Branding: Ampersand Bulb Co.

We’ve been really fortunate to partner with the FORCE that is Linda D’Arco of Little Farmhouse Flowers on quite a few branding projects now. We’re big fans of Linda because she knows how to get things done and done right: she’ll throw an idea out into the world, make a plan, work really hard, manifest, and bam - whatever she dreamed up is reality, and it is always really good.

So when Linda told us she wanted to create a separate wholesale bulb business, we were all ears. Through her work with The Tulip Workshop and Little Farmhouse Flowers Pro, she knew the pain points and desires of flower farmers across the globe, and she had her own frustrations with corporate, clunky catalog businesses. Linda wanted to build something accessible, high quality, customer-centric, and of course - beautiful. It was going to be called Ampersand Bulb Co.

Bulb catalogs have a long, rich history, and Linda wanted to draw inspiration for the branding from Victorian-era catalogs: decorative lettering, colorful illustrations, swashes and serifs. This heritage seems to have been completely lost on today’s very sterile looking bulb catalogs, and Linda saw the perfect opportunity to bring personality back into the wholesale landscape.

So for the primary logo, we focused heavily on custom lettering and integrating illustrations and color in a meaningful way, marrying Victorian design ideals with a modern look and feel.

From there, we could build a brand that carried the aesthetic effectively, and told the story of a bulb company approaching the business in a new and improved way.

Typography was so much fun to play around with here, and we developed several taglines and call-outs with the catalog setting in mind.

Linda gets just as excited about merch as we do - and she wanted to get cheeky with it this time. We created a bunch of punny merchandise for the bulb lovers out there.

And my personal favorite - the packing tape! Linda ships thousands of bulbs around the world and they are going to arrive looking spiffy.

We are so happy to see Ampersand Bulb Co. out in the world now, and we’re so grateful for yet another collaboration with Linda. Happy fall planting!

Branding: Tip Top Wine Shop

Easthampton has become very cool in the last decade or so – we have so many favorite spots in that town these days. One thing it was lacking was a very cool wine shop; a void that Lauren Clark and Miranda Brown fortunately recognized and decided to address. We were thrilled for good wine – and even more thrilled to create the branding for this shop.

 This weekend was the grand opening of Tip Top Wine Shop over in the Paragon Arts & Industry Building and it was so fun to see it all come together.

The primary logo set the tone for the project right away: retro, but not too retro. We pulled a lot of inspiration from vintage cocktail napkins, neon signs, matchbooks, and old print ads – and then modernized it all a bit.

 We made this brand nice and versatile with some secondary logo variations. The main “Tip Top” wordmark features my own hand lettering – something I’ve always been a little tentative with, but find I’m getting justtttt comfortable enough with to be dangerous.

And then we went pretty wild building out all the fun little brand details. I think we could have gone forever on taglines, illustrations, etc. on this one.

A little illustration of Mount Tom is by far our favorite element. The shop has a picture-perfect view of the iconic mountain, and we couldn’t resist adding in a little tipsy humor. Worked perfectly on merch!

 A little humor became a theme actually, subtly sprinkled into just the right places.

 Application of these elements was awesome to see; our trusted collaborator Jess at Hired Hand Signs turned the logo into a  stunning hand painted sign, and the wordmark suited a neon entrance sign just perfectly.

 And this one just about did us in: a branded entryway mosaic!!!!!

The details really made this project special, and it was a treat to see them all come together in an exciting new space. We’re so excited for Miranda and Lauren, and for the Easthampton community - Tip Top is very cool. Stop in and find your new favorite wine!

Merch: The Homegrown Studio Farm Fresh T-shirts!

Well, we finally made a t-shirt! Presenting The Original Homegrown Studio Farm Fresh Short-sleeve Tee: “branded for your protection.”

Designed in-house by Alessandra, screen-printed down the street by Matt at Triumph Printing Co.

Printed on buttery Comfort Colors® 100% cotton tees. Relaxed, unisex fit. Looks amazing on everyone so far. Available in S, M, L, and XL.

Order yours today! We’re a bit short on Mediums as it is our most popular size, but Matt is printing more as fast as his squeegees can push ink. Stay tuned!