YOU NAME IT: The growth of personalisation

by Jenny Dalton

IN THE EARLY 80s when it became fashionable to own accessories with your name attached (remember the original script name necklaces, way before SATC’s Carrie got her mitts on one?), I remember being constantly thwarted when I hit the shops looking for named items. A million Jennifers, but never a Jenny.

So, what must today’s kids feel like rifling through those souvenir racks, name-cards and the like, all of which are rendered pretty pointless in the face of a million and one children with exotic, one-off, individual, even made-up, names.

“My own daughter is called Bea so it’s virtually impossible to find something ‘off the shelf’ with her name on it,” confirms Judith Booth of Made With Love by Mrs Booth, whose paper products are based around the spelling, the alphabet and children’s names. Her to-order named alphabet card friezes (see below in the gallery) were inspired by the lack of customised goods around at the time. Children never tire of seeing their name in print from an early age, she says. “When my children were starting to recognise letterforms their names were some of the first words they recognised.”

Jennifer Ramos of Made By Girl, who has become known for her modern, graphic posters that pick out a to-order name highlighted within the alphabet, agrees: “With toddlers it helps to see their names over and over again in order to learn it. For young teens, having their name on a print in their room gives the room a more personal feel: kids like this a a lot.”

A selection of our current favourite customised products are below… Click on the images to see bigger versions and shopping details…