Changing 'Sorbet Dreams' into 'Réka Thornton'

This is kind of a personal post from me (well, for a small business everything is personal, isn't it?!), and I will leave it to you if you're interested in reading it or not. I realise that not everyone may be interested in a brand's name change, but I wanted to address it to my old customers who follow me and were wondering... (I don't judge those who love a bit of gossip:)! )

When I created Sorbet Dreams over 3 years ago, I imagined pastels wallpaper designs with light hearted themes. Something fun, something that wasn't available on the market.

It didn't take long for both Asian markets and even UK brands to copy my designs, and I had to realise that my designs were too easy to copy. Yes, we live in a world of 'dupes' and copies and AI generated art, but it will never be something I can (fully?) accept or be willingly part of it. 

I love bringing personality to my designs and my home, too. I pride myself on people telling me that when they see my home, wallpaper or fabrics, they know instantly that it's a 'Réka Thornton' design. 

Having said that, I must point out that this is not aimed at individual customers who take inspiration from my interior or moodboards. Quite the opposite really, I make designs and I decorate to inspire and I couldn't be happier to hear how much someone loved my ideas. All designers are the happiest when their work is successful. My staircase, for example, featuring my wallpaper 'On the same Wavelength' in pink candy has been showcased in over 20 countries in a single year and it's one of the most loved designs, and it makes me so happy that so many of you love this design. 

This is aimed at designers who take a little bit more than inspiration from my work or even more, my brand that I've tried to build in the last couple of years. 

Imagine my shock, when a customer thought she tagged me on social media on her post, and it turned out that she had tagged another business with the same name! That's when I realised that not even one but two businesses decided to come up with the same or 95% identical name as mine. 

Again, I felt robbed, and again, I felt that I lost personality. I could've fought this, as my business is registered and I know that you can't register the same or very similar business name in the UK. However, I believe that everything happens for a reason, and I decided to take this as a sign, that I needed to add more personality to my business, which isn't easily copied. This is why I renamed, using my own name.

I know some of you will say, why don't I go after all the businesses who copy my designs, my name, etc. But at 44, with many many years of experience in running a business, I believe you have to pick your fight, and also that my time and mental health is more precious than fighting these things. Having said that, I do pick fights when I feel that it's something worth fighting for, I successfully managed to get my copied designs removed from Aliexpress, and other platforms (they even took my photos and my customers' photos of the designs!)

So, what changes for customers with the business name change? Absolutely nothing! I haven't changed printing houses, so the designs are not affected at all. There are also no batches between wallpapers and fabrics, so there wouldn't be any colour difference. 

The only thing is the branding, once I sell out of stock, you will have 'Réka Thornton' on the labels, instead of Sorbet Dreams. 

I know that my customer, aka "my tribe" will understand this and I thank you for all your support as always, it means the world to me. I always say that I have the loveliest customers, and of course it's a huge honour to be trusted with decorating your homes. Please do tag me on socials @reka_thornton, there's no better feeling than seeing my designs in your homes and be inspired by beautiful, like minded people with beautiful homes.