution, the next phase so to speak, but I couldn’t find that missing piece that made it all make sense. Lo and behold, that next phase was right in front of my face the whole time both literally and figuratively.

I had been been sporting a waning crescent moon on my face for years and in my logo for even longer. I was born under a waning crescent moon and seeing that it symbolizes surrender and transformation as it closes it’s cycle to begin anew, it always seemed aligned with the process of getting tattooed. It may have also likely been no coincidence that the weight of all this desired change became so much heavier and came to fruition in the cycle leading up to the new moon at which point it all suddenly became clear. Beneath that moon the next phase illuminated, Nic Luna Tattoo.

As always, I truly appreciate your ongoing support and I very much look forward to this next phase of my tattoo journey. You can expect to see this rebranding fully implemented throughout the webisphere and socials over the coming weeks as well as all new business cards, stickers and merchandise soon to come. Thank you so much for everything, then, now and forever. See you under the new light!