Starting a creative studio, from scratch.

“A big part of why I wanted to create this studio was the people I kept meeting in my life outside of work.”

Starting this studio has been a slow but steady unravelling of my old habits. Working in-house for so long gives you a certain kind of tunnel vision. The same brands, one long timeline. Building something from scratch has been the opposite. You have to think about everything at once. You start paying attention to the problems people actually have in the real world, not the ones buried inside an internal marketing plan. It has made me look at small business branding, design and marketing in a completely different way.

Local tradespeople trying to modernise their look. Independent cafés wanting a brand identity that actually reflects their personality. New consultancies trying to figure out how to design a business without spending a fortune. These conversations were the spark; real people searching for things like logo designers near me or small business website design and not finding anything that felt approachable, or being put-off by extensive pricing by big agencies.

That is why the work I’m doing here is shaped around clarity. When you strip everything back, most small businesses want the same things. A brand that feels honest. A logo that they can put on their van or packaging or signage without second guessing. A clean website that actually works on mobile. A bit of help getting found locally, whether that is through Google Business Profile setup or simple local SEO support. None of it needs to be overcomplicated. It just needs to be done with care.

As the studio has taken shape, I have found myself enjoying the variety more than I expected. One day I’m working on a visual identity for a technology startup, the next day I’m sketching layouts for a website for a family-owned shop that has been around for decades. It keeps things human. It reminds me why I wanted to build something outside the usual agency noise.

“I want this to be a place where new and small businesses can get thoughtful, affordable branding without feeling overwhelmed, no matter their size or stature.”

That leads into the first real milestone. After a lot of late nights shaping the look and feel, Phase One of the website is finally live. It is intentionally simple (for now). A clear home for what we do, who we help, and the early pieces of work that show the direction this studio is taking. It feels like the front door to everything that will come next. As you can see from my figma frames, defining the look has been putting a lot of my brain onto a canvas and working around it!

This Bulletin will be the place where I share the process behind the scenes. The small wins, the experiments, the mistakes that lead to better decisions, the things I’m learning as the studio grows. I want it to feel candid and open. More like a friend inviting you into the workshop than a polished announcement.

More soon.