When Callaghan decided to create an Etsy shop for his art, we got right down to brain-storming names. “First name, Last name Art” wasn’t doing it for us, and neither was “Callaghan Art.” He wanted the word “Art” in the shop’s name, but he didn’t want to use his legal name or his former professional nom de plume.
We mused on the possibilities for a few moments.
“How about,” I ventured slowly, “‘PHA!’?”
It seemed like a logical suggestion, as Callaghan’s been signing his drawings, paintings and illustrations with “PHA!” since he was six years old. He’s gone through phases of signing in other ways, but he always goes back to “PHA!” – in fact, in the four years I’ve known him, I’ve never seen him sign any other way. “PHA!” is his original, default signature.
Callaghan’s signature on one of his latest works.
“True! I’ve been signing as ‘PHA!’ my whole life,” he said enthusiastically. “I can call the shop ‘PHA! Art’.”
Silence as his words lingered in the air.
“Oh… no,” I said, the realization hitting suddenly. “You don’t want your shop to be pronounced…”
“PHAART.” He finished my sentence with a low, drawn-out utterance, then repeated it: “PHAART!”
We were in the truck, on the road, laughing wildly into the hot, dusty wind.
It reminded me of Samuel L. Jackson raising hell on Twitter while watching basketball, as he did last week during the Spurs vs. the Thunder playoffs game, and the Pacers vs. the Heat: “Muphuggaz,” “MUFUKKAS,” “Muthaphukkaz,” “MUTHAFUQQA” and “Muhfugga!!” are just a few examples of the creative spellings he comes up with (for his signature word).
He doesn’t just use it for sports, though!
For Callaghan, “PHA! Art” would indeed be an unfortunate business name. Since you can’t use exclamation points in usernames, his URL would be “www.etsy.com/shop/phaart,” and his email address would be phaart@something.com.
“My address could be “PHAART@yourgeneraldirection.com,” he said, getting into it.
“Maybe you could just use ‘PHA!’ by itself,” I suggested.
He hasn’t decided yet for certain, but we know that “PHA!” will likely be a part of his shop’s name somehow. I’ll report back once his shop is up and running, lest your curiosity slay you.
Happy Friday, All!
That Asian-Looking Chick 