BRANDING BEAUTY WITH JANEMADE

We've shared a lot about the formation of LES and how we've evolved as a company over the past year plus, however we've yet to shine a light on an integral part of the brand - Lindsay Kelly and her creative studio JaneMade. Lindsay and her team were brought on as our branding and website development and design partners in the Spring of 2021, and they've continued to support LES with new projects and expansions as we've grown. As Founder and Creative Director of JaneMade, Lindsay has the unique ability to distill a nuanced brand concept into its visual iteration; her design work for LES perfectly encapsulates the sophisticated yet playful feel the brand strives to represent. We spoke with Lindsay about her creative background, what it's like to be an entrepreneur herself, and how she stays inspired and above the fray in such a competitive industry.

Can you tell us a little about your background in the fine arts and what or how that led you to graphic design?

Growing up, art was my life. I was always creating in one way or another. In high school, I took painting and drawing classes at Hartford Art School on the weekends and spent my free periods in the art studio on weekdays – all I wanted to do was make art.

I won a national award as a high school junior, with my work being displayed for a couple of years at the Corcoran in Washington D.C.; this led to my parents supporting me to go to Boston University's College of Fine Arts, where I originally intended to major in painting. Graphic design wasn't as known back then as it is now; I eventually realized that my drawings were layers of hand-drawn type and forms – graphic design, but without a computer. After two years of core studio classes (drawing, painting, sculpture), I had my first computer class – typography – and was hooked. For my senior thesis for my BFA, I designed and developed a retail brand: logo, full catalog, business papers – which was the foundation of my love of branding.

"I'D ACTUALLY ALWAYS DREAMED OF OWNING A HYBRID STORE/STUDIO SPACE WHERE I COULD SELL COOL THINGS WHILE WORKING IN THE BACK OF THE SPACE. THAT WAS BEFORE I HAD THREE KIDS AND NEEDED TO BALANCE MOTHERHOOD WITH MY CAREER"

You started your career working in-house for a number of brands, what about that time motivated you to start an agency?

One of my first jobs was working for Mike Toth, one of the most brilliant people I've ever met. He'd had all the quintessential American brands as clients: J.Crew, Tommy Hilfiger, Coach - you name it. I learned so, so much from him and, after leaving, spent the next several years in-house for a variety of brands, rounding out my skill set: photoshoot production, e-commerce websites, and then I freelanced for a clean beauty brand during a massive phase of their growth. Out of all this experience grew my desire to work for myself, with clients that were as passionate about the brands they were starting as I was in helping them execute their visions.

Did you always know you wanted to start your own business? What was the catalyst in starting JaneMade?

I'd actually always dreamed of owning a hybrid store / studio space where I could sell cool things while working in the back of the space. That was before I had three kids and needed to balance motherhood with my career.

Before getting pregnant with our second child, I reexamined my work/life balance. At this point, I had enough freelance clients under my belt to be able to maintain my income without my full-time job. I wanted to be present for my kids and have the time away from them be meaningful; working at a job I didn't really like wasn't worth it to me. So I left the comfort of my steady salary to start JaneMade. I haven't regretted it once. It's the best decision I've ever made for myself and for my family.

What has the entrepreneurial process been like for you and how do you manage maintaining and growing your own business while helping your clients do the same?

When the studio was founded five years ago, I said yes to most projects, if time permitted, to be able to grow my network and get our name out there. After a year or so, we started to niche down a bit and only take on clients whose brands and values aligned with our own aesthetic and mission. We have been very, very fortunate to have had huge growth year over year. It is certainly a challenge sometimes to balance the workload of our clients with making sure that the studio is focused (case in point: it's taken me months to complete this interview). I have a wonderful studio manager who helps with client relations. I've hired out our financial management as math is certainly not my strong suit. We engage a content creator to help with our social media presence, as I tend to always put our client's work ahead of my own. Being able to hire help in the areas of the business that aren't creative has let me focus on what I'm good at.

"I PERSONALLY DON'T REALLY ENGAGE WITH THE DESIGN COMMUNITY ON INSTAGRAM ANYMORE; I THINK THAT IT DOES A DISSERVICE TO BOTH MYSELF AND OUR CLIENTS TO CLOSELY FOLLOW TRENDS AND TRY TO EMULATE THEM, WHICH IS WHY, I THINK ANYWAY, OUR WORK STANDS APART FROM WHAT IS SO COMMONLY SEEN"

In the age of Instagram brands, copycats are everywhere. How do you handle it when you see your work knocked off, and how do you stay inspired and continue to create original work when there's such an oversaturation of design stimuli in our current society?

There's no denying that it is certainly a nuisance. In the past few years, a lot of design "studios" have sprung up, which all tout the same services and experience. It can be challenging when a prospective client is shopping for the lower price and we may miss out on some great opportunities – but I just reassure myself that we have a level of experience and certain aesthetic that we are known for; most of our inquiries are either word of mouth, or they've seen our work and want to create something similarly special for their brand.

I personally don't really engage with the design community on Instagram anymore; I think that it does a disservice to both myself and our clients to closely follow trends and try to emulate them, which is why, I think anyway, our work stands apart from what is so commonly seen. I used to be bothered by seeing similar designs to ours on social media, but we've just pivoted tactics and rely more on photography and imagery rather than graphic posts that can be copied easily.

There's certainly enough opportunities out there for everyone, and we're fortunate that we no longer really need to rely on self-promotion on Instagram. It can exist more as a studio outlet to showcase work and clients we're proud of.

Tell us a little about the process of branding LES Collection.

Lauren had such a unique business idea that was so exciting to be engaged for. We kicked off the project like we do all of our branding projects – with an in-depth, deep dive into what the objectives were and how to strategically position the brand within the marketplace.

We presented two different, yet overlapping, directions and revised together. Our process is very collaborative and it was really refreshing to work with Lauren, whose point of view was so strong; Lauren had a clear sense of what she was looking for which allowed us to really zero in on making the various consumer touchpoints really cohesive and refined.

After finalizing the branding, we worked through shoot production and then designed and built her website. It has been such a joy to continue to work with the LES team.

How do you handle a creative rut?

It can be mentally exhausting creating all the time and having to churn out design work. Fortunately, our client workload is varied enough so that if I'm having difficulty with a task, I can take a break and come back to it later. I always give myself enough time with branding projects to allow myself the chance to deliver work that I feel passionate about, aligns with the goals and missions of the founder, and is reflective of the high caliber of design our studio maintains. Some days are more challenging than others, so filling that space with simpler tasks is a good way for me to take my mind off of something not coming to me as quickly or clearly.

What's next for JaneMade???

Who knows! We're at a point where the projects we take on are all really special to us – either the clients themselves or the brands to be built are ones we feel really passionate about. I would love to make something ourselves – either our own branded product or a collaboration. I think that would feel really special after working with so many founders on building their businesses. Would love to see our own physical product out in the world, not just ones we designed.

All work by JaneMade