What's behind the re-brand?
Berry Creative is now Creative A.F.
January 2019
Dear Friends,
I married William James Farquharson on January 3, 2019 in a private ceremony that included our seven children: Kati, Madeline, Emma, Chandler, Linnea, Georgia, and Jillian. We’ve coined a new name for this clan: The FarkaBerrys.
Having experienced many life transitions over the past few years, too numerous to list here, this new definition of family is a welcome development. The FarkaBerrys are supersized and life is exponentially hilarious, loud, exciting, adventurous, and full of joy.
I’ve always embraced change and being a romantic at heart it is a no-brainer for me to take on Bill’s name proudly, despite its many hurdles, not the least of them being pronunciation.
So with that, let me introduce to you, Allison Farquharson!
What’s it like to change your name later in life? It goes something like this:
“How do you spell that?”
F – A – R – Q – U – H – A – R – S – O – N
“Yikes. OK, then…How do you pronounce that?
FAR – KWA – SIN
Say what? FAAAAAARRRRRR. KWWWWWAAAAAA. SIN.
What are you going to do about your company name, Berry Creative?
The answer to that one came more easily than you may think, in fact, we could argue chicken or egg in this instance, i.e. which came first?
Early in our relationship, Bill and I were sitting on our deck basking in the warmth emanating from the fire pit as well as the heat we had developed in our friendship, courtship, and partnership. A first, then second, adult beverage and the conversation ran the gamut from our do-it-ourselves dream project plans and landscaping negotiations to kids to family, to business, and around again.
We began tossing about the thought: “What would I do with my business name if I decide to get remarried?” Hypothetically, of course, with the concept of marriage at the time not implausible, but certainly well in the distance.
As quickly as I had landed on Berry Creative LLC (a play on words with my first married name I’d always thought brilliant in its simplicity), and without pause, I exclaimed “When I marry YOU, I’ll change it to CreativeAF!” [If unfamiliar with this edgy, double entendre, please consult the Urban Dictionary.]
We exploded into laughter.
Looking back that just might have been the proposal everyone asks about. “How’d he do it?” We’ve tripped over the answer to this question time and again, ultimately saying “we just knew.”
My psychotic optimism – that is always finding the positive in situations despite every reason not to – tells me to embrace this mid-life identity crisis and I hope you, my colleagues and my friends, will too!
Yours Truly,
Creative A.F.
[i.e. The really, really, really Creative Allison Farquharson]