Where Are They Now? Rosaura of Pigment & Parchment

Angie Chua

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Are you wondering what happens to my Brick House Branding alumni post-graduation? What they do with the momentum and new-found knowledge? Curious about where they take their businesses in the year following all that hard work?

 

I’m back with another round of “Where Are They Now?” case studies and I’m doing-cartwheels-excited to show you the serious waves my BHB graduates are making!

 

Rosaura

 

Say hello to Rosaura of Pigment & Parchment

I’m thrilled to introduce you to Rosaura Unangst of Pigment & Parchment. She spends her days creating beautifully vivid and colorful couture stationery wedding suites, with a style that’s all her own. And now she has a gorgeous brand that’s all her own, too.

 

LBC: Why and when did you originally launch your company?

Rosaura: I started Pigment & Parchment in October of 2013 a couple months after I married my husband, Nathan. I had already had two Etsy shops by then. One wasn’t super successful and that was before I even thought of the concept of a brand. The second one, Cameoland, was way more successful than the first, but I eventually burnt out because I had pigeon holed myself into a corner painting quirky caricatures and I was bored. I knew I could flex my painting muscles more, but I was too busy giving the people what they wanted to spend time focusing on what I wanted to create.

 

I shut down Cameoland and poured all my energy into planning our wedding. Everything was DIY and I knew once the wedding was over, I’d start my next venture based on my favorite part of creating for our own wedding. I was still a bit confused about what exactly the next venture would be still, so I very consciously named this company Pigment & Parchment. I knew I loved wedding stationery but also knew I tend to get bored and wanted a name that could easily evolve with my interests. I’m glad I had that forethought as the business has shifted in and out of different spaces (like retail & workshops) and it’s never felt like the name has held me back since it’s not overtly wedding related.

 

I originally launched this company after falling in LOVE with wedding stationery while painting our wedding’s menu. It was the first time I was applying my fine art painting skills to stationery in a way that I absolutely loved. I had my years of practice doing signage at Trader Joe’s and was ready to incorporate my lettering skills WITH my painting skills for weddings.

 

Pigment & Parchment logo, BEFORE Brick House Branding and a rebrand
Pigment & Parchment logo, BEFORE Brick House Branding and a rebrand

 

 

LBC: At what point did you know it was time for a rebrand?

Rosaura: I had attempted branding before but thought all that went into that was picking colors, fonts, and making a mood board. I wasn’t terrible at it, but it had NO meaning. It was green and gold and modern and incorporated tropical plants because that’s what was popular but there was no WHY attached to any of it other than me wanting to fit into the luxury wedding market landscape.

 

Then I sat in a branding lecture by Lela at Craftcation and knew I wanted whatever she was selling. I asked her a question and I loved how she called it like it is, even when it wasn’t the easy answer I wanted to hear. That’s when I knew I could trust her.

 

I signed up for Brick House Branding within the week.

 

I don’t even really consider it a rebrand now. I can’t consider what I was doing before as branding really because it was so superficial. It feels like my brand was finally 100% fully born after I graduated from BHB.

 

 

LBC: Please share a significant realization about the brand development process that you discovered while in Brick House Branding.

Rosaura: I didn’t know there was more to a brand than the visuals. That’s where the buck stopped for me before Lela.

 

After Lela, I knew my brand inside and out. I no longer stumbled every time I needed to know what my ideal client thought. I no longer made up clients based on whims… there was a REASON for everything once I did the work of building the brand brick by brick up from the foundation rather than a shiny coat of paint on a house of cards like it had been before.

 

Pigment and Parchment, BEFORE Brick House Branding and a rebrand
Pigment and Parchment, BEFORE Brick House Branding and a rebrand

 

 

LBC: What professionals did you tag in to help with the process, and what pieces of the branding puzzle did you DIY?

Rosaura: Because I am an illustrator, it was really important to me that none of the elements of the design be predesigned artwork. So, I hired Steph with Mighty Within who used the elements I hand painted to put together my logo. She then did my first branded photo shoot too!! Now any graphic elements I need within my branding, I just create it for myself!! I have a friend Samantha Aceves Photography who does my branded photos now, and I choose the styled shoots I contribute to more wisely to make sure they’re more in line with my brand than I used to do.

 

I went back and forth on hiring someone to do my copy. I gave it the old college try, but ultimately decided against it and do my own copy.

