The Approach

Before anything was designed or written, I developed audience profiles, brand voice guidelines, and a brand mission. This gave us a shared creative foundation so that the website and future social content would feel like they came from the same place, because they did.

From there, I put together a rough direction in Figma, initial thoughts on how the site could move and where we were headed, and walked through it with the client before anything was built. It was a conversation starter, 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. Page titles, meta descriptions, and headings were all written with both the reader and the search engine in mind so the right people could find their way there organically.

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's yours, because for a brand built around lasting craft, that's 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.