Turkey & Reuben
In 2021, Noa Shneorson and I started a business venture, Turkey & Reuben. We created custom hats and apparel, partnered with individuals and local organizations, and sold online, in stores, and at markets.
In just one year, we had:
+ Made over 650 hats
+ Donated over $700 to 5 different organizations
+ Partnered with 4 businesses/organizations
+ Sold in one store
T&R has since closed.
Brand
While locked down, Noa and I ordered lots of sandwiches- always a turkey and a reuben. This seemed like a playful, memorable way to represent the two of us. The name was always a conversation starter, and we discovered that many of our customers had a strong preference for one sandwich over the other. We quickly became a recognizable brand.
We thought about our brand as larger than our graphic identity. We had merch, we curated our booth presence to fit the T&R style (browns and tans, picnic, paper lunch bag, etc). We made a “Deli Tunes” playlist to share with followers, and play at our markets.
Process
Whether we were making custom pet portrait hats, or totes with neighborhoods on them, our process was always the same:
Design and Illustrate in Adobe Illustrator
Use a Cricut to cut out designs on iron on material
Apply designs to apparel
Sales
We sold primarily through our website, and at local markets. We also partnered with local businesses and organizations, where we sold to stores and sites wholesale.
Partnerships and Donations
Partnerships:
Run with Errol
Donations:
Website
Over 250 products purchased from our website
Over 3,200 unique visitors
Visitors from 37 countries
Over 850 followers
Used to grow our customer base through ads, hashtags, and engagement
Main method of communication/product release/market schedules
Campaigns
Running T&R gave us the opportunity to come up with creative campaigns. Sales, giveaways, and partnerships increased sales and customer interaction.
My favorite of our campaigns was one we called “Mystery Bundles.” These were two different collections of one hat, two stickers, and two postcards. Though you weren’t sure exactly what designs you’d get, you knew they would fall under the theme of either “California Dreamin’” or “Nineties Kid” (whichever you ordered). We created a “quiz” on instagram that would determine which bundle was “more you”. This customized approach, with an element of surprise, drew lots of interaction and excitement around this campaign.
