Studio diary Two project slots open for January–March 2027. Briefs reviewed each Thursday. Start an enquiry
Fern Vale Brand & web studio
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Quiet studio room with long shared worktables, pinned layouts on the wall and daylight from tall windows

Fern Vale — a two-person studio

Small brands, built to hold their ground.

We help independent food, hospitality and outdoor businesses look like the people behind them — identity, packaging and a website that keeps earning after launch. Scoped work, fixed durations, plain language throughout.

Start an enquiry See how we work
  • Brand foundations01 · Name, mark, voice
  • Websites02 · Design & build
  • Packaging & print03 · Shelf & signage
  • Launch systems04 · Templates & training

What we are

Two designers, one project at a time. You work with the people who do the work — there is no account layer, no handover to a junior team, and no deck explaining why the deck was necessary.

Fern Vale was set up for owner-run businesses: the bakery adding a second site, the kit maker outgrowing a marketplace listing, the guiding company whose booking page costs them calls every week. We take on roughly fourteen projects a year so each one gets the attention it was quoted for.

  • One fixed scopeWritten in plain terms before anything starts, with the deliverables and the dates on the same page.
  • Decisions in daylightRoutes are shown in context — on a jar, a shopfront, a phone — never as a floating logo on a grey square.
  • You keep everythingSource files, fonts licensed in your name, and a site you can edit without calling us.
  • We say no clearlyIf the work needs a bigger team or a different specialism, we will tell you in the first conversation.

Services

Four lanes of work

Most projects combine two of these. Each lane lists what you actually receive and how long it usually runs, so you can judge the fit before we speak.

  • Lane 01

    Brand foundations

    Typically 5–7 weeks

    For businesses trading on a name they chose quickly, or growing past a single location. We settle the positioning, then build a mark and a type system that survives being printed small, stitched, embroidered and scaled across a window.

    • Positioning and naming review
    • Primary mark plus two lockups
    • Type and colour system
    • Voice notes with worked examples
    • Licensed font files in your name
    • Usage guide as a one-page PDF

  • Lane 02

    Website design & build

    Typically 6–9 weeks

    Built as a small set of pages that each do one job. We write with you rather than around you, structure the content for the questions people actually arrive with, and hand over something your team can update on a Tuesday evening.

    • Content structure and page map
    • Copy drafted with you
    • Design at three screen widths
    • Build, testing and launch
    • Editor training session
    • Thirty days of post-launch fixes

  • Lane 03

    Packaging & print

    Typically 4–8 weeks

    Labels, sleeves, boxes, menus, signage and vehicle marks. We work to your printer's specification from the first sketch, check legibility at arm's length, and proof on the real stock before anything is committed to a run.

    • Range architecture and naming
    • Artwork to printer specification
    • Required legal copy laid out
    • Press-ready files and dielines
    • Stock and finish recommendations
    • Proof review with your supplier

  • Lane 04

    Launch & content systems

    Typically 3–4 weeks

    The part most projects skip. We leave you with editable templates, a photography brief your local shooter can follow, and a simple rhythm for keeping things current without a marketing hire.

    • Editable social and menu templates
    • Photography brief and shot list
    • Email layout for announcements
    • Seasonal update checklist
    • Two coaching calls for your team
    • Asset library, tidied and labelled

Process

What the weeks contain

Four stages, the same every time. You will know which stage you are in, what is needed from you, and what lands at the end of it.

  • Stage one

    Groundwork

    A long conversation, a look at what you already have, and a read of the market you trade in. Ends with a written scope: deliverables, dates, and the decisions we need from you.

  • Stage two

    Routes

    Two directions, shown in context rather than in isolation. We talk through the trade-offs of each, you choose one, and we note what you want carried over from the other.

  • Stage three

    Making

    The chosen route is drawn out properly — artwork, pages, copy, states. Weekly check-ins, one shared link, and two rounds of revisions built into the schedule.

  • Stage four

    Handover

    Files organised, fonts licensed, site live, team trained. We stay reachable for thirty days afterwards for the small things that only surface once real customers arrive.

Designers reviewing notes and printed layouts spread across a table during a working session
Stage two route review — everything pinned up before anything is signed off

Selected work

Three recent projects

A short index rather than a gallery. If one of these looks close to your situation, mention it in your enquiry and we will talk through what carried over.

  • Laptop open on a wooden desk showing a website build in progress beside a notebook

    2026 · Outdoor equipment

    Hollow Lane Supply

    A kit maker moving off a marketplace listing and onto their own site. We rebuilt the range names first, then designed a catalogue that explains fit and repairability instead of shouting about discounts.

    • Brand foundations
    • Website
    • Product copy
  • Small team gathered around a table working through printed material in a bright room

    2026 · Bakery, two sites

    Marrow & Bell

    Opening a second counter exposed how much of the brand lived in one person's handwriting. We set a type system that works on window vinyl, bag stamps and a daily menu board, and taught the team to run it.

    • Identity
    • Packaging
    • Signage
    • Templates
  • Two colleagues looking at a screen together while discussing a project plan

    2025 · Guided walking

    Thistledown Routes

    Their enquiries all arrived as phone calls asking the same four questions. We restructured the site around dates, difficulty and what to bring — the questions moved to the page, the calls became bookings.

    • Content structure
    • Website
    • Photography brief

Ways to start

Three engagement shapes

Pick the one that matches where you are. If you are unsure, describe the situation in an enquiry and we will tell you which fits — including when the answer is none of them.

Short sprint

Two weeks

A defined piece of work with a clear edge: a label range, a landing page, a menu system, or a review of an identity you already have.

Best for testing how we work together before a larger commitment.

Full programme

Six to twelve weeks

Two or three lanes run in sequence — usually foundations into website, or identity into packaging — with one scope, one schedule and one invoice plan.

Best for relaunches, second sites and first proper brand builds.

Retained days

Monthly, ongoing

A reserved day or two each month for seasonal artwork, new pages, print runs and the steady stream of small things a growing business generates.

Best for past clients and teams without an in-house designer.

Questions

Asked before most projects

If yours is not here, put it in the enquiry form — it is usually quicker than a call.

Who owns the files when we finish?
You do, outright. On handover you receive editable source files, exported artwork in the formats your suppliers ask for, and any fonts licensed in your business name. Nothing stays locked in our accounts.
Do you work remotely or on site?
Mostly remotely, with shared links and weekly calls. For hospitality and retail projects we visit once during groundwork, because signage, light and the way people move through a room are hard to judge from photographs.
We like our current logo. Can you work around it?
Often, yes. Plenty of projects start with an audit instead of a redesign: we keep the mark, fix the type, colour and spacing around it, and build the system that was never written down. We will say so if the mark genuinely cannot carry the work.
Who writes the copy?
We draft it, you correct it. Website and packaging projects include copy because structure and wording cannot sensibly be separated. If you have a writer already, we brief them and lay out what they deliver.
What happens after launch?
Thirty days of included fixes for anything that behaves differently in the wild, plus a recorded training session so new staff can be brought up to speed later. After that you can move to retained days or simply get in touch when something comes up.
What do you turn down?
Work needing a large production team, anything built on a deadline that would require cutting the route stage, and projects where the brief is to copy a competitor. We will usually point you to someone better suited in the first conversation.

Enquiries

Tell us about the work

Briefs are read each Thursday and answered the same week. A few sentences is plenty for a first message — we will come back with questions, an honest view on fit, and the next open dates.

If it is easier to talk it through, say so in the brief and we will suggest two times.

What the business does, what is not working, and anything already decided.

No mailing list — we only reply about your project