The Story Behind The Name
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What's the story behind the name? I get asked this question a lot. And yes there is a story. It’s a personal one… a personal name and a personal story, not one that came from a brainstorming session around a table with advertising and marketing execs but in the company of 2 people having a silly conversation, in 2001 back in the days when I was still a wild crazy young thing…
Scene: Two friends lounging on a sofa at the end of the working week sinking few cold ones, in a purple haze
Sam: The guys at work nicknamed ‘Noodle’ today…
Voon: Noodle? Why Noodle?
Sam: Well you know the band Gorillaz?
Voon: The one with the cartoon characters?
Sam: Yep, one of the characters is called Noodle, you know, the Japanese chick with the big headphones hat on all the time?
Voon: Yeah and?
Sam: Well, I wear the same massive headphones at work and the guys at work were taking the piss out of me as I can never hear anyone speaking to me since I’m usually too busy dancing at my desk listening to some tunes with my big headphones looking like Noodle, I do kung fu, have my Tamagatchi, and my headphones, the Asian Axe princess, Chinese noodle…and hey I’m irrepressible, inscrutable and ire-sis-ta-ble baby!!
Voon: But you’re Seychellian Chinese not Japanese aren’t you?
Sam: Not Seychellian, Seychelloise, I’m Creole…
Voon: Crayon? What?! (laughs)
Sam (laughing): No not Crayon…”Creole” which is the language they speak in Seychelles, or what they call the natives
Voon (giggling uncontrollably): Ohhhh! I thought you said you were a Crayon!! Noodle Crayon! Ha! Ha! Ha! From now on you’re Noodle Crayon!
Hey, it was a you-had-to-be-there scenario to find it as funny as we did!
How it came to be the name of the business five years later was easy. I wanted a personal name for my company, something that meant something to me, something that summed me up as well as fitted with what I want to do with being creative - in the attitude that one can create one's own life - and coaching others to do the same.
How does Noodlecrayon fit coaching? Well for starters, you use one’s ‘noodle’ to explore who you are currently being, who you truly are, and what you need to bring into being to bring your aspirations into reality. Then like an artist, you use this knowledge and inner wisdom like ‘crayons’ to draw and sketch out what you need to be and do to make it happen.
What's more it is a name that rolled off the tongue, one that was memorable, something wacky creative, and intrinsically me … Noodlecrayon is all of those things.
And the best thing I love about this name is this: it brings a smile, if not a chuckle, not just to me but also to everyone who comes across it. Not sure why but it tickles us but some things are best left unexplained and simply accepted. As they say if the name fits…