New brand identity from one in the know

A holiday-cottages company which wanted a new brand identity ended up working with someone who had grown up in one of the properties.
Heather Raftery, Sam Smith and Clare McCabe.Heather Raftery, Sam Smith and Clare McCabe.
Heather Raftery, Sam Smith and Clare McCabe.

Due to growth and expansion plans, Mains Cottages, an award-winning family-run business in Beadnell, needed to update its brand identity.

As a member of North East England Chamber of Commerce, business owner Sam Smith wanted to keep it local and after looking at a few options from her Chamber relationship manager, Clare McCabe, decided to appoint fellow member Beach Design, based in Morpeth.

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Sam said: “As the cottages are located within walking distance of the beautiful golden sands of Beadnell Bay, we wanted to give the business a brighter and more beachy feel to showcase the properties and their location. As a family business, we are also passionate about promoting the North East and supporting companies in the area.”

From the initial contact with Beach Design, Sam knew that it was the right company to work with.

Not only was it keen to support the development of the branding, it turned out that Heather Raftery, joint owner of Beach Design, had previously lived at one of the places, Shepherd’s Cottage, when she was younger.

The cottages are located between Bamburgh Castle to the north and Dunstanburgh Castle to the south, so the Beach Design team produced designs incorporating these two landmarks to create the Mains Cottages identity and social-media icons.

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Heather said: “What a wonderful surprise to receive a call from Sam, at the time a stranger, requesting us to create a brand identity for not only what was my childhood home, but also for what I think is one of the most amazingly located properties in Northumberland.”