new brand identity, who dis?
Yowza, elrow is turning one year old.
Let's get nostalgic for a minute, and then we can talk about new logos, new stickers, new packaging, new branding, new swag ("elrow" is a mix of my two kids names, and having that on my shirt beats the hell out of one of those Facebook dad shirts, that's for damn sure). elrow industries (lowercase on purpose) started with borrowing time from my son's 3D printer, a few viral instagram posts, and the inability to not turn things into a business. Our first order was on August 21st of last year, and it's honestly been pretty wild ever since. Thousands of cases out in the wild across 35 countries, tons of learning experiences, and learning how to scale a small manufacturing business that's run largely out of my house into something more. I've always wanted to start my own brand, and so far, I've done what I do best (product design, photography, writing) for other companies. Sure, that's all been awesome and I'm fortunate to be able to work with the best in the biz when it comes to pens and watch publications, but it just hits harder when it's yours.
early shipping batch on the left, and what it looks like these days on the right
I truly love the ups, downs, the "oh shit how do I do that"s, and the drive to be better. When it's your reputation on the line, you make sure that everything is just right and that's what we've been learning to do over this past year. We started shipping product last August in bubble mailers and HOLY HELL was that a bad idea. The USPS liked cracking these things like pistachios. Not to mention, we started making product out of PLA+, which was melting in the hot August sun in the back of USPS trucks across the nation. Since the move to a sturdier box, the issue of breaking product in transit was eliminated. Moving from PLA to PETG also eliminated any warping and deforming. Two big wins.
We've scaled from one printer to four, and that makes things MUCH easier. The coolest part of 3D printing is the scalability. No insane machines to set up, simply head over to Best Buy (yes, they're still in business) and pick up another printer. 20 minutes of setup, and it's off to the races. There have been two really busy days that I had to run out and snag another printer just so I know we'd be on time with orders going out. My "home office" is now much more organized, with everything on a giant metal rack. Filament stock, sorting bins, hardware, you name it -- they've all got their dedicated place.
I also have to shout out my lovely wife. She has since gotten more involved in the business, and let me tell you - two people shipping is way better than one. It allows us to share responsibilities and get shit done faster so we can actually enjoy our family time and not be stuck in the back room with 200 boxes. What was a one man operation is now mostly two, and as of this month, we hired on some part time help for shipping prep and assembly. It's cool that this has grown enough to bring in some outside help.
Elrow wouldn't be where it is without the help of friends, press, and word of mouth. Special shout outs to Worn and Wound for allowing me to talk about my brand without totally breaking journalistic integrity. The W&W can really gas you up and they're always supportive of their friends and I really appreciate it. The Grey Nato had me on last year, and it was a thrill to be on one of my most-listened podcasts. James Stacey was an early adopter of the MPU and his instagram goes HARD so that brought a lot of new eyes too. Another huge win for the brand is being featured in the Uncrate Shop. Boy, am I glad they introduced me to Shopify Collective. Also, we were featured in the print version of Financial Times' HTSI magazine, which was wild. Thank you Rhodri for being patient because I missed our meeting and proceeded to take it from my car in the supermarket parking lot. Last but not least, I'd like to shout out YOU. If you've made it this far, that means you have at least some interest in the brand and that means the world.
One of the things I've always wanted to do was have my own logo made. I never really needed one until now. Everything was just kinda winged at the moment, and once it became clear that I think this has some momentum, I hit up the guys from Berger & Föhr to get a brand identity package. Lucian followed me on Instagram a while back and has been following the project from the very beginning. Looking past casual conversation and digging deeper into their design work, it seemed like a great fit. Also, a few rounds of Arc Raiders didn't hurt to build the relationship. The dudes at B&F absolutely crushed it with the brand identity. Inspired by layer lines, building things from the bottom up, and smooth tool paths, they've created the lowercase "e" logo, and paired it with "Replica Mono" typeface. If you look close, the edges are all chamfered, that gives this mono-spaced type a bit of an industrial edge. We wanted the logo to look techy, rugged like your EDC, with just a hint of retrofuturism to bring in a sense of nostalgia for the days of single-purpose tech. I've been living with it behind the scenes for a month now, and it just feels right.
We have new boxes, new stickers, and new ad creative on the way. The website has been updated to feature the new logo, and it's been plastered on packaging slips, emails, etc. I've never done a rollout like this before, and to keep things on brand, I'm just going to wing it.
So yeah, that's pretty much the long and short of it. Thank you all for reading, thank you all for answering the "what is that thing" when Apple Paying for your coffee with your MPU, and thank you for supporting our small brand. I'm here if you need me. See you in the real world.
