A boutique handmade or creative biz is a special treat. A luxury. A lifestyle choice. It’s personal, unique, heart-centered and full of love.
In the mission keywords of the specialty food industry (watch this inspiring video): Craft. Care. Joy. There is passion in every detail and the beloved customer is not a number on a list but rather, a kindred spirit. It’s a connection heart-bright and soul-deep.
Your kinship bridge piece is your narrative hook to your great {brand} story. It is the opening piece that says ” You’re creative and different and I get you. I can help you, this is how”.
When I was first designing business cards for my invitation art studio, I wanted to be able to pass out something that showed the brides I wanted to work with that I can create amazing heirloom pieces for them. Here was a completely unknown stationery designer asking to be trusted with one of the most important pieces of their wedding, to be trusted to create something they would hang in such an intimate space as their bedroom!
I created a series of polaroid-inspired cards, printed on gorgeous 100% US-made cotton papers, I hunted high and low for folks who could print this for me, twist a few arms and made it happen. I searched high and low for the perfect miniature easel to prop this on and devise creative ways to hand them out.
It worked. It got more attention than any boring business card I could possibly hand out or bland junk postcard I could possibly overfill a mailbox with. In fact I’ve never seen so much enthusiasm on the receiving end as when I hand out my polaroid cards-a marketing piece, imagine that!
What are your possible kinship-bridge pieces? What can you give the people you’d most want to help that says ‘I get how unique and special you are, I can help you’ ?
- Brainstorm this. No idea is bad. If you’re a yoga teacher, can you hand out cards with beautifully illustrated yoga poses with inspirational sayings on them? If you’re a photographer can you hand out exquisitely-crafted accordian photo-booklets with hand-lettered tips on how to get camera-friendly? If you make soap, perhaps a little sliver of your soap attached to your handmade-paper business card for the ultimate multi-sensory connection?
- Think outside the box, think about how you can grab someone by their heart.
- Use beautiful, gorgeous materials. Don’t underestimate the power of quality and tactility, real wood, handmade paper, metal, lace. Give them something beyond the visual dimension, make them want to touch, smell, feel.
Need help brainstorming? Let’s chat, sign up for a free Imaginette session with me and we’ll see if we can craft some bridge-piece magic.
Want to get on a full creative adventure with me to brainstorm your entire brand? You HAVE to take a look at this:
