Name for a magic potion shop?

July 31, 2006 10:28 AM

Imagine there is a store that sold magic potions that cured whatever was bothering you. What would this shop be called?

These magic potions could cure anything from the mundane to the life-changing: heartbreak, anxiety, the blues, being poor, having wrinkles, infertility, dog peeing on your couch, or even a potion that you could sprinkle on your neighbor's yard to make him more pleasant. Maybe some of these would be candles and not potions. There would also be little trinkets (old photograph, baby doll, antique cameo, wall cross) that could also be blessed to make your life better in whatever way you see it is lacking. What would this store be called?

I was trying to think of something similar to "Needful Things" in Stephen King's novel, but these items will fix your life, not destroy it. Or maybe these potions would be passed down from generations of witches so the store could be named after a great grandmother? A friend came up with "Puffs of Magic" which is decent, but not catchy enough for me.

It's for a story i'm working on. All suggestions are very much appreciated.

posted by Ugh to shopping (81 comments total)

"The Magic Box".
posted by baylink at 10:31 AM on July 31, 2006

Panacea
posted by bitdamaged at 10:33 AM on July 31, 2006

Tenzing Momo
posted by hortense at 10:33 AM on July 31, 2006

... metafilter?
posted by gregschoen at 10:35 AM on July 31, 2006

I think Bitdamaged has got it, or is damn close. Some others:

Adjustments
Mrs. Fixit's
Uncommon Goods
The Blank Check Cashing Store
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 10:39 AM on July 31, 2006

"Cures What Ails Ya"
posted by KirTakat at 10:40 AM on July 31, 2006

Panaceas Unlimited?
posted by zabuni at 10:40 AM on July 31, 2006

Confractulons Red Door
posted by omidius at 10:40 AM on July 31, 2006

Meds, Wrath, and Beyond
posted by Robot Johnny at 10:43 AM on July 31, 2006 [3 favorites]

All Better
posted by matty at 10:46 AM on July 31, 2006 [3 favorites]

Mr. Magic's Potion Shop
posted by reklaw at 10:49 AM on July 31, 2006

I like Uncommon Goods
posted by crewshell at 10:50 AM on July 31, 2006

Abracapothecary?
posted by Divine_Wino at 10:50 AM on July 31, 2006 [4 favorites]

Magic Bullet
posted by La Cieca at 10:51 AM on July 31, 2006

Cure*Mart
posted by chococat at 10:53 AM on July 31, 2006

Metaphiltre
What Ales You (where the potions come in beer form...)
The Cure-a-torium
Drink and be Merry (Sorry, no eating allowed)
Imbibe!
posted by dersins at 10:53 AM on July 31, 2006 [1 favorite]

Pharmacy.
posted by mmdei at 10:54 AM on July 31, 2006

Sovereign General Store

(It's a play on "sovereign specific"...)
posted by staggernation at 10:54 AM on July 31, 2006

Well, the shop I've been to in San Francisco is called Botanica Yoruba -- it used to have a little sign in the window that said "Patrolled by the spirits."
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 10:54 AM on July 31, 2006

Celebrity Centre
posted by kc8nod at 10:54 AM on July 31, 2006

FDAbait.
posted by BorgLove at 10:55 AM on July 31, 2006

I have no suggestion of my own, but I'm voting for Uncommon Goods.
posted by headspace at 11:01 AM on July 31, 2006

Mal-Mart
posted by Heatwole at 11:02 AM on July 31, 2006

Placebotique
posted by interrobang at 11:03 AM on July 31, 2006

Elixir Emporium
Nostrum Arcade
posted by adamrice at 11:05 AM on July 31, 2006

You could take a lot of liberties if you named the store after its owner.

For a dumb example: if the guy who owned the place happened to be named "Bob Awesome", the store could be "Awesome Cures".
posted by jozxyqk at 11:05 AM on July 31, 2006

Morter, Pessle & Wacks: Makers and Purveyors of Notions & Novelties
posted by infinitewindow at 11:08 AM on July 31, 2006 [1 favorite]

Phoescriptions
posted by robocop is bleeding at 11:12 AM on July 31, 2006

Sweetness and Light
posted by forforf at 11:23 AM on July 31, 2006

Grandma's Old-Tyme Stumpwater Emporium
Nature's Design
Nature's Notions
Aunt Bella's Natural Soups and Brews
Tinctures & Teas
posted by infinitewindow at 11:27 AM on July 31, 2006

Omnipharmacon
posted by Kirth Gerson at 11:28 AM on July 31, 2006

Better Already
posted by londongeezer at 11:30 AM on July 31, 2006

But uncommon goods is a real store (and a great one at that)!

