Saltwater Leather

Minimalist black and white logo featuring a circular design with intertwined lines resembling a stylized infinity symbol.

Web Design and Development

A full Shopify build for a family-run leather goods studio in Costa Mesa, spanning brand foundation work, audience profiling, SEO strategy, product photography, and web copy, all delivered in four weeks. What started as a social media conversation grew into a complete digital presence built from the ground up, the kind of end-to-end project that shapes how I approach every website build today.

Creative Web Strategy

Brand Voice

Audience Profiling

SEO Strategy

Product Photography

Copywriting

Shopify Build

QA Testing

Creative Web Strategy ❋ Brand Voice ❋ Audience Profiling ❋ SEO Strategy ❋ Product Photography ❋ Copywriting ❋ Shopify Build ❋ QA Testing ❋

The Brand

Saltwater Leather is a family-run leather goods studio in Costa Mesa, California, built on nearly two decades of handcraft and a deep commitment to making things that last. Every piece that leaves their studio is made by hand, with intention, and built to become something worth keeping for a lifetime.


The Brief

Saltwater Leather came to me looking for support with social media, but it quickly became clear that before we could send anyone anywhere, there needed to be somewhere worth sending them. What started as a single conversation grew into a full Shopify build, rooted in the belief that the website and social media needed to feel like the same brand, speak to the same audience, and tell the same story.


The Approach

Before anything was designed or written, I developed audience profiles, brand voice guidelines, and a brand mission. Not as a formality, but because a website and a social presence that feel disconnected are working against each other. This gave everything that followed a shared foundation to build from.

A detailed infographic with sections about brand voice, positioning, and what to avoid in branding communication, displayed on a white background with black and colored text and borders.
Comparison chart of audience personas for primary target groups, detailing women 28-45, gift buyers, and men 30-35, with descriptions of their characteristics, motivations, and shopping behaviors.

From there I put together an initial direction in Figma, early thoughts on how the site could move and where we were headed, and walked through it with the client before a single page was built. It was a starting point, not a finished plan, but it gave us the alignment we needed to move forward with confidence.

The SEO strategy was built around how real people actually search for handmade and artisan leather goods, so the right people could find their way there organically. Page titles, meta descriptions, and headings were all written with both the reader and the search engine in mind.

Product photography was shot in natural light with honest angles that let the texture, detail, and quality of each piece speak for itself. Leather is a tactile material and the photography had to do the work of making that felt through a screen.

Every word of copy was written to sound like Saltwater Leather. Warm, grounded, and proud of what they make without being precious about it. Product descriptions went beyond what something is made of and into what it becomes when it is yours, because for a brand built around lasting craft, that is the difference.

The site was built on Shopify, tested across devices and browsers, and launched within four weeks. Domain setup, redirects, and every behind the scenes detail was handled so that launch day felt as considered as everything that went into it.

Product Page
Homepage Hero
Homepage Product Feature

The Outcome

A website that feels like Saltwater Leather. Warm, considered, and built to connect the right people to a brand worth finding. The kind of digital presence that earns trust before a single product is clicked.


What Was Delivered

  • Audience profiles, brand voice, and brand mission

  • Creative direction in Figma

  • SEO strategy

  • Product photography

  • Full website copy

  • Domain setup and configuration

  • Shopify build

  • QA testing and launch support

  • Four week turnaround from start to launch


Visit Saltwater Leather

A woman with long dark hair smiling seated on a small stool against a plain white wall, wearing a white blouse and dark jeans.

Let’s Work Together!

You do not need to have it all figured out before we talk. Book a free 30 minute consultation here and let's explore what your brand needs, what is possible, and whether we are the right fit for each other.

Prefer to reach out directly first? Send me a note at tiff.kwok@daydreamswithtiff.com and we can go from there.