Garrett Wells & Associates

Recruited in 2019 by iAtelier Services Corp. to found and run its Casa Ispirata brand. In doing so, led creation of the brand, which included its naming, brand persona, design language and visual creative.

There is no question that Italy has an extraordinary history of art and design.  The roots of Italian design and style go back to 14th-Century Florence - the cradle of the Renaissance.  However, it was the postwar years of the 20th century where a combination of Italian style and Hollywood glamour truly propelled Italy onto the world’s stage (at least as far as popular culture is concerned), thus cementing its image for fashion and design leadership.

The 20th century proliferation of Italian-American alliances and partnerships - particularly the era between 1965 and 1995 – served as important points of inspiration in the founding of Casa Ispirata.  It is in this light that we shaped the design language of Casa Ispirata to reflect a combination of the brash confidence, energy and scale of American design and the restrained elegance and flair of Italian design. 

The confluence of these two elements served us well in forging a unique and authentic design language that endows Casa Ispirata with a slightly devil-may-care brand of aspirational yet livable sophistication.  

Scope of Work

• Branding: Conducted an in-depth study of the team’s organizational history to build a brand which leveraged core competencies to create differential value and a unique lens through which to design, manufacture and market a product replete with Italian design, American scale and an aura of effortless sophistication.

• Naming & Design Language: Utilizing brand persona research, created the Casa Ispirata brand and design language.

• Visual Identity: Created a unique and authentic set of visual brand elements for Casa Ispirata.

• Visual Creative: Led all concepting, design and execution of the brand’s visual creative.

Scope of Work

• Branding: Conducted an in-depth study of the life and career of Debbie and Donny Osmond, which combined a kaleidoscopic view of how the meteoric path of Donny’s career, the longevity and diversity of Donny’s career, Donny’s life on the world’s stage and their steadfast commitment to making family a priority have conspired to shape both their lifestyle and design sensibility. 

• Naming & Design Language: Utilizing the brand persona research, created the Utalifornia Design brand, which was framed by Debbie and Donny’s life experiences, their life in Utah and California and the orbiting influences of Maui, Las Vegas, London and Chicago, where they have lived and spent cherished time with family and friends.

• Visual Identity: Created a unique and authentic set of visual brand elements for both Utalifornia Home and its parent brand, Utalifornia Design, which will allow the Osmonds to build both a business that is centered around home interiors, as well as enter into other design oriented marketplaces. 

• Brand Book: Created a sixteen-page brand book, which tells the story of Utalifornia Home and its aesthetic. This book is being used as a marketing tool with prospective business partners and as the initial style guide in architecting the launch of the Utalifornia Home brand.

Scope of Work

• Branding: Conducted exhaustive research of the company’s history in order to develop a new brand persona and forge an authentic identity that would celebrate Stanley’s heritage and strike an emotional chord with its target audience. Identified key differentiators and constructed a two-tier positioning strategy designed to elevate and establish Stanley Furniture as the gateway to the upper-end and the benchmark resource for exceptional design and superior quality in ready-made home furnishings. This represented a cornerstone of the brand’s identity, which was designed to build walls of differentiation and increase the perceived monetary value of the company’s products.

• Design Language: Utilized the new brand persona to create a design language, which provided Stanley Furniture with a proprietary aesthetic that reflected architectural and cultural cues from its history in combination with its forward-looking design philosophy. This design language was created to serve as the primary filter through which all branding, marketing, creative and design decisions would pass.

• Marketing: Led the conceptualization, design and implementation of all brand touch points including collateral, website, presentation materials and all aspects of the Stanley Furniture shopping experience to ensure that each supported the business platform, elevated the company’s image in the marketplace, drove customer affinity and increased sales.

• Brand & Showroom Launches: Designed, planned, managed and executed the January 2013 launch of the company’s rebrand and its concurrent brand launch events at the January 2013 Las Vegas Market and the April 2013 High Point International Home Furnishings Market. Both events garnered significant media coverage and eclipsed all goals for attendance. More than 35% of the buying groups visiting Stanley Furniture during 2013’s four Markets represented new potential customers. Through direct outreach, database marketing, social media, events and design-driven product introductions, showroom attendance among members of the architecture  and design community was increased significantly.  In 2013, 40% of the interior design firms that visited Stanley Furniture during its markets in Las Vegas and High Point were new to the brand. Introduction of more than eight hundred design firms to the Stanley Furniture brand in a ten month period was a definitive step towards substantial growth in this channel. Similarly, 30% of the retailers that visited Stanley Furniture showrooms in 2013 were new to the brand, all with zero drop-off in existing customer attendance.

• Flagship Showroom Concept: Designed a new showroom architecture concept, which included an interior layout that created a sense of occasion, delivered an exceptional shopping experience and played a key role in establishing the brand’s place as the gateway to the upper-end. Integral to this plan was the incorporation of architectural references from the homeplace of Stanley Furniture founder, Thomas Stanley, and a design, which utilized a large promenade to divide each show space in order to serve as a wayfinding tool and palate cleanser between distinctly unique environments.

• East Coast & West Coast Showrooms: Managed each facet of the design, construction and installation of the company’s new showrooms in High Point, North Carolina and Las Vegas, Nevada. The High Point showroom represented the company’s first showroom relocation in more than forty years and the first ever relocation of its corporate headquarters from its Stanleytown, Virginia home to High Point.

