If you are new to Uniquely Women, I started a new blog series column last month – The Creative Local. This series showcases boss ladies, whether it be bloggers, entrepreneurs, or women making a difference in their neck of the woods. Each will showcase their current city, taking us around to their favorite places along with a little bit of their current business endeavors. Tag #thecreativelocal on Instagram & Twitter to showcase the creative local in YOU.
Up this month: Kelly & Andra of With Grace & Gold. They own a Minneapolis-based branding boutique dedicated to creating purposeful and authentic branding for small businesses. I am SO excited to have them here today sharing their story about their business. Please give it up for Kelly & Andra and get ready for a good dose of inspiration!
Table of Contents
Their Favorite Minneapolis Spots:
Primrose Park
We love Primrose Park! First off, it’s so cute! The boutique is decorated to perfection, complete with inspirational and girly prints, as well as beautiful seating. The owners, Jennifer, is so passionate about what she does, which is yet another reason we love shopping there. {Found HERE}
Wilde Roast Cafe
While we might always be partial to Caribou (since we met there!), we love this cafe! Inside, you can sit in quiet corners, and get a ton of work done. However, our favorite part is the outdoor porch area! Complete with cobble stone roads, this is such a cute place to enjoy a coffee – or chai! {Found HERE}
The Golden Rule
This boutique is filled with prints, jewelry, and home decor! We love it, because the owner has commissioned several local artists to showcase their work, so there is such a variety of eclectic and one-of-a-kind pieces. We love the aesthetic inside! Honestly, we have gone purely to gather inspiration at times! {Found HERE}
How long have you lived in Minneapolis?
We have lived in Minneapolis for about 1 year, and have loved every bit of it!
Overall, why do you both love Minneapolis?
We love Minneapolis, because it has the perfect balance between feeling like a big city, while having small town vibes! It’s super walkable and friendly, which makes us feel like we aren’t lost in the crowd. But, there is a ton to do on any night of the week, which we love!
Next Up: An Interview with Kelly & Andra
(Read Below)
In a few sentences describe yourselves:
Andra: Hello! My name is Andra, and I am one half of the With Grace and Gold team! My background is in Graphic Design, so I work mostly with our Clients to create and design a Brand that they love and are proud of. When I’m not designing with With Grace and Gold, I’m watching the Bachelor/ette with Kelly, making up new dance moves, and exploring Minneapolis with my fellow-dreamer (and dream boat) and husband, Brent!
Kelly: Hello! I’m Kelly! I am the Co-Founder of With Grace and Gold! My expertise is in Business and Web Design, so I love working with our Clients to bring them the best experience possible, while creating a Website they love. When not working, I enjoy fresh cut flowers, singing songs to my husband, and eating fresh foods from the Farmers Market. I also make a mean bowl of guacamole – fun fact!
How did the two of you meet?
This is such a fun story to tell! At the time, we were both living in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, which is not too far from Minneapolis! Kelly had just moved to the area with her husband, and hadn’t met anyone to call ‘friend’ yet. While at Caribou Coffee, she spotted Andra working on her business and blog! Since Kelly had recently started blogging, she knew this was her opportunity to say ‘hello’ and make a friend! When Andra got up to get a coffee refresh, Kelly stared, and in a (somewhat) creepy way, blurted, ‘This might be creepy – but I saw that you have a blog. And I have a blog. And I just moved here. And I just wondered if maybe you would want to be my friend? The rest is history!
How did your freelance design/branding career & blog start? Where did that passion come from?
When we first met, Andra had already owned her other Business (designing Wedding Stationery!) for over 2 years, and Kelly had been blogging/doing web design for about 1 year. After forming our friendship and realizing we had a mutual passion for good design and strong brands, we knew our strengths and talents would make a great team!
What does your design process look like? What’s your favorite part about the process?
When working with Clients, our Design Process always starts with our Client Questionnaire! This gives us the opportunity to learn as much as we can about our Clients, before designing. This step is crucial, because we are strong believers that a Brand should be a true reflection of our Clients and their hearts! Once we learn more, we dive deep into inspiration, and gather visuals that inspire our Clients. Kelly creates a Branding Moodboard, that lets our Clients know that we are on the same page, and ready to design a logo that is perfect for their business!
Next, we start sketching! Lots of ideas don’t make the final cut, but the ones that do, we send to our Clients. We send 8-10 Logo Mockups, so that they have the opportunity to let us know what they like, and what they don’t like! We offer a 2-round revision process, so that our Clients know they are getting a Logo that represents their business the best! Of course, if we are working with our Clients on Web-Design as well, the Design Process is pretty similar!
Honestly, our favorite part is seeing the transformation! It brings us such joy, to see the passion and excitement in the women we work with! When they launch their new Brand and Website with pride, we feel the same amount of excitement with them!
What are some goals you have set for yourselves for this year?
We always have a ton of goals for our Business, because we love setting them! Our Top 3 include:
- Celebrating our 1st Birthday with our friends, family, and past Clients! We love sharing our Business Journey with our Community, so there is no better way than to Celebrate with them!
- Hiring an Intern! We are always looking for more ways to create an even more personalized and boutique experience for our Clients. We are anxious to hire an Intern (soon!) that will provide the extra set of hands that we need for our ever-growing Business!
- Speaking at a Conference! Last year, we had the opportunity to speak at Go Blog Social, and it reminded us that we love to share, and give back to our Community! Anytime that we can help other Businesses grow and learn, we get really excited! We are looking forward to speaking more in the future!
Top Bucket List Locations?
We love to travel! A few places that we have talked about traveling to together include:
- Disney World! We are both huge fans of Disney, and have been several times on our own and with our families, but, we think going together (and with our husbands!) would be magical and amazing!
- Cruising! Our husbands talk a lot about this (they are BFFs too – thanks to us!), and we are getting serious about planning a tropical cruise in the near future!
- Greece! We would love to travel Internationally together, and Greece just seems so picturesque!
Currently – Top Must Read Blogs?
- A Piece of Toast: We love this blog, because it’s written by two sisters, and we feel like sisters! The blog is filled with tons of inspiration, beautiful images, and cute style!
- A Beautiful Mess: This might be everyone’s top read, but we love it too! Again, we love following along with these sisters, and all of their DIY/Photography tips!
- Sarah Sweeney: She is just too cute! Even though we don’t plan on being Mothers anytime soon, she makes us want to be! Her styled posts are adorable, and we can’t get enough of them!
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Don’t forget to share #thecreativelocal on Instagram and Twitter with photos of you or other small business owners, entrepreneurs, or other hustlers out there making a difference in their neck of the woods!
Visit Kelly & Andra: With Grace and Gold
You can also find them here: