ISSUE 1 : THE MEANING OF 18KARAT
Welcome to our new 18Karat website and blog. It is our intent to inform you about some of the background stories at 18Karat and in doing so, we hope to engage you in a more connected discussion. For those of you who already know the people at 18Karat, our conversations will feel familiar and for those of you who don’t, you will start to understand our motivation and direction. Just like you, we are in the process of redefining ourselves – looking back at what made us the company we are today and looking forward to what we want to become in the future. We write about this in our latest Collection18 editorials – about the contrast of order and chaos and the necessity of both. We hope you enjoy our new content and would love to hear from you with your impressions or comments.
It will soon be 20 years since Grant and I started 18Karat. In looking back, one of the background stories is at the very root of the creation of our company. In trying to explain it, I could never clearly articulate the idea, but now, I’m going to try. This is in reply to our most asked question: Where did the name 18Karat come from?
I’ve always said that it doesn’t mean anything, but now I will confess that it actually does. It’s poetic, so please remove your rational thinking while you read this. I have always felt a deep affinity for the epilogue to Through the Looking Glass/Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. When I was thinking about the image I would like to present in the name of our company, I was thinking about this poem. This is the part that I’ve retained in my mind, that lives inside me still.
In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:
Ever drifting down the stream –
Lingering in the golden gleam –
Life what is it but a dream?
I wanted a name for our new business that reminded me of the fleeting moment of the golden gleam. I hoped that in the growth of our business, we would remember what really matters in life – to have a life well lived, never take our success for granted, and remember that Life is it but a dream. The golden gleam in my mind turned into 18Karat.
I also liked the connection to Alice in Wonderland. When one looks at the fantasy of Alice, of her world of things very large and things very small, exaggerated personalities, absurd conversations, we cannot resist seeing the analogy of this fantasy reflected in our life today. Do we not desire huge, oversized planters that make us feel small, or miniature vases that fit into the palm of our hand? Are we not attracted to the idealized fantasy of an all-white room or a chair that fulfills an unarticulated fantasy of our ideal lifestyle? These are all places we’ve gone at 18Karat. However, unlike the world that appears in the rabbit hole, we try to keep our design away from the absurd and exaggerated, preferring to stay in the realm of the natural world. The second most frequently asked question has been, why 18 Karat and not 24 Karat? We’ve told you that 18Karat gold is aharder alloy and more practical than 24Karat – we didn’t want to seem too precious - and we loved the graphic possibilities of the number 18, but, there is another meaning behind the choice of 18. I hope you still have your creative brain turned on ... in the arcane meaning of numbers, 18 is a number that has a special meaning. One is the beginning, the start of something new, the innovator and pioneer. Eight is the number of financial success. When you add the numbers together, it become 9 which is the number of selflessness and giving of oneself in a form of creative expression. These were all characteristics I hoped to achieve in our business.
We are creative thinkers. We examine life, the reason for 18Karat’s existence and our relevance in the business world. Yet, I’d like to assure you we are grounded in the daily events, analysis, functions and routines that are a necessary part of our business and the products we sell. The daily concerns are where we expend most of our energy, but sometimes, it’s important to reflect and remind ourselves why we started in this business and if our concepts are still valid. Today, I think they are as valid as they were 20 years ago and I hope you think so, too.
posted by Maureen Welton; President + Creative Director
comments? blog@eighteenkarat.com