Creative strategy for independent brands
There is an idea at the center of what you do.
You may never have said it out loud. It may be the reason you began, a way of seeing, or a conviction about what you want to make, and it deserves to come through in the way you present it.
My name is Margaret Colhoun, and Thesis is my creative strategy studio in Brooklyn. I help independent brands articulate that idea through their name, identity, language, website, and the ways they reach people. We can begin with the first outlines of a business or with something you have been building for years.
I work with:
- Photographers
- Stationers
- Florists
- Calligraphers
- Wedding planners
- Ceramicists
- Interior designers
- Illustrators
- Stylists
- Jewelers
- Bakers
- Artists
- Makers
The work we can do together
Sometimes the work begins with a name. Sometimes it begins with the words, a website, or a closer look at what is already there. Each engagement considers how the part we are making belongs to the whole.
01The AuditA full reading of the business as it standsTwo weeks
I review your identity, website, writing, and the ways people find and buy your work. You receive a written account of what is working well, where there is room to develop, and which next steps deserve your attention.
- A written report of twenty to thirty pages, by channel
- The ten changes that will matter most, in order
- A sixty-minute call to walk through the findings
- Thirty days of email access afterward
02The IdentityA name and a visual language shaped around your workFour weeks
We give your business a visual language, from the name and mark to the colors, typography, and everyday materials. The result is an identity you understand and can keep using with confidence.
- Naming, if you need it, with domain and trademark checks
- A primary and secondary wordmark, in every format
- A palette and a typographic system, with the rules for using them
- Templates for the pieces you send most: social, email, and the printed things your work calls for
- A brand guide of ten to fifteen pages
- A Canva kit, so you can make new pieces yourself
03The VoiceThe words you would use if you had the timeThree weeks
I listen to how you speak about your work and develop language that belongs to it. Your voice guide, About page, and everyday writing give you both finished copy and a way to write what comes next.
- A recorded sixty-minute conversation, transcribed
- A brand voice guide of eight to twelve pages
- Your About page, written in full
- A tagline and a short brand statement
- Copy for your ten best sellers, or for the services you offer
- Templates for the writing you do every week
04The SiteA home for the business, built to be usedFive to six weeks
I bring the structure, design, and writing together in a Shopify website. Whether visitors are choosing a piece or considering a commission, they can understand your work and take the next step.
- Theme selection and setup, or a full refresh
- Every page a client expects to find
- Product pages, or a portfolio and service pages, written by me
- An inquiry or booking path that brings you the right questions
- Search fundamentals, and Etsy or Faire connections where they apply
- A recorded walkthrough of the admin
05The Wholesale LaunchYour work in shops you would want to visitFour weeks
For product brands preparing to sell through retailers, I develop the terms, catalog, line sheet, Faire storefront, and outreach that help a buyer understand your work and place an order.
- Pricing and terms: minimums, case packs, lead times
- A Faire storefront, set up and written in full
- A line sheet and a digital catalog in your identity
- Four outreach letters, written in your voice
- Twenty-five researched retailers, with a note on each
- A tracking system, and a guide to the first ninety days
06Email FoundationsA reason for people to hear from youThree weeks
I set up your email platform and write the welcome, follow-up, and campaign messages your business needs. The design and language carry the same care as your website, with a calendar to guide the year ahead.
- Klaviyo or Omnisend setup, form and site connection
- An email template designed to your identity
- Three automated sequences, built around how people find you
- Your first three campaigns, written and scheduled
- A twelve-month campaign calendar
- A short guide to writing your own afterward
07The LaunchFrom the first idea to opening dayTen to twelve weeks
We build your identity, voice, website, and email program in sequence, alongside the practical preparations for opening a business. You begin with the pieces in place and a plan for your first ninety days.
- Practical guidance through the LLC, the tax identification, the accounts and the bookkeeping
- The Identity, in full
- The Voice, in full
- The Site, in full
- Email Foundations, in full
- A ninety-day launch plan, and weekly calls throughout
08MentorshipTime to think through the next stepOne hour
A focused conversation about a decision, an idea, or a direction you would like to explore. You might be weighing a name, shaping an offer, planning a launch, or working out how to present a body of work. I read your materials beforehand and send a short written summary afterward, with next steps you can put to use.
- I read what you send before we speak
- One hour, recorded with your agreement, so you can listen rather than take notes
- A written summary afterward: the priorities and what to do first
- Or four, one each season, at a lower rate than four single bookings
The price list sets out the ranges, timelines, and scope for each service, along with ongoing support and smaller commissions. Request the price list.
A little about me
I came to creative strategy through the work of reading and writing.
My name is Margaret Colhoun, the founder of Thesis and a PhD candidate in English. Years spent developing an argument, drafting and revising it, and learning to defend its central claim have shaped the way I approach creative work.
I have learned to ask what an idea really means, what belongs with it, and how to make the language say exactly what it needs to say. I bring that same attention to a brand: there should be an idea at its center, and the name, identity, language, and website should give it expression.
More about my approachAn idea, carried through
The portfolio brings together the business I founded and three self-directed concept projects. Each explores how a central idea can shape the experience of a brand, from the first page to the details that follow.
Pierrepont
An identity, website, and body of writing built around the artistry of needlepoint, with a wholesale program and finishing service that extend the same care.
Read the Pierrepont case studyLong Light
A portfolio and inquiry experience shaped around a photographer's patient attention to light and to the people within it.
Explore Long LightOstlund Clay
A shop for everyday stoneware, with plain product information and a clear path for retailers buying for their own shelves.
Explore Ostlund ClayQuire Press
A website that gives ready-made stationery and commissioned work their own space, united by an attention to paper, ink, and impression.
Explore Quire PressWe begin with a conversation
Tell me about your project
Share what you make or do, where you are in the process, and what you would like to explore. A few sentences are enough; you do not need a finished brief.
We spend thirty minutes together
I read what you send before we meet. Our complimentary conversation gives us time to talk about the idea, the practical needs of the business, and where I could be useful.
We agree on the work
If we decide to work together, I send a proposal within a week with the scope, timeline, and price. You can consider the whole project before making a commitment.
What would you like to build?
Tell me where you are beginning and what you have in mind. I reply within two business days, and our first thirty-minute conversation is complimentary.
Tell me about your project