Small Business Branding: Heartwood Heirlooms

Designing The Brand

Designing the brand, website, and identity for Heartwood Heirlooms was never just a creative project for me. As a true Clevelander, you grow up understanding that this city is built on stories: not just in its landmarks, but in its neighborhoods, backyards, and family histories. Heartwood Heirlooms lives in that space where legacy, craft, love, and place all meet.

At the heart of the brand is Freddy Hill, a maker and artist whose work is rooted in meaning as much as material. Freddy doesn’t just create jewelry from historic Moses Cleaveland trees — he transforms personal history into something tangible. That wood might come from a Cleveland tree that once shaded generations, an old apple tree you and your father picked fruit from, or even reclaimed pieces tied to a family’s past. Every ring begins with a story, and Freddy’s hands simply help it continue.

Each piece carries the quiet weight of time. Wood that once lived, grew, and held memories is reshaped into jewelry meant to mark life’s most sacred moments. There’s something profoundly poetic in that transformation history becoming heirloom, memory becoming promise, love taking physical form.

From the very beginning, the goal of this brand was to honor Freddy’s process and the soul behind his work. Nothing about Heartwood Heirlooms should ever feel mass-produced or hollow. The design needed to feel rooted, intentional, and reverent mirroring the care Freddy brings to every piece he creates.

The logo became the foundation of that storytelling. I wanted to incorporate the image of a tree and its trunk, not as decoration, but as a symbol of origin and endurance. The roots were the defining detail: subtly intertwining to form the shape of a ring. That choice was intentional. The ring represents not only the jewelry itself, but the sacredness of commitment permanence, connection, and the quiet power of choosing someone. Roots and rings speak the same language: grounding, longevity, and love that holds fast.

That simplicity mirrors the Heartwood Heirlooms process itself: honest materials, thoughtful restraint, and nothing unnecessary.

One of my favorite elements of the brand is the small icon logo. Designed for use as a favicon, app icon, or stamp, it features a carved heart with “H + H” inside as if etched into a tree by two lovers. It’s subtle, intimate, and easy to miss if you’re not looking closely. That detail captures the emotional core of Heartwood Heirlooms: love that’s personal, handmade, and meant to last. Not flashy. Just honest.

This project reaffirmed why I love working with small businesses and makers. When branding is done right, it doesn’t just sell a product it preserves a story, honors a process, and creates connection. Heartwood Heirlooms is a complete branding experience because it’s built on truth: the truth of craftsmanship, of Cleveland’s roots, and of love passed down through generations.

To design for Heartwood Heirlooms was to design with respect for Freddy Hill’s artistry, for the materials that carry memory, and for the people who will wear these pieces and carry those stories forward. This is what meaningful branding looks like: when design doesn’t just represent a business, but protects its soul.