Where the Name "Batty's Bath" Came From

From time to time I get asked where the name "Batty's Bath" came from. There isn't any huge epic story behind it, but it does hold some sentimental meaning to me.

The nickname "Batty" was born long before Batty's Bath came along. The nickname sprouted up around the same time I was touring the craft circuit as a paper artist. I stood out from many of the crafters as the "bubbly goth girl" - something many of them had a hard time understanding as few of them had ever seen a "happy goth" before, let alone any that were actually selling their crafts in church basements! ha! In many ways, I don't really consider myself to be a "goth" in the true sense of the word. Sure, I love halloween, most of my wardrobe is black, and I have more than a small obsession with dark culture... but, you'll also catch me in a gingerbread apron around the holidays, my hair dyed multiple bright colors, and I never was really into the whole vampire thing. However, I'm sure to the untrained eye, on any given day, I could be mistaken for a goth - I am, after all, a creature of the night ;) ... a hem.. by that I mean I work at night and sleep during the day :)

Out of this odd period in my life, along with my obsession for Halloween (therefore needing SOMETHING halloween-ish in a nickname), came the nickname "Batty". Batty is also a loose spin off of a phrase I heard one too many times from my brother-in-law, "Crazy Aunt Jamie".

Soon the internet knew me as "Batty". Shortly thereafter, I started creating my designs under the business name "She's Batty Designs". After several years of part time crafting it was time to lay She's Batty Designs to rest. The business name Batty's Bath was a natural extension of the world of "Batty" that many had come to know.

Now you'll often hear people call me Batty in person as naturally as saying my real name, Jamie. I also answer and introduce myself as "Batty" as often as I do as Jamie! Batty has somewhat turned into more than just a nickname but almost an alter-ego. I'm generally a shy, private person, but being "Batty" offline means hiding under the craft table and sleeping during the day doesn't "fly" (ha! batty.. bat.. fly... get it?.. ok, it sounded better in head!). Being Batty offline means I need to be awake when everyone else is to attend shows ready to meet and chat with people I don't even know (something that seems so much more natural to me on the internet). Although "Being Batty" has pushed me out of my comfort zone, it has actually been very good for me! I've met a lot of great people - many of which I call my close friends - both on and offline, and if it wasn't for having to be much more than a wallflower, I would have never formed relationships with these people, or continued to meet great people each and every time I'm out in the community.

So there you have it. That's where the name "Batty's Bath" came from, plus a little peak into the evolution of Batty the online personality, to the "real offline batty". Yes - they aren't yet one in the same because I'm still much more Jamie than I am Batty... meaning that I'm still much more shy and private than I am outgoing and open - but I'm getting there. :)

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