Designing and implementing ads and pins for Pinterest is something I have begun spending more time with since the Instagram algorithm change in early summer 2022. I’ve found it to be a highly valuable tool that has brought a significant boost of traffic to my website with less time investment than Instagram. Pins from early summer 2022 are still bringing traffic to my website today.

Instagram has been my strongest platform for TheVIVgoods. More than 60% of my sales come from my Linkt.ree backlink. I use the Later app to plan out 2-4 weeks at a time keeping in mind holidays, upcoming discounts and new product launches.

Through experimentation, I’ve found that story-telling behind-the-scenes reels about myself as a maker, informational reels (how to use the product), and reels with a face in the cover image perform best for this brand. I primarlily use Adobe Rush as my video editor and adobe Lightroom as my photo editor.

Newsletters are typically my highest engagement content types and most easily trackable conversion event. They always outperform the industry average newsletter open rate by 30% according to MailChimp.

Email automation is one of my favorite forms of marketing as it continuously collects data over time making it ideal for micro revisions and testing.

Designing and building the Shopify website from the ground up was a surprisingly swift process. After building websites for clients in Squarespace, Shopify was a breeze, in less than a month I built the site, uploaded products and connected the invoicing and fulfilment system with Billbee and Lexoffice.

I review the data collected by Shopify and GA4 once per month to guide campaigns, design new products, and decide where to focus my energy.

Social Media, Instagram in particular is always content hungry. All of the creative, photography, video, print, and digital design, for TVG has been my own from concept to publishing. Whether I’m posting spontaneous organic content or planning out an important campaign, say for Black Friday, I begin with the goal for the content and rely heavily on my content pillars:

• Behind the scenes
• Brand story / Mission
• Product in use
• Product launch / Product tease

Studio photography for product images with and without models has been one of my favorite tasks. With a simple studio set-up of an excellent DSLR, two strong lights and light boxes, a paper backdrop, and models willing to work on trade, I’ve been able to produce high quality catalogue images on a budget.

TheVIVgoods was founded based on a single design, the U.BAG; a simple convertible crossbody/fanny pack bag just big enough for your basics. When I discovered the untapped fabric resources that are retired paragliders, I knew I had found both my brand story and mission. The cloth, much like a parachute, is light as a feather, yet incredibly strong and comes in a bold rainbow of tones.

Want to read more about the history of the brand and its mission? Read more here

My design process always begins with a problem, typically a bag I can’t find in the market, or a request from my customers. I scour Pinterest for design solutions, sketch out ideas, draft a sewing pattern, write step-by-step instructions, and sew several prototypes before finalising the production plan.

As a former freelance graphic design and brand developer it was a treat to design TheVIVgoods brand style guide. The brand is a little sporty, a little funky with touches of vintage-cute, and “weird aunt”. The logo is hand drawn and looks almost like a signature – a reminder that TVG is “personal-brand adjacent.”