Bathke Bespoke.The brand that made a handmade craft look like a house
The challenge
Bathke Bespoke is a family operation: handmade, made-to-measure women's footwear, built shoe by shoe from the highest-grade leather, the kind of craftsmanship that takes hours a machine could never replicate. California's first label of its kind. The problem craftsmanship like this always has: bespoke work this careful needs a brand serious enough to justify what it costs, and family atelier businesses rarely have one. Heading into a Kickstarter launch, the identity had to do something a small handmade label almost never manages: look like an established house on day one.
The move
We built the identity to carry the weight the shoes already had: a system confident enough for campaign page, packaging, and every backer touchpoint to read like inheritance, not a first attempt. The strategy was simple and slightly unfair: look like the house that's already been here for decades.
The result
The campaign funded: $26,341 pledged against a $20,000 goal, from 104 backers who bet on a family business they'd never heard of before that page. The company went on to be acquired. The brand was there at the start and still standing at the exit.
The deliverables
- Brand development
- Creative direction
- Editorial and layout design
- Illustration
- Merch design
- Packaging direction and design
- Print design
- Kickstarter design
- Website design
- UI & UX design
“Loyal, passionate, collaborative creators who have helped me grow each of my businesses… honest, professional, and a joy to work with. I plan to work with them for years to come.”
