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Shinola Crafts Packaging with Materials in Mind

Written by Jill DiNicolantonio | Jan 23, 2019 5:00:00 AM

Shinola is a luxury goods company based in Detroit, Michigan. Making their mark  by manufacturing American made watches in a factory built in Detroit, their product line has expanded to include bicycles, journals and leather goods, all made with special attention to quality and artisanship. These details are reflected in everything they do – from making an investment in skill at scale to creating a community that thrives through excellence of craft and pride of work.

Those same values extend into the brand’s graphic design and print production efforts. When the company was looking to produce gift boxes for their holiday packaging, the materials chosen needed to communicate this message as well. In search of inspirational colors, textures and the perfect brand extension for this project, they turned to Millcraft’s Corporate Solutions Group for ideas and assistance.

Since Shinola is known for quality and craft, the packaging needed to reflect that but also communicate the sense of wonder and magic of the holiday season. With this in mind, the Millcraft Corporate Solutions Group met with the production team at Shinola to get a scope of the project.

After the meeting, the team headed back to Millcraft’s Design & Solution Center to look through the library of swatch books, print and paper samples. From there – samples were ordered, dummies were constructed, and materials were tested.

Armed with mockups, made to spec, on a few different materials, the team headed back to Shinola to review all the options and walk through which resonated with the brand needs while also keeping the project in budget.

Parallel to the creative ideation in the field, Millcraft’s customer service team worked behind the scenes to secure product availability and pricing. When Shinola narrowed their choices, the Millcraft team communicated all of the pertinent information to the printer and furnished them with mockups and paper samples to insure a successful production run.

When the final project was ready, the printer seamlessly ordered paper from Millcraft and the job was completed in budget and on time. 

Finding the perfect materials to convey your brand message in a beautiful and sophisticated way, while maintaining awareness of budget, production and availability isn’t always easy. That’s where the Millcraft team adds value and takes your print project to the next level. Just ask.