Pen Pots
Pen Pots was a very small business venture - vaporizer pen stands turned from a variety of fine hardwoods that serve as a dock and also keep the pen upright when not in use and the oil down on the atomizer. It was an elegant solution to a common problem in the expanding marketplace.
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I made a couple dozen to sell at the open air market at The Gorge Amphitheater in Washington State during Phish's stop on their Summer 2018 tour. It was an instant hit, so I set up an online store, expanded inventory, created direct mail ads for hundreds of vendors in six states, and launched a social media promotion targeting retailers and notable online community figures. This big step up was also very well-received, but despite my best efforts yielded almost no return. And it's no mystery as to why: the necessary increase in cost, no first person physical experience with the product prior to purchase, non-standardized battery sizes, and perfectly good alternatives to do the simple task of keeping a pen upright. This was a luxury item of sorts, and also just a hunk of wood.
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But it still made for good practice in branding, logo design, Photoshopping, product and small business development, and marketing, so I include it here. And perhaps most importantly, I'm more comfortable not being a part of an industry producing unforeseen health risks and in clear need of more research.
The logo I designed for use in direct mail and social media promotions, paired with the font Midland Rail Shadow NF.
The finished prototype.
Full color postcards for a direct mail marketing campaign.
The same design used in the Etsy storefront banner for recognition and consistency.
The packaging design: two sizes of standardized boxes, shredded documents for stuffing, and hand-stamped cotton drawstring bags. I was indeed on a budget, but also going for a progressive low-waste system.
Mobile vending signage, legible at a distance.
The Instagram social media campaign featured composed settings - some elegant, some fantastical, some seasonal.
In part I wanted the product display to be catching and professional, but I also wanted to convey a respectable sophistication and attract a mature demographic. And it was fun to engage in mini set design, I was fortunate to have a variety of props at my disposal. Each post featured an informative and sometimes humorous caption, as well as tags and hashtags to get the right attention. Here, too, the response was very positive.
