Rustic Trades

Connecting an Origin Story to Every Customer Experience

What began as one man’s promise to build a table for his wife became the foundation for a company known for heirloom-quality furniture.

Our role was to make that origin story the thread running through the entire brand — from catalog to showroom — so every customer could feel it.

Because when a family chooses a Rustic Trades table, they’re not just buying furniture — they’re stepping into a legacy. The origin story is the spark, but the true story is written in homes across the country, every time a table becomes the centerpiece of birthdays, dinners, and traditions that last for generations.

CREATIVE DIRECTION | BRAND STORY | DESIGN EXECUTION

Logo of Rustic Trades Furniture with stylized text and curved arrangement.

The Challenge

Rustic Trades already had the raw ingredients of a powerful brand: heirloom-quality furniture, an authentic founder’s story, and a loyal customer base. But those pieces weren’t connected.

The story of “I promised Maggie I would build her a table” existed, but it wasn’t consistently tied to the customer experience. The brand needed a way to carry that origin into every touchpoint — so when customers chose a Rustic Trades piece, they felt they were choosing more than furniture.

The Creative Direction

We designed a system that threaded the founder’s promise into the customer journey.

  • Visual System: Clean layouts, refined typography, and intentional white space elevated the photography and gave every piece room to breathe.

  • Illustrative Details: Collaborated with an illustrator to redraw each product, nodding to the founder’s early sketches and reinforcing the handmade process.

  • Tactile Moments: Luxury paper stocks, vellum inserts, and watercolor accents gave the catalog and collateral the feel of something crafted with care.

  • Story Integration: From launch-night signage to catalog covers, the origin story was reframed as every customer’s story — connecting authenticity and legacy with each purchase.

Why It Worked

Origin Storytelling

Translating the founder’s promise to build a table for his wife into the heart of the brand.

Customer Connection

Framing each heirloom piece as part of a family’s ongoing story, not just a product purchase.

Crafted Experience

Designing catalogs, launch collateral, and tactile materials that matched the handcrafted ethos.

A wooden sign with the logo and name 'Rustic Trades Furniture' engraved on it, placed on a plywood surface.

The Experience

The new system came to life at the showroom launch:

  • Customers encountered products framed by their story — each table not just photographed, but contextualized in the lineage of family, memory, and craft.

  • Catalogs and inserts weren’t just informational; they were designed to feel like heirlooms themselves, reinforcing the brand’s promise.

  • The founder’s origin was no longer just “how it started” — it was a narrative thread inviting every customer to join, to add their own chapter at their own table.

Showroom Guide
Presented at Opening Night

Product Catalog

A family of five, including two women and three children, sitting on a wooden bench in a forested area with tall trees, during daylight.
Collage of images including a person serving spaghetti and salad, water jars and glasses, people reading books, a group of people having a meal outdoors, and a quote about making lasting furniture memories at Rustic Trades.
Design brochure for Emerson trestle dining table featuring images of the table in different settings, close-up of the table's construction, and a sketch of the table design.
Sketch of a stage with three vertical rectangular banners and a horizontal banner above, titled "Braylon Conference" in handwritten style.
Person serving a bowl of vegetable stir-fry at a dinner table with a plate of spaghetti with vegetables, glasses of water, wine, and cutlery.
Sketch of a wooden picnic table with attached benches, with a brown watercolor background.
A person wearing a plaid shirt and black T-shirt is working with a piece of wood, holding a pencil in one hand and a measuring tape in the other, in a woodworking shop.
Close-up of polished wooden table with visible wood grain and knots.
Person sanding a wooden surface with an electric sander.
Sketch of a modern table design with a rectangular top, supported by curved legs and a shelf underneath, set against a paper background.
Close-up photograph of a damaged wooden surface with a dark, burnt hole or crack.
A person operating a bandsaw to cut a piece of wood in a workshop.
A white wooden dining table with a sturdy base, viewed from the side against a plain white background.
Comparison drawing of a farmed scallop with a scallop that is scsamless.
Modern kitchen with white cabinets, dark wood flooring, open shelves with dishes and yellow decorative items, pendant lighting, and a barn-style sliding door.
Close-up of a wooden table with a thick, polished tabletop and a carved leg, on a dimpled carpeted floor.
A spacious kitchen with a dining table, chairs, and a kitchen island. Two women are standing and talking near a large window, one is holding a coffee mug, the other has a phone. A woman is sitting at the table, writing in a notebook.
A catalog page showcasing a rustic wooden table with detailed images of the table's craftsmanship and design, including a sketch of the table's pedestal base.
Sketch of various geometric shapes and their names, including a rectangle, an oval, a square, and a circle, with handwritten labels for each shape and the words 'rectangular,' 'oval,' 'square,' and 'round' and 'dimensions'.
Close-up of a wooden desk with a computer, mouse, and a small figurine, with a transparent overlay text reading "Braylon unlike any other rustic trades table."
Sketches of three different tables in black ink with lines illustrating construction and design, with a brown watercolor background.
Outdoor wedding or event setup with a rustic wooden table decorated with white and cream flowers, candles, and greenery, with lanterns and chairs around, on a natural forest ground.
A man polishing or cleaning a wooden table near a window with sunlight streaming in, with an overlay text that reads 'Let's make something together.'
Side view of a cube, with the left side shaded and labeled 'Farn' and the right side shaded and labeled 'Surface', illustrating different textures or surfaces.
A webpage for Rustic Trades about custom-made woodworking tables, featuring text describing the craftsmanship and options, with three images of woodworking processes and materials.
A wooden outdoor dining table set with four white bowls on matching white plates, four forks, four glasses of water, a glass pitcher of water, and a pink flower centerpiece, with a grassy yard in the background.
Hand-drawn sketch of the base of a table with a central turned leg, labeled "Wesson" underneath, with construction lines and shading.

The Outcome

The rebrand gave Rustic Trades:

  • A unified identity that celebrated both craft and story.

  • A deeper customer connection, where buyers didn’t just see furniture but saw themselves in the brand’s ongoing legacy.

  • A showroom launch that resonated, driving sales and giving the founder confidence that his story was not only told — but carried forward.

Today, Rustic Trades continues to use this system across print, digital, and in-store experiences. Every table sold is more than a transaction. It’s another family stepping into the story — turning an origin into a legacy, and a piece of furniture into the centerpiece of a life.