1canoe2

Artist + Product Designer

About

1canoe2 is a wholesale and e-commerce paper goods and lifestyle brand creating products such as planners, calendars, greeting cards, puzzles, notebooks, and a variety of stationery and home goods. Along with the e-commerce site, 1canoe2 products sell in boutiques across the world and in larger retail stores like Target, Books-a-Million, Barnes and Noble, and Anthropologie.

I started in October 2018 and as part of a small team I worked on a variety of projects, including marketing, social media, packaging,  product design,  website management, and even teaching several art skills workshops. Inked Brands bought 1canoe2 in December 2021 and I continued my role with the brand as we restructured. I shifted to Artist + Product Designer by April 2022, creating hand-painted illustrations for use on original products. I  worked with a team remotely to create product collections from concept to  completion.

Additionally, I was the project manager for the monthly stationery subscription box The Hi Five. I planned a collection of greeting cards for the kit, including existing and original designs. I also created the coordinating collateral, such as the mailing envelope, enclosure card, and the occasional freebie item.

Skills: Painting and illustration, product design, packaging design, pattern design, marketing, copywriting, lettering, layout design, social media management, and content creation. Creative collaboration, communication, independent time management, detail oriented design, and organization.

{ October 2018 - May 2025 }

Illustration + Product Design

ILLUSTRATION - As an illustrator with 1canoe2, I used gouache to hand paint illustrations for use on original products. With the team, I helped create concepts for collections and products. I would then present more robust ideas and sketches, paint the designs, digitally edit and design products (including pattern creation), and prepare work for domestic and overseas manufacturers. There was a lot of collaboration with other designers who created additional products.

All of my illustration work went through various processes for brand approval. It was important to work within brand standards to create a strong visual identity. This meant advocating for brand image while being flexible and responsive to feedback about illustration and product design with brand success in mind.

PRODUCT + PACKAGING DESIGN - I worked closely with the team to create 1canoe2 products such as calendars, planners, journals, puzzles, and tea towels to name a few. Each product form had it’s own set of needs and required flexibility and problem solving for the best customer experience. Our longer form paper goods like planners and journals involved thorough layout design. Products like puzzles and greeting card sets focused on packaging design with special consideration for a boutique retail setting.

See more examples of my packaging design here.

GREETING CARDS - Greeting cards were the foundation of 1canoe2’s product line. I created many card designs as we  consistently offered new options to resonate with the audience. In addition to design and illustration, I wrote copy for greeting cards for all occasions. This ranged from silly birthday puns to sincere condolences. While there is a lot of opportunity for collaboration, I often brainstormed greeting cards independently and presented ideas to the team.

HAND LETTERING - I was the primary hand letterer for product design and marketing assets. We primarily used a brush script style, using an iPad app and customized brushes.

Marketing + Social Media

When I was on the marketing team I was responsible for email marketing, website management,  marketing collateral, and customer surveys. With our small team, I helped with email strategy for both retail and wholesale customer audiences on multiple platforms. I was also responsible for copywriting and design while working with our photographer to create relevant content for each campaign. This included creating graphics and gifs that could then be used on social media as well.

1canoe2 had several evergreen marketing collateral pieces that were updated regularly. I created seasonal shipping stickers, shipping postcards, free monthly downloads, and others as needed. There were also wholesale marketing collateral like sell sheets.

Historically, I helped with copywriting and strategy for the brand’s Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest,  in addition to creating graphics and gifs for social content. You can see some examples of those gifs here. I was also the social media manager for our small brick and mortar shop. Later, my primary role for social media became content creation for art process and lifestyle images and video.