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October marks the arrival of two new "babies" for BEST & CO. This month, we are launching our layette collection as well as our new packaging. While all of us here at the office are feeling a bit bleary-eyed and sleep-deprived, just like new parents everywhere, we think that our new arrivals are pretty much the most amazing creations ever! Since I receive many emails asking me about my design inspirations, I thought it would be fun to reveal the story behind our new logo and packaging. Enjoy! And please keep the emails coming. I love to hear your feedback. |
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Our design journey started with the discovery of a vintage 1950's shoebox from Best and Co.'s collection of original packaging. I loved the whimsy of the mischievous Scotties (stealing shoes) and the simplicity of the BEST & CO. typeface. Most of all, I loved the idea of creating packaging that would be beautiful enough to endure for decades - and perhaps become a cherished keepsake. |
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The final piece of the puzzle was creating an amazing packaging concept for our layette sets. From the start, I knew that I wanted a package that could be re-purposed (this brought tears to my VP of Marketing eyes as she is always trying to get me to be more environmentally aware!) Feverishly, we worked on a tote bag. Photos of the first prototype arrived while I was on vacation in Italy. It wasn't good. In fact, it was pretty horrible. After drowning my sorrows in gelato, I realized that I was in VENICE for goodness sake! If I couldn't find inspiration there - I should probably consider another line of work. It didn't take long for me to fall in love with the stunning paper goods that Venetian artisans sell in their small shops throughout the city. With sketch pad in hand, I was able to come up with a new proto and new hope! The final result is a gorgeous flip-top box with grosgrain ribbon closures. It's chic, it's timeless, and it's completely unique to BEST & CO. I can't wait to have a stack of the boxes on my bedside table! |
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I am hopelessly incapable of throwing away beautiful shopping bags. I hoard them with the belief that I will reuse them - and then inevitably find it impossible to use that gorgeous La Dureé bag to drop my shoes off at the cobbler. Not surprisingly, when it came to designing our bags, I felt passionate about creating a shopping bag that would end up living with our customers far after its original purpose was completed. (The minute I see someone carrying their lunch in a BEST & CO. bag, I will likely pass out with joy!) Once again, our trove of vintage catalogues served as the perfect source of inspiration. Within the pages of a 1930's BEST & CO. catalogue, we found an adorable print of children on parade. The image was too ideal to pass up: children, of all ages, marching together. Parents everywhere could find their own little ones in the crowd! |
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With the designs for our boxes, bag, and new logo in place, we set out to determine the color direction. After numerous meetings (yes, Dad, you really did pay for college so that I could grow up to look at color chips) we settled on a brown and white scheme . . . but admittedly . . . none of us were in love. While the combination was rich and sophisticated, it just didn't feel sweet enough for a children's brand. I kept telling my team, I know we will have it right when a customer would never dream of actually putting wrapping paper on our boxes because they were already so perfect. Our color destiny was finally set after a fitful night of sleep. I was literally awake at 3am thinking about our packaging colors (sad, but true) when it occurred to me that my bedroom colors would be perfect - dove grey and ivory. So, voila! Now I fear that all our shops will start looking suspiciously like my bedroom . . . but that's for another blog. (By the way - you can check out more photos of my apartment in November's issue of Domino.) |
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