TENDER LIVING FARM
WHAT WE DID
Branding
Packaging design
Product + brand photography
Letterpress collateral
Shopify website update
Collaborative art direction, copywriting, photography and website design by Emma Palm.
THE STORY
Forty-five minutes from Calgary, down a couple of Alberta’s most scenic highways, lies the sweetest little shop – Bertie’s General Store. Housed in Black Diamond’s oldest original building, Bertie’s is full of historic ephemera and natural curiosities (bird skulls, butterfly wings, and owl pellets among them). The windows advertise “Vintage and Apothecary”. We frequented Bertie’s as a day-trip destination for years, before getting to know Isis Velkova-Andrus as a client – filling our pockets with salves that smell like the forest; adorning ourselves in well-worn plaid and paper-thin silk.
One of the founding partners at Bertie’s, Isis is also the sole proprietor of Tender Living Farm. She fills the shelves on the apothecary side of the shop with handcrafted teas, tinctures, and bath soaks. She forages or grows most of her ingredients and ethically sources the rest. We’ve long admired the knowledge and craftsmanship she brings to her work – both in the products she makes and the relationships she nurtures along the way.
Isis came to us in search of a new brand and fresh packaging. She was looking for something distinctive and polished to create broader wholesale appeal and properly tell her story as she sought a home on other shops’ shelves while growing her existing customer base. We were thrilled to deliver on all fronts, and continue to work alongside Tender Living Farm to deepen and expand the brand’s story with each season.
Isis started as many small business owners do – by doing everything herself. From growing and gathering, to product creation, packaging, and web design, every aspect of Tender Living Farm had Isis’ fingerprints on it. (Literally – she illustrated her own labels!)
The captions on her Instagram feed flow effortlessly from intuitive reflections on shifting seasons, through poems to soothe and inspire. When she posts about her products, it doesn’t come across as pushy or sales-driven, but rather a sincere offering (shared in the same tone as any of her other writing) of comfort and wisdom.
The last thing we wanted to do was dilute Isis’ presence within the brand. While she gave us free rein to run with it in whatever direction we wanted to, we felt strongly that we should carry on down the road she’d set out on – humble, sincere, and connected to something larger. We just wanted to do it more boldly, with greater clarity and cohesion.
Spot illustrations of botanical ingredients became expanded depictions of landscape. The imperfect charm of hand drawn details was extended to typography. We maintained monochromatic simplicity to let each product’s vibrant ingredients sing, but indulged in rich inky blacks with grit and texture.
The result is a rebrand that stays true to Tender Living Farm’s roots while creating space for the business to grow.
Our work included strategic conceptual development and copywriting to help Isis categorize and communicate her products’ purposes more clearly. Inspired by cycles found in nature (a clear foundation for Isis’ work – both in each product’s creation and eventual application), we developed four collections:
ROOT – For seasons of challenge and preparation.
REACH – To invigorate, inspire new beginnings, and spark connection.
SOFTEN – For seasons of surrender, thanksgiving, and tenderness.
REST – To encourage moments of quiet restoration and peace.
“Working with the Feast Studio team is a literal dream! Their ability to take ideas/concepts/dreams and turn them into to most beautiful reality is pure magic. The quality and creativity of their work has brought my products to a whole new level of beauty and elevation/evolution. Their attention to detail, ability to meet my wild deadlines, and willingness to really dive deep into the intention of the project, to make sure it holds true to the essence of the brand is absolutely invaluable, and has also helped me remain consitistent/true/inspired to grow Tender Living Farm. If I can dream it, they can create it…and then some!”
