Case Study

Common Dear was a women-owned, feminist, and self-empowerment retail brand that my wife and I built from the ground up and ran from launch in November 2019 through closure in September 2024. I designed the brand, built and managed the Shopify store, ran the social media with our team on TikTok, created the content for Instagram, designed the packaging, developed products, merchandised the physical shop, and managed inventory.

The challenge was building a brand that could live everywhere at once — on a phone screen, on a product, on a shelf in our store, on a shelf in other stores across the country through our wholesale program, on a pop-up table, and on a social feed — and feel like the same world in every single place.

The approach started with a strong logo and visual identity with enough character to translate across formats without losing itself. Every downstream decision — social graphics, packaging, signage, shop aesthetic, Shopify store design — was built from that same foundation. The brand had a point of view, and it showed up everywhere.

The results:

• Grew Instagram to 10,000+ followers

• Grew TikTok to 16,000+ followers

• Hit six figures in revenue in the first full year

• Landed a product collaboration with the Oklahoma City Thunder — designing custom keychains for the Thunder staff for Pride month that merged the Common Dear aesthetic with one of OKC's most iconic brands