Hosting & Site Options

Two Separate Sites

1. Manufacturing Website

Basic static website to start. Easy, fast, I can host for it for free. You will have to arrange email hosting elsewhere.

If the blanks/catalog side becomes more important later, the site can be expanded or rebuilt in WordPress using Blocksy + WooCommerce Catalog Mode. This would allow editable product catalog pages, categories, product images, B2B customization/inquiry workflows, and avoids Shopify transaction fees, which makes more sense for manufacturing than a standard retail checkout model.

Shopify is still a strong option for retail ecommerce, but for the manufacturing/catalog side, WordPress + WooCommerce Catalog Mode is likely a better long-term fit because the products may involve larger B2B orders, customization, quote requests, and inquiry-based sales rather than simple retail checkout.

2. Independent Label Site

For the label, I can also launch a simple static landing page, and host it free as well.

Once you have a collection, product photos, and a clearer sales direction, the label site could be built using:

Shopify, if you want the simplest retail ecommerce system.
WordPress + Blocksy + WooCommerce, as a more flexible alternative to Shopify.
WordPress with Shopify API integration, if you want WordPress for the main site and Shopify for checkout.

3. Creative & Technical Resources

As the brand develops, you may eventually want to work with dedicated creative and technical people for areas such as logo design, visual identity, campaigns, product photography direction, lookbooks, packaging, ecommerce setup, and ongoing content.

Creative Direction / Branding

Technical / Development Support

My Role at This Stage

To create an initial professional online presence, and shape the direction for both sites. Sites can be up in the next few days or so.

As things grow, you can then work with a developer and a dedicated creative/content person to build out the catalog, ecommerce, campaigns, and ongoing visual content.

Once you have decided on a company name and label name, I can add the name/logo to the static site. Meanwhile, the pages can be hosted using a placeholder name.

Brand Names, Typography & Early Logo Direction

For fashion and premium lifestyle brands, restraint and typography quality are often more important than complexity. Good quality fonts are important!!!! Many modern brands begin with a strong name, thoughtful typography, and consistent visual direction before developing a more extensive identity system later on.

One practical approach is to first explore available domain names and then test how those names feel visually using different typefaces and layouts. In many cases, this can be more efficient than developing a full brand story first and later discovering that the name is unavailable or overlaps too closely with existing brands.

AI tools can also help generate naming directions and branding concepts that feel modern, internationally approachable, and suitable for Western/North American and European audiences. Also can find out if there are conflicts with other brand names.

Some Independent / Boutique Type Foundries

Larger Font Libraries & Marketplaces

Studio Set up Suggestion for Videos

View of a quality photo dropsheet, a textured wall panel (image shows slatted wood), director's chair, quality photo soft boxes/umbrellas. Dual purpose: for your product shots, and the entire set up- with view of light/box umbrella and obvious visible drop sheet as background. You can then zoom in to you and the products. Key is having a textured wall. This is the private "fashion show" look. See pic with benches, YSL show.