Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - It may not be like naming a child, but some people in the NWT put a lot of thought into deciding what to call their businesses.

The results are sometimes unique, funny and/or creative.

La Dee Dah Boutique, a clothing store in Hay River, is one such business.

Sisters Dayna Haley, left, and Nikki Ashton own and operate La Dee Dah Boutique in Hay River. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

Nikki Ashton, the boutique's co-owner who came up with the name, said she was on the Internet looking for inspiration when she saw the expression "la dee dah" in a story about fashion.

"It really describes what our store is about," she said, adding the name is original, unforgettable and feminine at the same time.

"We didn't want it to sound snobby," she said. "It was more fun."

Ashton, who co-owns the store with her sister Dayna Haley, said customers really like the name and it is easy to remember.

"The name just embodied our store," she said. "It was our store in a name."

Haley noted some distributors even tell them that certain clothes are "very la-dee-dah."

In Fort Smith, a hairstyling salon has been operating under the name Shear Fun since it opened 18 years ago.

Denise Yuhas, the owner/operator of the business, said she and her husband considered a few names - Mane Street, Mane Event, Curl Up and Dye, and others - before settling on Shear Fun.

"We wanted something different," she said.

Yuhas said a unique name puts a person's own brand on a business.

In fact, she said, if she ever decides to leave the salon, she will most likely take the business name with her.

"Simply because, after all this time, I'm affiliated with it," she said.

Also in Fort Smith, Straight Flush Plumbing and Heating has been getting comments about its name since it opened for business several years ago.

Julie Beaulieu, who does the books for her plumber husband Rocky Beaulieu, said even suppliers down south commented on the name when they first heard it.

"They would laugh and say that is awesome," she said.

Suppliers would often ask where the name came from, and when told that Rocky Beaulieu had come up with it, they would suggest he should be in advertising.

"We think it's a terrific name," Julie Beaulieu said.

Beaulieu noted some people think the name refers to poker, but she said that is not how her husband looks at it.

She said her husband chose the name because he is a straight-up, honest and hardworking kind of guy. Plus, straight flush also means a properly functioning toilet, which is a major part of the plumbing trade

"It fit perfectly," Beaulieu said of the company name.

A memorable name is important to the business, she said - which relies on word-of-mouth advertising.

"I think it's very important that people will remember," she said.

Eagle Eye Civil Surveys has one of the most interesting business names in Fort McPherson.

Phillip Edwards, the company's owner, said he and his wife came up with the name.

"We thought it was catchy," he said, noting eagles have keen sight and surveyors are always looking through viewing equipment.

While noting it is important for a business to have a good name, Edwards said, "you have to follow up with drive to get your business going and to go out and get work."