What's in a name?

This is one of those frustrating bits of news. This is the first public sharing of the information, though close friends and associates have already heard the tale...

I won't go into great detail at the moment, because several details are still in limbo. The super condensed version is this: LØVE Chocolate will soon be no more - I'm changing the name to LUCA Chocolate. Don't worry - everything you've come to love about LØVE will still be here. The sea salt caramel isn't going away.

The still abbreviated version is this: there is a similarly sounding company in a state on this coast but more than one state away. They have aggressive and expensive lawyers, who have enough money at their disposal to do silly things, like try to eradicate all other companies with names that sound like theirs. I also have a very qualified lawyer (considerably less cash at my disposal, though), who initially thought this would be an easy enough thing to stop. Unfortunately, silliness overtook reason, and, instead of fighting what might have become a losing battle, I decided to go with the option that left me free to continue doing what I love - making chocolate that makes people happy. Anything else might have taken copious amounts of time and money, not to mention frustration. Many dear friends have been outraged by this chocolate man - who has already made a very successful name for himself and suffers no threat from me. I appreciate that outrage more than they can know - it really does make me feel appreciated. Many have also suggested some form of retaliation - and while I do want to make this story a little more well known, I also want to simply move on and keep building myself up, not tearing others down (no matter how deserving they may be). When I can tell the whole story, I promise I will. In the mean time, I'll continue posting here for a few more weeks, and then I'll be fully transitioned to www.lucachocolate.com and www.lucachocolate.blogspot.com. If you're a subscriber, please do join me at the new blog, it means a lot to me that you've stuck with me so far, and I hope you'll keep it up.