We may be biased, but all of us here at GWS are in full agreement that our readers are some of the coolest people on the internet. We’re constantly inspired by the creative artists, brides, and makers who we get to work with on a daily basis! In fact — more often than not, the brides we feature run their own businesses or have a heavy creative hand in planning their wedding day. You’re hand-letterers, photographers, florists, and creators of so many beautiful things! Today, we’re excited to chat with Rye Workshop, a team by way of Brooklyn with a bit of expertise in almost every aspect of weddings + events to find out why they turned to the ultimate friend-to-small-businesses: Squarespace!
So, if you’re high off planning a wedding, obsessed with building unique floral installations, got that hair + makeup routine on lockdown, and wondering how you can offer your services to others, listen up! Squarespace makes building your small business’ website simple, visual, and super easy to navigate for all those potential clients. Rye Workshop‘s site is, in a word, a-maz-ing, and we were thrilled to chat with the team about their vision for the creative agency, helpful tips for other makers, and the one tool that made them stand out above the rest!
GWS: Tell us about your business.
Rye Workshop: Rye Workshop is a creative agency that specializes in events and experiential marketing. As designers, we focus on interactive spaces and our favorite designs are full of installations that engage the guests – hanging floral designs, custom 3D art, unique seating and interesting materials. Our team is a collective of incredible freelance artists ranging from illustrators to builders to producers and florists.
GWS: How do you stand out in a crowded market space?
Rye Workshop: We do our best to retain our voice in a marketplace full of incredible creatives. In a world where creativity is so valued, your voice is the thing that makes you wholly unique. For us, we want to be playful and polished, but also a little undone. We want the events we put on to be perfectly executed, but not so over-produced that they feel inauthentic or stuffy. By having a consistent voice that showcases that sensibility across our social media, website and interactions – then we’re able to stay true to our vision and principles.
GWS: When did you launch your Squarespace site?
Rye Workshop: We started with Squarespace when we re-launched our brand in 2015.
GWS: What have you found to have the most impact when designing your site?
Rye Workshop: Photos! Big and beautiful photos! As a visual agency, our product has to be front and center.
GWS: Which template did you use?
Rye Workshop: We currently use the FORTE template, but I love going down the rabbit hole of testing other templates. Being able to test a template without publishing is one of my favorite Squarespace features! I have my eye on THORNE, JASPER and ARTESIA.
GWS: How has this site changed or impacted your business?
Rye Workshop: Squarespace has definitely streamlined our inquiry process and made updating our portfolio so simple. It’s important to us that we are able to manage not only incoming business but also showcase the events when they’re finished. It’s so helpful to be able to add to and edit our portfolio on the fly, ensuring it best represents where we’re at as a business and the kind of clients we want to attract.
GWS: What are your plans + goals for before the year end?
Rye Workshop: We’re so excited to really focus our portfolio this year by bringing our brand events into the forefront. And we’ve been ruminating and dreaming of starting an online lifestyle shop as an extension of our brand to showcase the work of the artists we work with and feature some of the awesome vintage pieces we find while sourcing for clients.
GWS: What advice would you give someone launching their business? How about for advice for those launching a new or revamped website?
Rye Workshop: Don’t overthink it! If you’re launching a business, sometimes you just have to dive in and have the faith that things will work out. Have faith in yourself and your abilities and stay true to the voice that makes you unique. You can drive yourself mad trying to put the perfect copy and the perfect image to represent your brand on your website. If you’re revamping a website, resist the urge to put every single photo and every single offering all up on the site – it can be too much information for your clients to process. Instead, highlight your favorites and let the work speak for itself.
Ready to start or relaunch your small business website? Try Squarespace free for 14 days. When you’re ready to subscribe, be sure to use code “GWS17” for 10% off your first purchase!
This post is sponsored by Squarespace. Thanks for supporting our sponsors!
Lovely interview! Inspired by this small talk!