Building a Brand with 1810 Design Barn

For small business owners, building brand awareness can be a challenge. Promoting yourself is difficult when you’re juggling things like maintaining relationships with your customers, managing your finances, and actually working. Larger companies have entire teams dedicated to branding—it’s that important for people to be aware of your business in today’s market.

As someone who spent 20+ years as an Art Director and Creative Director for marketing companies, the importance of branding left a mark on Eddie Grogan. However, while crafting a wooden headboard for his wife in 2012,  he felt the woodworking itch and turned his passion into something he could do full time. After years of building up his tool collection, Eddie and his wife moved to Goffstown, New Hampshire in 2017 where they found the perfect place for his workshop—an old house from 1810 complete with an attached carriage barn. It took some elbow grease and a bit of time, but as of April 2021, Eddie and 1810 Design Barn were in business.

With his background in marketing, it was no surprise that creating a brand for the business was one of the first things Eddie worked on. Taking the name from his home and workshop, 1810 Design Barn’s main logo featured a cow silhouette with the date ‘1810’ on it instead of spots. “The original barn to our house was across the street from the house and housed one single dairy cow. Local historians say that every day the owner, Willie Richards, would walk across the street with his bucket and milk that one cow. I felt it was very fitting to use that cow as our maker’s mark to honor the family and animals that were here long ago,” explained Eddie.

Once the brand and logo were realized and 1810 Design Barn was open for business, it was time to focus on building that brand out in the world. “We ordered t-shirts to enforce our brand when we go out in public and to wear in our showroom and workshop,” said Eddie. “Custom gear helps increase my brand awareness.” Fortunately, Custom Ink’s Design Lab made it easy for Eddie to use his own art when creating the shirts. “I love that I could drag AI files right in the browser when using the [Design Lab].”

Printed on an indigo Next Level Tri-Blend T-shirt, the white 1810 Design Barn logo makes a statement.

Once the 1810 Design Barn art was set up, it was time to pick the perfect shirts to showcase Eddie’s slick logos. Even though there were a lot of options to choose from, Eddie reached out for help in order to get the exact gear that he wanted. “There were a lot of options and I felt overwhelmed, so I used [Custom Ink’s] helpful chat feature.” Selecting the Next Level Tri-Blend T-shirt in indigo and the Next Level Women’s Slim Fit Tri-Blend Deep V-Neck T-shirt in premium heather, 1810 Design Barn had the perfect canvases to showcase their logo.

With the 1810 Design Barn logo across various styles of t-shirts like the Next Level Women’s Slim Fit Tri-Blend Deep V-Neck T-shirt meant that people of all shapes and sizes would have an option.

While Eddie had 1810 Design Barn’s brand in hand when designing his shirts, he would have been covered even if he didn’t have his logo ahead of time. Easy and fun to use whether you’re on your computer or phone, Custom Ink’s Design Lab lets you upload your own art, photos, or use the lab resources to make a statement wherever you go. With hundreds of fonts and clipart from CSA™ Images and House Industries®, creating the perfect art for your custom gear can be a snap, even if you don’t consider yourself an artist.

Custom Ink also offers Design Templates, where the only thing you need is the text for your event or business and you’re all set! The templates already feature clipart elements paired with relevant fonts, all adjusted for aesthetics with the selected category in mind. With template categories covering everything from K-12 classes to construction businesses to major holidays, there’s no shortage of design launchpads with the Design Templates.

And if you’re really stuck, Custom Ink’s Design Services team of talented artists is there for you. The Design Services artists can either brush up your existing art if you already have a good thing going and need a little something extra, or they can create your art from scratch if all you have is a sketch or idea.

Having the perfect logo on the perfect gear to create memorable branding doesn’t have to be difficult. Whether you design for your day job or have trouble drawing a straight line, making your own custom gear for your business can be quick, easy, and even fun.

Build your Brand!