Branding: The Wilbraham Welcome Project

This one hits close to home - literally! Wilbraham, Massachusetts is my hometown. It’s where I grew up, it’s where my family’s farm operates, it’s where The Homegrown Studio is headquartered. Wilbraham is home.

Aurora was a friend I had growing up who peaced out of Wilbraham as a young adult and then found her way back here with a husband and two beautiful kids. Aurora and I go way back; our Moms met through Welcome Wagon in the ‘90s. When Aurora returned and set her own family’s roots down here in 2020, she was both a native and newcomer, and she was eager to reengage with community. Finding limited opportunities outside of gossipy town Facebook forums, she had a vision along the lines of 1990s Welcome Wagon - but cool. Something that would welcome the new folks into town while engaging long time residents too. She affectionately started calling it The Wilbraham Welcome Project, and asked if I might like to collaborate with her on it.

Having long ago made peace with the fact that I am indeed a townie, in all likelihood bound to this place for life, I jump at any chance to try and make Wilbraham a little cooler. It’s never going to be Northampton cool, but it’s definitely got it’s own vibe going. The Wilbraham Welcome Project sounded like the perfect way to celebrate that vibe. So we got started.

Peaches. Wilbraham is all about the peaches. Growing up, the pinnacle of summer was reached each August at The Peach Festival, which you’d walk to with your friend group, eat peach sundaes, go on janky rides, win goldfish in bags at carnival games, and hopefully make out during the fireworks. The original Peach Fest is sadly no longer, but peaches remain our iconic town crop - although arguably these days it is all about the apples.

Anyhow, peaches are at the center of this brand. We put a peach on everything. Voting stickers, tote bags, shirts, hats, holiday ornaments - all peached.

An offshoot of this effort was a revival of the town farmer’s market, which The Wilbraham Welcome Project proudly manages. We branded that too, making everything consistent and instantly recognizable. I beam with pride every time I see a lawn sign in town, and enjoy bringing Iron Horse Flowers to the market each Wednesday with my sister.

We packaged it all up into a website - a single resource for new and current residents for all things Wilbraham. It includes a town calendar, helpful links, a merch shop (the year of merch continues!) , farmer’s market info, and more.

Celebrate, cultivate, champion is the motto for The Wilbraham Welcome Project: we’re celebrating our beautiful town and all its rich heritage, cultivating a strong community and bright future, and championing the local businesses and organizations that make this an awesome place to live.

This was way more than a branding project to me - it was about helping shape the future of my home, and it has been so cool to see a new kind of hometown pride blossoming as a result. Thanks to Aurora for the monumental effort she has made to bring this idea to life, our town is surely better for it.

Branding: Thomas Farm & Dairy

One of my favorite things about spring is the abundance of cute baby animals. Baby chickens, baby horses, baby cows, baby sheep – that is – chicks, foals, calves, lambs. I’m a bit partial to baby goats though – kids. There’s something about their playfulness and awkwardness that just melts my heart. I fell in love with a Nubian goat kid aptly named JoyJoy last spring at Thomas Farm & Dairy, and that love grew into one of my most favorite branding projects to date.

 Thomas Farm & Dairy is well established in Western Massachusetts for their delectable goat cheese. If you’ve ordered a salad with goat cheese on top from a local restaurant, I’ll bet it came from Thomas Farm & Dairy. Their chèvre is award-winning, and the secret to their success is actually pretty simple, albeit much hard work: they put a lot of love into it.

When I visited Thomas Farm & Dairy and met owners Laurie and Jim, I was welcomed so warmly, and was instantly struck by the level of care they put into all they do. Laurie walked into the goat barn, and hundreds of goats suddenly had eyes only for her, climbing over one another to get a cuddle in. She called each one by name and told me their unique stories and quirks. It was clear – she loved these goats and they loved her.

And I loved JoyJoy! Client meetings are always fun, but I have to say this one was really fun.  

 In building a brand for this farm, I wanted to capture all the love, care, and joy that I witnessed in just that one visit. Goats are a big deal at Thomas Farm & Dairy, but it’s also a very diverse farm – they’re raising and milking Jersey and Swiss Brown Cows, growing vegetables and cut flowers, running a roadside farm stand, and more. This was a big story to tell, and we started with the logo:

We kept the goats the focus for the primary logo – two ladies grooming one another. We thought it really conveyed that feeling of love that goes into everything on this farm and captured the sweet personalities of Nubians in particular.

 That was expanded into a set of secondary logos and custom brand illustrations that work together to tell the full story of this farm. I like how we brought in a little retro dairy farm flair that still feels modern and exciting.

Taglines were fun to develop for this farm too, using typography to once again describe those values of love, joy, and care.

Thomas Farm’s farm stand was also a huge focus of this project, as it has become an important and reliable resource for local food during the pandemic. Laurie and Jim keep all of their cheeses, seasonal vegetables, and cut flower bouquets in stock throughout the year, as well as a terrific spread of other favorite local goods. We gave The Farm Stand its own logo and really made it shine.

All of this branding was incorporated into a new website, that makes it easy to find Thomas Farm & Dairy cheeses, learn about the farm, and get a behind the scenes look at everything going on there.

The final piece was a label update, which really brought the branding together in a practical and beautiful way that ought to really stand out on the shelf. We developed labels for all varieties of goat cheese, and for the farm’s famous squeaky cheese curds.

I love how the little colored ribbons differentiate the cheeses. So many delicious flavors!

To come full circle, this project was truly a labor of love. Laurie and Jim were so enthusiastic throughout the process, and deeply care about the ways they share their farm with the community. Most recently, they are really inspiring me with these barn quilts they’ve been painting and hanging around the farm. So genuinely on-brand. Wow!

Thank you Thomas Farm & Dairy for all your collaboration on this project, and thank you to CISA for helping make it possible! We accomplished this project in partnership with CISA, who does such a fabulous job of connecting local farmers with resources to help them succeed. Local farms - reach out to CISA to see how we can work together to help you tell your story with some new branding! (and don’t forget I offer a 15% discount to Local Heroes!)

Branding: Wild Bramble Farm

The terms “pasture raised” and “free range” are thrown around a lot these days, but if you want to see what that should actually look like, take a drive up to Wild Bramble Farm in Northfield. You’ll come up a little driveway and find a farm that’s bursting with life and energy. Pigs snuffling their way through towering sunflowers, chickens strutting in and out of their coop, children chasing the chickens, and a puppy chasing the children.

At the center of it all is Chris and Shannon Goddard, who have been hard at work building a farm that embodies their values. And they’ve done a really good job. Offering pasture-raised pork products, cut flowers, and farm fresh eggs from their farm stand, the Goddards don’t cut any corners in producing humane, sustainable, fresh, and local farm products.

All photos by Megan Haley Photography

They thought it was about time to manifest this in their branding, and I was so excited when they reached out. It was clear to me Wild Bramble Farm was truly living and breathing the concepts of pasture raised and free range; they weren’t just taking these terms on as marketing jargon. We needed some branding that would illustrate that authentic story, and truly show customers what goes into producing food this way.

And boy, was I excited to make a pig logo. Pasture raised pork products are at the heart Wild Bramble’s labors, and their mindful, humane process makes for an exceptionally delicious and healthy product that you can feel good about (I can attest; there may have been a bacon exchange involved in this project). Capturing that ideal in a brand was the challenge here, and I love the way we ran with it, especially in the primary logo.

Integrating pigs and florals in a very folksy, rustic style, this logo was all about the energy, life, and joy that is present on the farm every day. It aims to be a true embodiment of the quality of life granted to every living thing on the farm, allowing each the freedom to be wild. This is a strong visual for what pasture raised ought to be, and tells the story of what it means at Wild Bramble Farm.

We developed lots of secondary logos, illustrations, marks, a palette, and patterns to help fully tell that story. I love the way it all integrated, coming together in not just an attractive way but in a very meaningful way, too.

We then applied this brand story to print materials and a fancy new website! We developed new labels for the pork products, a brochure for farm stand visitors explaining the farm’s practices, and shiny new business cards.

The website is where the farm’s story really came together in a coherent, interactive way. Visitors can take a visual journey through Wild Bramble Farm’s daily operations, learning more about their values, practices, and products - and of course order up some pork chops!

It was such a pleasure getting to know Shannon, Chris, and their beautiful family and farm throughout this process, and I had so much fun helping bring their story to life. We accomplished all this in partnership with CISA, who does such a fabulous job of connecting local farmers with resources to help them succeed. Local farms - reach out to CISA and see how they can help you up your marketing game! (and don’t forget I offer a 15% discount to Local Heroes!)

Thank you CISA, and thank you Wild Bramble Farm!

All photography by the incredible Megan Haley Photography. Want a really nice website? You need really nice photos! Photography is an essential part of the integrated branding process, and Megan nailed it here. Get in touch with her to find out how she can help capture your story.

Branding: Lakeview Eye Care

I admit, I was a little surprised when I received a branding inquiry from Alabama over the summer. While my business had grown and spread its tendrils over the last year, those tendrils sure hadn’t ventured beyond New England soil!

I was curious though, and Dr. Jodi Baker and I got on the phone and chatted. Our conversation left me so glad she had tracked me down (thanks Instagram) - I knew it would be a great collaboration, even over long distance.

Oh and another thing - she needed branding for her new optometry business! This was a step outside my comfort zone, no farmy logos necessary here, but I welcomed a chance to explore a new industry, audience, and aesthetic. Jodi filled me in on all the details, and I set to work drawing glasses.

I don’t know if you know - but the optometry field is just plagued with ugly eyeball logos. It’s shocking! Our discovery exploration left us in a pretty exciting position: create some unique, thoughtful, and personal branding and there was no doubt - this practice was going to stand out big time.

So we did just that. Taking into consideration the vibrant local lake culture around Guntersville, Jodi’s compassionate, genuine approach to patient care, and fresh, clean aesthetics from adjacent wellness categories, we created a look and feel that this field just hadn’t seen before.

For the primary logo , we focused on a clean and graphic interpretation of the “lakeview” concept, putting waves right in a round pair of spectacles. This illustration really plays with positive and negative space, which we were able to explore further in the larger branding. I love the secondary logos in particular.

The result was something not only sharp looking and eye catching, but very versatile branding. Things really came to life when we applied our lake inspired color palette - blues and taupes creating a calm atmosphere. We aded a burst of coral too, because after all, picking out glasses is fun!

The really fun part was applying it all to Jodi’s new website and print materials as she prepared to launch the business. We carried that calm, relaxing aesthetic forward, reflected in clean layouts and subtle branding details.

It was particularly exciting for me to see this all come together, as this project gave me a great opportunity to explore a style and approach that isn’t typical for most of my branding projects. I’m so grateful to Jodi for giving me license to do that, and so enjoyed working with her as she launched Lakeview Eye Care!

To learn more about Dr. Baker’s services, check out her website and Instagram!