 

Pigment & Parchment, AFTER Brick House Branding and a rebrand
Pigment & Parchment, AFTER Brick House Branding and a rebrand

 

 

LBC: What was the biggest obstacle you encountered during the rebranding process?

Rosaura: Making the time. I did BHB smack dab in the middle of wedding season (my busy season), so making the time to commit to BHB was a juggle for sure. It felt like I was back in college for a summer!! In the end though, my company not only survived the busy summer, but it grew stronger because of the work I put in to knowing my brand inside and out.

 

 

LBC: How has your own perception of your brand evolved since graduating from Brick House Branding?  

Rosaura: I know it in my bones. I’m no longer just endlessly searching for anything that matches a certain color palette like before… I know when something aligns with my branding or doesn’t pretty instantaneously now so I don’t waste as much money buying promotional junk I won’t like in 6 months like I used to. I don’t follow trends anymore, I don’t have to. I’ve started my own trend and don’t spend as much time ‘researching’ what other people are doing since I’m so much more secure in what I’m doing now.

 

Pigment & Parchment, AFTER Brick House Branding and a rebrand
Pigment & Parchment, AFTER Brick House Branding and a rebrand

 

 

LBC: Are your products are being received differently by others since the rebrand? How has their reaction evolved?

Rosaura: Absolutely. Since doing the rebrand, I no longer get brides that simply aren’t a good fit for me and my vibe. I honestly started booking my dream jobs in locations all over the world once I did the rebrand. I had done this before the rebrand too, but it was few and far between. Once I rebranded, dream clients became the norm.

 

 

LBC: Can you share a recent win that you’ve realized because of the rebrand? 

Rosaura: A win that’s started happening exponentially since the rebrand is working more and more with international clients. I offer files for sale for them to print locally with a lot less stress, since one of Pigment & Parchment’s core values is being stress-free.

 

Another recent win is that I’ve now done live painting for two weddings since rebranding and have two more coming up. Once I really owned how travel & wanderlust are a big part of my brand, I can incorporate that ethos into the services I offer!

 

Pigment & Parchment AFTER Brick House Branding and a rebrand

 

LBC: How did Brick House Branding experience help shape your branding process?

Rosaura: It gave me structure. Plain & simple.

 

We creatives tend to be great at coming up with new ideas. Follow through, though, is not always our strongest muscle.

 

BHB helped me focus and dial in on what was most important while utilizing all of Lela’s knowledge & the team’s organization & accountability skills.

 

 

LBC: What do you wish you had known at the beginning of the brand development process? What advice would you give to someone who’s getting ready to start the brand development process?

Rosaua: I honestly had a great experience and don’t think there’s anything I wish I had known before. I got everything out of BHB I could possibly dream of.

 

Advice I have for others though: Save up money to invest in doing this right. Cutting corners is more expensive in the long run because you end up doing things three, four, five times. Allot the time and resources you can to really dive deep and make the most of this time.

 

One last piece of advice: Don’t fight Lela and the team. Defensiveness gets you no where. You’re paying them hard earned money to help you, and that’s all they’re trying to do. They want to see you succeed as much as possible. If you’re going to be defensive and not open to change, save yourself the money and time and don’t do BHB. Otherwise, if you feel yourself resisting change, think of that as a red flag to something that could be holding you back. Don’t be afraid to change, that’s why you’re in BHB.

 

Thanks for catching up with us, Rosaura. We can’ t wait to see what comes next for you and Pigment & Parchment … We’re cheering you on!

 

If you’d like to build a stronger, smart brand in 2018, then I also hope that you’ll consider joining me in the spring semester of Brick House Branding. This 9-week brand development mentorship dissects awesome brands and then helps you build your own, brick by brick, with me working right alongside you to cheer you on and ensure that you’re on the right track. Enrollment opens on April 17!

About the Author

Angie Chua

No one on God’s green earth can pull off brightly-colored lipstick and a fedora quite like Angie Chua. Her 6’5″ husband and Instagram-famous dog live with her in the world’s most adorable airstream trailer in San Jose. Angie is a talented hand letter, a proud Dachshund mama, and the brains behind bobo design studio– a lifestyle brand for those with a serious case of wanderlust. When not speaking at maker conferences, installing public art, or traveling in her Weinerbago, she’s busy making everything prettier at Lucky Break, managing our social media, and lending ground support to our clients.

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