Arborator | atelierspruitenburg

Arborator Denim Store

Wandering through the city of Haarlem I came across a store that soon would be re-opened as Arborator. Being at an internship that would soon end I thought let’s try to work maybe part-time in a store. Many brands that he presented as going to sell were specialised brands of the denim industry I gave it my shot of luck and emailed right away when at home. The next day the owner Martijn called me, and he was really open to have an extra employee because he owned a same like store in Maastriciht, which Is about a 2 hour drive form Haarlem.

After we’d spoken on the phone for a short while, we set up a meeting to see if I had it in me to be a salesman. Being prepared to do also do a bit of graphic work in the mean time I took my laptop with me, so I would be always productive and make in a fun way some extra cash. And as we connect pretty well and we were able to learn a bit from each other we decided to sign a half-years contract.

Arborator being new new in town the store and ir's owner didn’t yet really bonded with the neighbourhood and so was planning a party to celebrate the opening and his store in Maastricht being open for five years.

But as we spread the invitations, suddenly the year 2020 took a 180º degree turn and we ended up in a lockdown because of a corona-pandemic.

As it all was unknown how it would evolve it meant suddenly a change of plans for the store. As there were only a few people coming into the store each day because it was quiet on the streets all day, we needed to switch to online sales. And quick marketing instead of build up a relationship with clients in the store. It felt for me good to be of value one day a week as the rest of my days I needed to spent alone. Eventually we made the switch as good as possible and developed some products that helped inclining sales on- and offline. But as the pandemic hit hard it wasn’t able to hire me for longer and the Arborator adventure ended after six month.

One of the first tasks Martijn asked me was to design an invitation for a party he wanted to throw. As I asked if he had a branding guidance or corporate identity already his answer was no, so that was what I wanted to start with. As I said that he acknowledged that this would be a good thing to start with and came with the idea for a 'Delfstblauw' tegeltje.	So after some searching on the web I was able to find a high resolution picture of a front and back and this fresh look became the base for the new Arborator identity.	But as soon as we spread the word in the street and online that we would throw a party, it needed to be cancelled because of the pandemic. As we were sitting in the store we tried to make the best of it
As we had the new style and a Dutch phenomenon called 'tegeltjes-wijsheden', which I believe would best translate as a 'proverb with a wink', I started to come up with some.	It mostly showed to my new boss that whatever happens I'll try to look at the positive side of it.	But despite that, it remained hard for every company to connect with their customers as the every entrepreneur tried to connect with their customers via the socials.
As the cash flow turned negative it meant that we had to come up with some new ideas to generate money. And Martijn decided to try it with vouchers. With this quote exclaiming that support was appreciated in these hard times, and that we wouldn't forget them as hopefully we were able to re-open soon.	As Arborator is a Dutch company we of course would advertise in Dutch like with this explanation of the vouchers...	... but as Haarlem is full of expats and Maastricht is close to the Belgian and German border we needed a translation as well.
As the vouchers weren't sold that well, we tried to take it in another direction by organising a special wash-day. But as soon as the invitations went out, the virus backfired again.	As time on my half year contract was ticking away and every short term initiation backfired we agreed to look a bit more on the long term. And as not many people understand raw denim we decided to make an information card.	By giving this information card when someone bought a raw pair of Denim, we hoped they would remind us.
Eventually all the initiatives we took, didn't really worked out as well as hoped and soon my last day started. As Martijn had to find new ways of making money he decided to do a one time sale of stuff he had leftover in Maastricht. It meant that of all the work I did in the these months and all ideas we still had, this 'Archive Sale'-visual was the last I made.

Anniversary Mug

As due to the pandemic an opening party wasn't allowed we still wanted to attract customers and Martijn decided to make a give-away. Thus he asked if I could just design something, which I always find a difficult question as it means almost all options are open. It is like asking a comedian to just make a joke, eventually we are able to do it but it's easier if they give some creative borders.

That's why I give someone who asks me to design multiple options so they are involved in the design proces. I did this time he same and eventually we ended up with two options of which I made a visual. When they were ordered I immediately made post he could put on the socials as virtual life was reality during the pandemic.

When designing without giving restrictions I most of the time start rally pragmatic and simple...	...because often when you go all te way people think your wasting time...	...so to tackle this I just give them some simple lousy designs before coming with the more elaborated designs.
As the mugs were a part of the anniversary of Arborator I tried to put in as much detail as possible...	Eventually I was just giving options while Martijn just had to chose what he liked an what not.
	Eventually Martijn chose two options of which I designed a mockup to give him some visual understanding of what he chose.	As it is quite easy to do, it's often a step that gets forgotten. And than the excitement is less as they expected it to be a bit different.
To promote the mug give-away I made tile to post on the socials.