I second the magic box suggestion, but that might only be because i heart buffy. And I like anything with the word apothecary. "Herbal Apothecary"? "Potionography"? I'm bad at this.
posted by echo0720 at 11:32 AM on July 31, 2006

"Little Solutions" which plays on the fact that a solution can be a mixture or something that solves a problem, and also the fact that life's little problems should have little solutions.
posted by teleskiving at 11:35 AM on July 31, 2006

Nova Scotia Liquor Commission.
posted by jon_kill at 11:37 AM on July 31, 2006 [2 favorites]

Obecalp
posted by kindall at 11:39 AM on July 31, 2006

Panacea

PanaSears
posted by staggernation at 11:41 AM on July 31, 2006

The Twilight Zone episode where the man sold odd items that people needed in emergencies was called: "What You Need." A bit too much like needful things. I would make the title understated like "Odd Essentials."
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 11:46 AM on July 31, 2006

Spam-mart
posted by qvantamon at 11:47 AM on July 31, 2006

Or add an extravagant name to the beginning: "Dr. Peterbox's Odd Essentials."
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 11:48 AM on July 31, 2006

Genie's Lantern

Or in the off chance that you happened to be named Jeanie, "Jeanie's Lantern".
posted by gfrobe at 11:48 AM on July 31, 2006

E. Lixir's
posted by staggernation at 11:51 AM on July 31, 2006

Volde-Mart
posted by La Cieca at 11:58 AM on July 31, 2006

You can buy the cure for heartache there? This store can be called only one thing:

Heaven.
posted by Item at 12:01 PM on July 31, 2006

Bacchus McSlattery's Goodtime Potia-teria
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:01 PM on July 31, 2006

A question - would you want it to be a store that everybody knew about - or a little back alley place that was nondescript and hard to find? It would make a difference.
posted by clarkstonian at 12:04 PM on July 31, 2006

The Soul's Apothecary
posted by goo at 12:08 PM on July 31, 2006

Snake Oil Shop
posted by mealy-mouthed at 12:37 PM on July 31, 2006

Genius in a Bottle
posted by easternblot at 12:44 PM on July 31, 2006

I like panacea, also Jeanie's Lantern.

Twinkles? As in twinkle twinkle little star...
posted by KAS at 12:53 PM on July 31, 2006

This sounds similar to Wong's Lost and Found Emporium, a short story adapted into a Twilight Zone episode in the 1980s.
posted by cardboard at 1:05 PM on July 31, 2006

Elixir Fixer
posted by jikel_morten at 1:18 PM on July 31, 2006

Star Bright
posted by pracowity at 1:40 PM on July 31, 2006

Meteor Shower
posted by pracowity at 1:41 PM on July 31, 2006

Wishbone
posted by pracowity at 1:42 PM on July 31, 2006

All The Candles
posted by pracowity at 1:42 PM on July 31, 2006 [1 favorite]

Fly Away Home
posted by pracowity at 1:43 PM on July 31, 2006

Teleskiving mentioned "Little Solutions", which I like, but even better (and less twee) is just "Solutions".

But it does depend on what you are going for. A hip, cutting- edge, invitation-only, spa-like boutique, or a creepy, hole-in-the-wall dive that keeps its secret by hiding in plain sight?
posted by Rock Steady at 1:45 PM on July 31, 2006

Furcula
posted by pracowity at 1:47 PM on July 31, 2006

Panacea

The Panaceria?
posted by TG_Plackenfatz at 2:23 PM on July 31, 2006

In Case of X, Y or Z, Drink Me.
posted by rabbitsnake at 3:24 PM on July 31, 2006

Doctor [character name]'s Cure-Alls And Tonics.

There could be a running joke that people never believe the potions work until they get desperate enough to try one -- and then the store could be called Snake Oils.

