What’s in a name?

Desiree Greystone

What is the story behind the name?

Well, when my wife and I decided to get married, we knew we wanted to change our names:

1. I had my late husband’s name, and

2. Her married name was the same as my mother’s married name…that just seemed really confusing, and weird, and just not us. So, we went on an adventure to pick our name. We floated Irish, German, English and even a couple of Gaelic names.

Just like picking a name for a baby, we liked some more than others.

One of the first names we landed on was Grey, mostly because we loved to say that we could see shades of grey in everything; nothing was black and white. We also realized that Grey could also be boring, neutral, sad…so we kept at it. I even went onto a British Isles name website and tried a few things out. There were a number that ended in the word Stone, and when we put it together with Grey (British spelling, of course) we had our name: Greystone!! (It wasn’t until after the wedding someone reminded us that there was a Greystone Church Apartments in Pullman. ‘Did you get your name from there?’ No, but if it ever goes on the market, let us know because we are in the market for Greystone Castle.)

We also loved the name because, in our minds, besides the name of a castle, or manor, it could be the name of a dragon, an elf, a fairytale land. It really spoke to our love of fantasy and all things nerdy.

When I decided I wanted to open a gallery, I was super excited because Greystone Gallery had a great ring to it, and who doesn’t love alliteration?

Off on a hunt to find the perfect space.

At first, I was just looking to rent a space, but thanks to Patty Green-Kent with Coldwell Banker Tomlinson, I found the perfect space on Grand Avenue. Can you believe it, another G. Greystone Gallery on Grand? Almost…Greystone Grand Gallery! Yes! It communicates where in Pullman the Gallery is located (on Grand), but it also cements the vision for the gallery: It’s going to be grand! Perfect, except for one thing…

The space Patti found was just a bit too big just to host a gallery. Now what? It is a perfect space for retail…what could I sell…besides art? I could sell books about art. Maybe some art supplies. What about some artsy gifts? Gifts?! GIFTS?! Yes! GIFTS!! Another G?! I think it was fate.

And so now you know the story behind the name Greystone Grand Gallery & Gifts.