Small. Grand. Things.

My resolution for December is (can you have a resolution for just one month) to have an update once a week… as long as I remember…

Anyway, back to our topic of discussion for today. Well, not really a discussion because I’m just going to ramble and y’all can participate or not. I digress again. Is my ADD showing? I feel like it’s showing…

Every business has a backstory, a concept, or a vision. This is what creates a brand. And, I want to share with all of you is how we got our brand because I think it is pretty cool. Not that I would be biased or anything.

When it came time to name our business, it only took Mom and I a few tries before we came up with Small Grand Things. We knew we were building a venue on the smaller side to try to target groups who don’t want as large of a wedding and to accommodate those who want intimate gatherings such as showers, parties or holiday dinners. We wanted to be able to emphasize no matter the size of your event, we can help you make it as perfect as possible, make it feel grand for you on your special day. We also understand the celebration in the little things as well. Not every event is a wedding, but everything should be celebrated and we are here to help with that. Small. Grand. Things.

Kinda cute huh?

Great, we have a name. Now what? Well, in order to build a brand you have to have an image you are portraying. An emotion you are trying to have someone feel. And everything about a brand goes into this from default fonts to colors, to product names, to decor… you get the idea. So, that is exactly what came next.

We knew we wanted the building to have a unique and grand look. Something that would set us apart from others while still serving our clients needs and the culture of our hometown. We decided having everything light would give the feeling of grandeur. To make things as light and bright as possible, we have windows on windows to capture the natural light as well as offering views of the oak forest we are set in.

An inspiration photo to assist our concept art page

Interior design continued with walls, flooring, detail work to elaborate the feeling we were going for. So, whitewashed wood walls, with some exposed white brick accents sitting on a dark stained concrete floor. This will really brighten up our pavilion and make it stand out but also keep with the Midwest, country aesthetic one needs in Southeast Iowa. All of our accents and details are wrought iron from the light fixtures to the railings in our loft. Oh, yes. In case you haven’t seen our floor plans yet, we have a half loft.

I’m not sure what this design is called with the wood, glass, concrete, and metal all mixed together, but we’ve been going with wooded industrial chic. But feel free to pitch ideas if you think of something better.

Perfect. Building design is done. Next. Branding colors and fonts. I could not express how many hours I spent researching colors and fonts. Which ones matched our personality, which ones worked best with what we were trying to achieve, which ones would register with our audience the best. Weeks of research and testing and playing around with fonts and colors before we ended up with our signature fonts and colors. You can find these on our website, on our printed materials and our logo.

Ahh yes… a logo. You may, or may not, have noticed the two elephants in our Small Grand Things logo. Let me break this down since elephants are something not commonly found in the cornfields of Iowa.

For as long as I can remember, I have loved elephants. I used to follow Mom around and hold onto her shirt tail or belt loop and say I was a baby elephant holding on to my mommy elephants tail so I wouldn’t get lost. Granted, I was 16 at the time and probably shouldn’t have been able to get lost, but that is beside the fact. As I have gotten older and have learned more about elephants and their family cultures more, I have fallen even more in love with them, and have since dragged my mom down with me.

Call them our spirit animals.

The elephant is seen as a symbol of power, beauty, dignity, and luck in many cultures. Small Grand Things hopes to embody beauty and dignity in our simplicity similarly to how these exquisite animals do. Elephants are also strong family units and powerful bonds. Without family, Small Grand Things would not be possible and your event should be celebrated with friends and family you share and care about.

Elephants are the totem of our business because of all they symbolize. Even though they are of a grand size, elephants are still full of grace and elegance which is the underlying concept of the Small Grand Things.  These are all characteristics Small Grand Things hopes to be able incorporate into each event.

When it came time to design our logo, we knew it had to incorporate an elephant. This took a little time to figure out. It is difficult to include a subtle elephant into a design and not have it be the main focus. We finally settled on the two elephants making a heart set behind our name. There but not in your face.

Woohoo. A name, a brand, a logo. What else could there be? A website. Designing a website to tie it all together and have a place for people to learn more about your company. Several weeks of time and energy went into the website. There had to be some creative liberties taken since there is nothing of the pavilion to feature yet. But, as we build and things come together, the website will evolve to incorporate the new photos and information.

A website is not enough in today’s world though. We also had to create a social media platform. Where would be seen the most, and what would be the most helpful to promote Small Grand Things. A Facebook page was first on the list. Once that was created, we could build the other businesses pages off of it. Next came the Instagram and the Pinterest page.

All of these things came together to be Small Grand Things as you see and know it today. There is so much going into building a business beyond the plans and physical building. But together with the branding and logo, you can create something beautiful and recognizable for your audience, and that is what we believe we have done with Small Grand Things.

Until next time!