Club Studios - The Inside Scoop

The inside scoop on our controversial name change.

It was 2014, and Emily Weiss was choosing the name for her blog-extension and beauty brand, Glossier. Into The Gloss needed to transform into something sustainable. Something relatable, recognizable, and able to stand the test of time. Trends run rampant in the beauty industry. How would she stand out?

And so, Glossier was born. Not because it was the natural extension of Into the Gloss-ier, but because of one, debatably more important aspect. Emily Weiss herself said - "I wanted to choose a name that would look amazing on a sweatshirt.". Wait? A sweatshirt? Was Emily thinking ahead too far, or was she just a genius? Well, Glossier is a unicorn brand come 2025, and it turns out she was definitely the latter - because the name of Glossier is possibly the best choice Weiss ever made for the brand.

Now, we look inwards. As I transition Nova Style Studios into Club Studios, I can't help but think it's the natural thing to do. After all, if we look at brands like Sporty and Rich– and yes, Glossier– there's a common pattern. These sound great on a sweatshirt. (And I bet you'd love to see Club Studios on a sweatshirt too.)

The Language of Identity

I've been obsessing over linguistics lately. Not the dry academic kind, but the way certain words feel like they belong together. How "Sporty and Rich" somehow captures both aspiration and irony in three words. How "Glossier" manages to feel both elevated and friendly - like that cool girl who's somehow intimidating and approachable at the same time.

My browser history is full of late-night deep dives into etymology, sound patterns, and the evolution of language in fashion. Did you know that the suffix "-ier" appears in Old French words that meant "to create" or "to make"? Maybe Emily Weiss knew this, maybe she didn't. But there's something almost poetic about how Glossier literally means "one who creates gloss."

How chic, right?

The Merch-First Mindset

Modern brands aren't just thinking about their products anymore - they're thinking about their name as a product itself. Emily Weiss's "sweatshirt test" wasn't just clever marketing; it was a prescient business strategy.

Look at Sporty and Rich - a brand that started as a mood board and turned into a cultural phenomenon. Their name isn't just a label; it's a statement. When founder Emily Oberg created the brand, she understood that the name itself would be the product people coveted most. Their sweatshirts, emblazoned with nothing but those three simple words, regularly sell out within minutes.

To be honest, Nova Style Studios feels like a corporate brand trying to sell merch to the wrong audience. To people that don't even want it. Yes, I'm being that vulnerable about the choice! But that's exactly what led me to Club Studios. It emerged naturally from conversations with our community, from seeing how people interact with our brand, from understanding what we're really building here.

The Digital Age Factor

When I started diving into the name change, I had about 47 tabs open in Chrome. Various name combinations, checking Instagram handles, domain names... it was a whole thing. But something kept drawing me back to those two simple words: Club Studios. It’s like a girl with two first names - Blake Lively.

Maybe it's because they fit into any context. A clean Instagram handle. A simple URL. Even our email signatures look better now - cleaner, more intentional. (And yes, I did check how it would look in Seasons font before committing.)

What I do know? Adding “Club” just felt right. Everyone wants to be part of this fantastical and still theoretical wellness club. I mean, Sporty & Rich puts “Wellness Club” on all of their sweatshirts, but they haven’t actually opened one. And coming from the probable first customer of this New York wellness space, the glory lies in the name - a simple name that explicitly describes exactly what you’re joining. Club implies a space, a community, and room to grow.

Beyond The Sweatshirt Test

Walking into a Glossier store feels like stepping into the physical manifestation of their name - clean, modern, slightly French. Their flagship stores turned their name into an experience, with those iconic giant mirrors and minimalist lettering that somehow make everyone's Instagram photos look editorial.

When Sporty and Rich opened their flagship, they proved something similar. The name that looked perfect on a sweatshirt also looked perfect on jewelry, on Adidas-collab shoes, on the awning outside. It's like the name was designed for this evolution all along.

When I decided on Club Studios, I didn't just see a shortened name. I saw posters in London. I saw high quality crewnecks and awnings above a wellness space. Sure, these things might be years in the making - but as a creative, it's imperative these details aren't looked over. Not to mention, envisioning all of these amazing future moments is some powerful manifestation - and a dream I have for this incredible community!

Looking Forward

The truth is, I don't know exactly what Club Studios will become. And that's kind of the point. What I do know is that when I write it down, when I see it on designs, when I say it out loud - it feels right. It feels like room to grow, like possibility.

Glossier didn't know they'd be a unicorn brand when Emily chose that name. But she knew it looked good on a sweatshirt. Sometimes that's enough.

The best names don't tell you what they are - they leave room for what they might become. Into The Gloss became Glossier. Nova Style Studios is becoming Club Studios. And the rest? Well, that's the exciting part.

Xoxo,

Ella, Club Studios

(Oh, and a Club Studios moodboard, of course)