On 1 July 2012 I changed my business name to Skylark Design.
Why a name change?
In 2001, when I established my own business, I did a lot of photography, created slide shows and photo discs; all under the umbrella of Skylark Productions. In the years that followed, I specialised more in graphic design, and in the meantime it’s become the main part of my business. Hence the name change to Skylark Design, which better relates to what I do.
Why Skylark?
Years ago I went tramping on Great Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf, some 100 kilometres north-east of Auckland. For my return journey I had arranged for an aircraft to pick me from a remote place by the name of Okiwi. While I was waiting at the airstrip off Aotea Road, with no one else in sight, I was accompanied by continuous trilling bird song. There were a number of birds, singing almost non-stop. It took me quite a while to spot them, small dots in the sky, chirping away. Coming in to land (yes, on the grassy airstrip), chirping away and taking to skies again.
At the time I had no idea what kind of birds they were. Eventually my flight arrived and took me back to Auckland, where I couldn’t wait to find out about those soaring and trilling birds.
It turned out to be the Skylark, Alauda arvensis. It sparked my interest in birds, and some time later I made it part of my business name. To this day, every time I hear a skylark, I’m taken back to that day on Great Barrier Island.
To see and hear a skylark, watch the following YouTube clip by tuanserin: