The Many Names of Capulet
The idea of Capulet Books was birthed the way I’m sure a lot of ideas are. Just talking. Talking and dreaming. Someone said “let’s open a romance bookstore,” and nothing had ever seemed so obvious.
However, Marissa and I didn’t have the easiest time choosing the perfect name for our perfect idea. We didn’t always see eye to eye and because of that, choosing a name became a long process. Putting two people’s vision together is never an easy thing. Neither is putting into words exactly what grand ideas you have in your head. We had this thing that we couldn’t stop talking about, but we couldn’t put a name to what that thing was.
One element we could agree on was that whatever name we chose, we wanted it to blatantly spell out romance. This bookstore is a romance bookstore, and the name had to reflect that.
With that in mind, we started writing down words like “dove,” “harp,” and “pomegranate.” We started searching for symbols of any love goddess that could possibly come to mind. We imagined a divine feminine being that emulated love - tragic and true.
We pretty quickly gravitated towards Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. We loved the imagery and how quintessentially Renaissance it is. And, of course, its main subject is Venus, love goddess herself, which was kind of the whole thing we were going for. Early mood boards definitely reflect our infatuation with the painting. Lots of flowers, pearls, and soft pinks and teals.
We started to narrow down some names to include things like “starcrossed”, “anemone,” “aphrodite,” and “saint-valentin.” Things were clearing up, but also not at all. We were truly stuck.
Let’s talk about the anemone in the room. Yes, anemone. We stumbled upon anemone somewhere along the way. I can only assume it was during our deep dive into the goddesses of love and their numerous symbols. Anemone, a symbol of Aphrodite, resides amongst pearls, roses, and lettuce. Maybe we should have gone with “Lettuce Books.”
According to Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the flower was created when Aphrodite sprinkled nectar on the body of her fallen lover, Adonis. From his body, the beautiful yet fragile flower was born - a fleeting happiness. I could go into the fleeting happiness of love stories, but spoiler alert, you are not reading this on anemonebookshop.com. So, I’ll save us both the trouble.
“So saying, she sprinkled the blood with odorous nectar: and, at the touch, it swelled up, as bubbles emerge in yellow mud. In less than an hour, a flower, of the colour of blood, was created such as pomegranates carry, that hide their seeds under a tough rind. But enjoyment of it is brief; for, lightly clinging, and too easily fallen, the winds deflower it, which are likewise responsible for its name, windflower: anemone.”
Marissa was absolutely sold on the bookshop being called “Anemone Books.” And who can blame her? Anemone is undoubtedly a beautiful name, but after a number of polls and some confusion on the spelling, it was safe to say that anemone was not The One. However, don’t be surprised if you pass by an Anemone Coffee/Boutique/Gallery/Gift Shop/Mobile Bar one day. A.A. (After Anemone), I’ll admit we were still stumped. We couldn’t agree on this one seemingly monumental decision. Maybe we put too much weight on it, but then again maybe not. The name of any business is important. It needs to reflect our vision and it needs to exist in perpetuity. It also has to be agreed upon by both partners.
Romeo and Juliet was written down at some point, somewhere. It didn’t click immediately, no matter how glaringly obvious it was. When one of us uttered the word “Capulet,” everything fell into place, or really, everything fell apart. Instead of the soft, cool tones we had been imagining, we started saving images with opulent golds, dark reds, and daggers. So many daggers. We strayed from the Renaissance and went Medieval. The bookstore started to feel less like a reflection of breezy, summer love and more of a contemplation on forbidden romance and boundless affection. It was no longer blue skies and white silk, but late nights and dark velvet. Hushed words in the dead of night.
We found The One.
Things definitely got going from there. Well, kind of. Capulet Books was obviously our strongest contender at that point, but honestly, we sat on it for at least a month. We got busy and our talks of our very own bookstore fell on the wayside. Until one long weekend where we finally met for coffee and got down to the nitty gritty - aka making Capulet Books official (via Instagram handle).
A romance bookstore might be a simple concept to some, or maybe a totally wild idea to others. To us, it sounds like dreams come true. We know that Capulet Books will be a special place for whoever happens upon our little corner, just as it is a special place for us. We hope to create a haven for readers who treasure stories of love like an anemone flower between their fingers.