The first question most people who know my name ask when they hear or see the name of the business is ‘why Tawbis? Where does that name come from?’. This isn’t something I’d planned to post on the site, but given how routinely I’m asked it I thought I might as well grab the proverbial bull by the horns and let you all know the story behind the name!!
In very basic terms, when creating the business I knew from the outset that I didn’t want to use my name as the business name, so was looking for a name that was fairly unique and didn’t have any obvious connotations but which had some actual link back to me and my home where all of my jewellery is created and where I originally did all of my music teaching. I tried lots of different names on for fit and none seemed quite right until I hit upon Tawbis. And not wanting the origins of the name to shape or colour the business, made the decision to never publicly explain the origin of the name - that resolution didn’t last long then!!!
So here you go ....
The story behind the name
About 18 months ago, we took family who were visiting us to our local SSPCA (Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) animal rescue and rehoming centre in Drumoak to ’have a look at the kittens’. *
This was a ploy really to entertain our beautiful then-12-year-old niece (shhh! don't tell her!) and, although I had been lobbying to get a cat for years, we had no real intention of doing anything that day other than cooing over the cute animals.
Three hours later, after a manic rush round to fill a shopping list provided by the SSPCA, we found ourselves driving home with two very freaked out adult rescue cats! Still not quite sure how that happened!
Despite everything they’d been through before they were rescued, once they got over the trauma of being uprooted again and taken to live with complete strangers they soon proved themselves to be the most affectionate, cuddly and loving animals I think I’ve ever met (and with the softest fur of any cat I’ve ever petted).
We spent ages trying to decide on names for them but couldn’t agree on anything and after a while realised we’d got so used to the names the SSPCA had given them that we couldn’t imagine them under any other name.
So ... drummroll please ..... introducing Biscuits on the left (or the top if you’re viewing this on a mobile device) and Tawny on the right/bottom (are you seeing where the business name came from yet?).
In truth, we don't know much about their history before they were rescued, other than the immediate circumstances they and the other cats rescued with them were found in, but they're such an integral part of our family now that it seems irrelevant. We are fairly sure they're related (as the picture below demonstrates they do look very similar) but we're not sure if they're brother and sister, or father and daughter. Sometimes even we can't tell them apart, even once getting perilously close to taking the wrong cat to the vets - not our proudest cat-owning moment!
They're very close (most of the time!) and he's quite protective of her which is very sweet to witness.
One early suggestion for the business name was 'Tawny's jewellery' but as our little one has a bit of a habit of trying to steal jewellery as I'm making it, I didn't think she needed any more encouragement to see it as hers!
It was almost christened Bistaw Studios, but that sounded a bit too much like either Bicester (pronounced Bister for those not from the UK!) or that well known brand of gravy granules, so a quick switcheroo and Tawbis was born!
So there you have it! We're not a cat-related business in any way, and you won't see mentions of, or references to, them anywhere else on the site, but for all those who were curious about where the name came from you now have the full lowdown!
* if you're not familiar with the work of the SSPCA, please do check them out - they do an absolutely fantastic job and rely entirely on public donations to fund their work. And if you're looking for a furry addition to your own household, please consider adoption from your local rescue and rehoming charity or centre.