Client Spotlight: Soul Soliel Farm
In 2016, Leigh and David Thorton became the new owners of a century-old farmhouse on a former peach orchard and tobacco farm in Museville, Virginia (a community south of Smith Mountain Lake). Inspired by the land’s beautiful sunrises/sunsets and wanting to evoke a sense of warmth and welcome with both their farm and brand, the couple found “soul soleil” to be the perfect name for their new venture. Read more about their story on their website.
In the summer of 2020, Soul Soleil Farm began working with Hive Creative Group through our Business Starter Package. This project focused on expanding the farm’s brand and included the creation of a brand style guide, website, product labels and packaging, and a social media (Instagram and Facebook) launch.
Over the course of a few weeks, our team led Leigh and David through a brand discovery process, learning about the farm and couple’s backgrounds, discussing the kind of tone and feelings Soul Soleil Farm should evoke, and diving into the farm’s ideal customer.
Scope
branding
The couple’s main request was for the farm’s brand to feel really warm and welcoming, and to not be too overly lavender-focused. This would leave room for the farm to grow and expand in the future. Our lead designer on the project, Adrian, decided to hone in on the farm’s name (“soleil” is a french word for sun) for logo inspiration. She and Leigh and David agreed on a selection of brand colors that are reminiscent of a sunny, summer day with yellows, blues, and a few variations of lavender (Having this larger color palette was especially helpful later during the package design stage). The primary font they chose is airy and whimsical, and Adrian offset this with a more modern sans serif secondary font to keep the brand from feeling too feminine.
website
Once the branding was complete, our team got to work on the Squarespace website and online store for Soul Soleil. We implemented the branding on the site and shot the product photography. We also trained Leigh and David (as we offer for all our clients) on how to use the online shop features (like tracking and adjusting inventory and using a point of sale system) on the website going forward. We are continually impressed by how easily these features can be used by our clients themselves and that is one of the reasons we continue to build our sites on Squarespace.
packaging
So far, Hive has created 12 different label designs (and counting!) for Soul Soleil Farm’s lavender and honey-based products. Working with smaller products can be tricky, so our team focuses on creating designs that were simplistic enough to encourage legibility, while also adhering to the brand style guide. You can view them in Soul Soleil Farm’s online store.
social media
Once we had completed the branding, set up a strong online presence and created the labels for Soul Soleil Farm’s first products, Hive set up Facebook and Instagram pages to begin driving consumers to the new website. We currently manage 2-3 organic posts a week that highlight both Soul Soleil’s incredible products and life on farm.
think our business starter package or one of our other branding packages may be a good fit for your business? get in touch!
We would love to discuss how we can help your business grow. You can browse more of our branding, web design, and package design examples on our portfolio page.
