Name in the Wild: Tria

I was making a beeline through Bloomingdale’s in San Francisco, short-cutting through the store to get to Market Street, when a brand name stopped me in my tracks.

Not just any brand name: a name I’m proud to claim as one of my very own.

Tria hair removal laser 4X at Bloomingdale’s.

 

In the more than seven years since I worked with Tria’s creators (a company then called SpectraGenics, later renamed Tria Beauty) on the naming project, the brand has flourished. The company originally produced a single device, the first clinically proven laser hair-removal device for home use. It was sold through doctors’ offices. Now the Tria name is also found on two brand extensions: the Age-Defying Laser and the Blue Light, an acne treatment. And in addition to Bloomingdale’s stores across the U.S., the devices are sold onlineat TriaBeauty.com and in specialty beauty stores.

Read my April 2007 post about naming Tria (originally upper case, now upper and lower).

 

 The Tria saleswoman clearly thought I was a bit barmy, snapping photos of her floor display.

 

Pardon me while I kvell just a little.

Comments

[john v burke]

My impression (and it's only an impression, drawn from my Mom and her mother) is that kvelling is typically on behalf of someone else (like the kvelling grandmother in the cited definition); taking pride in one's own accomplishments is shlepping nakhes. As I say, only an impression, and this is certainly an example of semantic overlap; I wouldn't be surprised to learn some Yiddish speakers reverse these two senses.

[Nancy Friedman]

John: I'm pretty sure I used "kvell" the way my late bubbe would have. I'm thrilled on behalf of my client!