Anniversary Mug

As there is a leftover space in the back of the store, Martijn wanted to produce small batches of products, or so called 'Limited Editions'. As there in the Haarlem is a boar prominently placed I designed this print.	The mock-up of the print made for Haarlem. It shows to be in balance and a print that is a good test to try the setup of the silkscreen setup.	Where the boar related to Haarlem, the animal that related to Maastricht needs to be the bear, as that is one of the first things you'll see when you enter the store. By doing this we tried o invite customers for the 5 year anniversary to both stores.
The roaring bear on the front of the shirt is really liked. It already had some orders upfront we printed them.	Having a shop in Maastricht and in Haarlem it somehow surprised me on which car Martijn used to commute. But as he was proud of the Landrover Defender he drove I made a print inspired by an old add of Landrover.	As it to me looked pretty well as mock-up I would thought Martijn would get excited of it. But as he didn't felt it we cancelled the print.
As almost every event was cancelt suddenly the Formula 1 would maybe get the green light of the government. As there might be a influx of people in those weekends I designed a print inspired by Michael Vaillant and poured an Arborator-sauce over it.	As also the mock-up looked pretty good we wanted to start developing the print if there wouldn't be a lock-down again. Unfortunately I was running out of contract and I don't think Martijn eventually used it	One of the brands that sold quite well was a smaller French Brand called Kytone. Partly because of the pricepoint compared to other products but also because it was a bit mellow. As often guys of the Amsterdam Classic Riders came in the store they always looked at it but it wasn't edgy enough to them...
It's why I made a print that combined the best of three worlds. As the composition is like the logo of the classic riders, it has the drawing style of Kytone, but with recognisable Arborator elements.	As the print was maybe to big for a front print, it could work out as chest print. But as my contract ran out of time and the chairmen of the Classic Riders not seeing around much it just stayed digital.	As sometimes some of the Amsterdam Classic Riders came into the store, I always tried to figure out what heir style was and what they looked at. As Martijn wanted collaborate with them in the future. And i thought this print could be a fun one as both are recognisable.
As I designed this print I thought it really could work out on a shirt or sweater. But to me the composition feels really off and this shows why it's always good to make a mock-up. Though it can be a great flat print on the wall it doesn't mean it would always function on clothing.

So after some searching on the web I was able to find a high resolution picture of a front and back and this fresh look became the base for the new Arborator identity.

But as soon as we spread the word in the street and online that we would throw a party, it needed to be cancelled because of the pandemic. As we were sitting in the store we tried to make the best of it

As we had the new style and a Dutch phenomenon called 'tegeltjes-wijsheden', which I believe would best translate as a 'proverb with a wink', I started to come up with some.

It mostly showed to my new boss that whatever happens I'll try to look at the positive side of it.

But despite that, it remained hard for every company to connect with their customers as the every entrepreneur tried to connect with their customers via the socials.

As Arborator is a Dutch company we of course would advertise in Dutch like with this explanation of the vouchers...

... but as Haarlem is full of expats and Maastricht is close to the Belgian and German border we needed a translation as well.

As the vouchers weren't sold that well, we tried to take it in another direction by organising a special wash-day. But as soon as the invitations went out, the virus backfired again.

As time on my half year contract was ticking away and every short term initiation backfired we agreed to look a bit more on the long term. And as not many people understand raw denim we decided to make an information card.

By giving this information card when someone bought a raw pair of Denim, we hoped they would remind us.

When designing without giving restrictions I most of the time start rally pragmatic and simple...

...because often when you go all te way people think your wasting time...

...so to tackle this I just give them some simple lousy designs before coming with the more elaborated designs.

As the mugs were a part of the anniversary of Arborator I tried to put in as much detail as possible...

Eventually I was just giving options while Martijn just had to chose what he liked an what not.

Eventually Martijn chose two options of which I designed a mockup to give him some visual understanding of what he chose.

As it is quite easy to do, it's often a step that gets forgotten. And than the excitement is less as they expected it to be a bit different.

To promote the mug give-away I made tile to post on the socials.

As there is a leftover space in the back of the store, Martijn wanted to produce small batches of products, or so called 'Limited Editions'. As there in the Haarlem is a boar prominently placed I designed this print.

The mock-up of the print made for Haarlem. It shows to be in balance and a print that is a good test to try the setup of the silkscreen setup.

Where the boar related to Haarlem, the animal that related to Maastricht needs to be the bear, as that is one of the first things you'll see when you enter the store. By doing this we tried o invite customers for the 5 year anniversary to both stores.

The roaring bear on the front of the shirt is really liked. It already had some orders upfront we printed them.

Having a shop in Maastricht and in Haarlem it somehow surprised me on which car Martijn used to commute. But as he was proud of the Landrover Defender he drove I made a print inspired by an old add of Landrover.

As it to me looked pretty well as mock-up I would thought Martijn would get excited of it. But as he didn't felt it we cancelled the print.

As almost every event was cancelt suddenly the Formula 1 would maybe get the green light of the government. As there might be a influx of people in those weekends I designed a print inspired by Michael Vaillant and poured an Arborator-sauce over it.

As also the mock-up looked pretty good we wanted to start developing the print if there wouldn't be a lock-down again. Unfortunately I was running out of contract and I don't think Martijn eventually used it

It's why I made a print that combined the best of three worlds. As the composition is like the logo of the classic riders, it has the drawing style of Kytone, but with recognisable Arborator elements.

As the print was maybe to big for a front print, it could work out as chest print. But as my contract ran out of time and the chairmen of the Classic Riders not seeing around much it just stayed digital.

As sometimes some of the Amsterdam Classic Riders came into the store, I always tried to figure out what heir style was and what they looked at. As Martijn wanted collaborate with them in the future. And i thought this print could be a fun one as both are recognisable.

As I designed this print I thought it really could work out on a shirt or sweater. But to me the composition feels really off and this shows why it's always good to make a mock-up. Though it can be a great flat print on the wall it doesn't mean it would always function on clothing.