A potion to cure heartache? Ooooooh. I want one.
posted by cmyk at 3:30 PM on July 31, 2006

Soccorro's (or Milagro's) House of Restoratives and One Hour Martinizing.
posted by Sara Anne at 3:45 PM on July 31, 2006

Pharmacopia
posted by kookoobirdz at 3:48 PM on July 31, 2006

Magic Portions
posted by Taken Outtacontext at 5:08 PM on July 31, 2006

Undo (or Control-Z, for technophiles)
Fixative
Palindrome
Worrywon't
No problema
posted by rob511 at 5:09 PM on July 31, 2006

The World of Coca-Cola
posted by Megafly at 5:50 PM on July 31, 2006

There's a shop in the French Quarter in New Orleans called Madame Laveau's (something). A bona fide, honest-to-goodness real voodoo shop. Maybe you could call it something like that.

A short story about Madame Laveau's: my girlfriend and I were browsing in that store when one of the shopkeepers came up to her and asked if she would participate in a ritual, because they needed some "female energy" in the room. She was more than thrilled to do so. So they took her in the back and there was a voodoo priest and some guy sitting at a table. My gf was instructed to sit in the corner while they did the ritual, and at the end she asked what it was about, but the priest wouldn't tell her--he said the spell would be broken if he did.

Feel free to add this to your story if you like :)
posted by zardoz at 6:04 PM on July 31, 2006

Some excellent ideas so far! It will be hard to pick my favorite, but I definitely don't want to use the name of an existing store. As far as the type of shop, definitely not hip or spa-like; crowded with trinkets and bottles, but clean and light. I keep imagining the decor as lavender with white curtains and glass shelves, old windowsills with the paint chipping. The name would peek the curiousities of older teenagers, but also the ailing eldery. The story so far has the shop in an old resort town, but hidden down a flight of stairs between two buildings. (Think Eureka Springs if you've ever been there.) If it helps, the shop is owned by a woman in her late twenties who I haven't chosen a name for yet.
posted by Ugh at 6:16 PM on July 31, 2006

Drugs
posted by comatose at 6:38 PM on July 31, 2006

Ugh, you've half described a place I used to work at. It was a tiny little hippie shop, stuffed to the rafters with... really, everything you could think of. The owners were an old Israeli couple; they'd pause from arguing at each other in Hebrew to hug me and kiss me on the forehead and tell me I was looking thin and did I eat enough?

The shop was called Sweeter Charity, after the musical, and if you want to use that, do so with my blessing. I have very fond memories of the place.
posted by cmyk at 6:46 PM on July 31, 2006

The Chaser
posted by SPrintF at 7:04 PM on July 31, 2006

I like the name of the tiny convenience store in the building where I used to work -- drat. I can't remember the owner's name. so, imaginary name Sundries. Like, Katja's Sundries. I like sundries. I've seen more than one shop around town with sundry in the name. Unless you're writing a humourous piece, don't try to be clever.
posted by bleary at 7:23 PM on July 31, 2006

Pana(cea)mania!
posted by little miss manners at 7:33 PM on July 31, 2006

Fred's.

Or is it supposed to have a name that screams "Magic potions inside!!!"
posted by booksherpa at 9:32 PM on July 31, 2006

"The Panaceum"
posted by bitdamaged at 9:53 PM on July 31, 2006

Fixitall or Phyxitall
posted by spacelux at 10:18 PM on July 31, 2006

The Chemist's. That's what the Brit's call the pharmacy, I believe. Think what a nifty character you could build around its proprietor, The Chemist.
posted by lhauser at 10:47 PM on July 31, 2006

Ends to Odds
posted by vega5960 at 7:20 AM on August 1, 2006

Ugh, if you're still checking this out --

Moebius Trip (a bit of a twist, and you're back where you started!)
posted by rob511 at 7:19 PM on August 1, 2006 [1 favorite]

Alkahest.

The Universal Solvent, sought by Alchemists (what the hell did they think they were going to put it in?) and counterpart to the Philosopher's Stone; something you would never put in the Holy Grail-- or something which could only be drunk from the Grail, or a vessel transcendentally Identified with the Grail, perhaps. For the purposes of a story like yours, I would conceive it as something which could resolve and carry away all that was ignoble in a person, maybe.

I tried to come up with an English veil which could readily be pierced by one who knew the original word, but 'All's a Quest' or 'All Requests' are about the best I can do, apparently.
posted by jamjam at 11:06 AM on December 31, 2006