• Branded Environments: Designed and implemented a new gallery concept, which allowed Stanley Furniture to create branded in-store environments reflective of the company’s corporate showrooms and the shopping experience they deliver.

Scope of Work

• Blueprinting: Following a three-month blueprinting process, presented a comprehensive strategic plan, which would outline a ten-year path for Gloster America.

• Branding: Conducted an in-depth study of the brand’s history, its competencies and its strategic differentiators in order to craft a brand persona that was reflective of the brand’s heritage and its position of design leadership. 

• Design Language: In conjunction with the development of a new brand persona, developed a unique design language, which allowed Gloster America to employ its combined roots in British Traditional and Danish design in cementing a proprietary aesthetic. 

• Marketing: Created an expansive marketing plan, which would elevate the perceived value of Gloster America products, distinguish them from competitors, drive differentiation in all channels of distribution and utilize a cost-effective localized marketing asset distribution instrument in doing so.

• Brand & Showroom Launches: Led the September 2014 launch of the new Gloster America brand persona, design language, marketing plan and product introductions at the International Casual Furniture & Accessories Market in Chicago. The company won its first best-of-show award for Merchandising Excellence while the new positioning and sales strategy served to open doors with important retailers, driving a 5% increase in year-over-year early-buy orders.

• Product Development: Successfully modified and updated the 2015 season product introductions; Oyster Reef, Pepper Marsh and Wedge. Authored the complete design thesis, product mix and product introduction strategy for the 2016 season.

Scope Of Work

• Branding: Conducted an in-depth study of the brand’s business model and its strategic differentiators in order to form a brand persona, and create a name, that is reflective of its concept of serving exceptional beverages in a highly casual environment

• Design Language: Developed a unique design language, which will allow franchised locations reflect the brand’s concept and aesthetic in each touchpoint.

Scope Of Work

• Blueprinting: Identified key differentiators upon which to build a business platform that would protect and increase the value of the enterprise. Created a business plan that would serve to stabilize the Design Center in an era of tumult, redefine the business model for design centers and position the enterprise for long-term vitality, growth and value capture.

• Branding: Evaluated each facet of the Design Center in the context of its role as the halo brand to World Market Center Las Vegas and Las Vegas Market, as well as its role in the regional marketplace and interior design trade at large. Created an entirely new brand for the Design Center: one that would resonate with its target audience, was aspirational in nature and that served to establish the Design Center as a separate and distinct division of World Market Center Las Vegas.

• Marketing: Led development, implementation and management of Design Center marketing, branding, events and awareness initiatives and their associated budgets. Carefully crafted each form of Design Center communication to the highest of standards in order to properly position the Design Center while also creating a stage to advance the brands of its customers, their position in the marketplace and, ultimately, their sales.

• Leasing: Developed and executed a disciplined four-pillar leasing strategy that created value for Design Center tenants by delivering multiple channels of distribution: the biannual Las Vegas Market, year-round sales to the residential interior design community, year-round sales to the contract and hospitality interior design community and the opportunity to operate a consumer-facing business. This strategy drove occupancy to new highs while allowing for the creation of a comprehensive resource for visitors. In 2011, momentum increased faster than anticipated and, as a result, leasing goals were exceeded by 106%. Tenant attrition declined more than three-fold while the tenant base was enhanced considerably. The net result was a much more valuable enterprise for IMC ownership and a foundation that continues to strengthen and attract new resources.

Led Valtekz, a separate division of Valley Forge Fabrics specializing in ultra-premium synthetic leathers, through its entire start-up. Architected a multifaceted business strategy that was built around servicing the interior design, home furnishings, yacht and custom automotive industries. By 2007, its customers included thirty-one of America’s finest interior design showrooms, Hatteras Yachts, Azimut-Benetti SpA, Giorgio Armani SpA, Baker Furniture, Century Furniture and Hickory Chair.  

Scope Of Work

• Blueprinting: Identified core competencies of manufacturing platforms and developed a business and product design strategy that would allow Valtekz composite fabrics to be leveraged beyond traditional upholstery and into casegoods, wallcoverings and the yacht and custom automotive industries.

• Branding: Created a corporate brand identity that established Valtekz as an ultra-premium, aspirational brand whose products appeal to the same affluent end user via multiple channels of distribution. Established Valtekz as an ultra-premium, aspirational brand that would turn a formerly pedestrian vinyl product into a coveted component for some of the most respected names in the home furnishings and yacht industries.

• Marketing: Led design, development and deployment of consistent company-wide marketing vision including collateral, sample books and advertising.  Valtekz was featured in The Wall Street Journal in 2005, House Beautiful in 2006 and 2007 and Traditional Home twice in 2007.

• Product Design: Led design, development, production and launch of more than 349 items across nine collections in three years. In doing so, secured a licensing agreement and developed collections in collaboration with acclaimed interior designer, Celerie Kemble. Products from Celerie’s collections were chosen as the 2007 winner of Interior Design Magazine’s Best of Year award for wallcovering and as a finalist in their Best of Year award for residential upholstery fabric.

• Distribution & Sales: Secured distribution agreements with thirty-one of America’s finest interior design showrooms. Established and sustained relationships with elite customers in the home furnishings and yacht industries including: Baker, Century Furniture, Giorgio Armani SpA, Hickory Chair, Stanley Furniture, Azimut-Benetti SpA, Bertram, Hatteras Yachts, Lazzara Yachts and Viking Yachts.