Jacob Bromwell

The problem

Bromwell Housewares came to us with an interesting problem. The company (founded in 1819 by frontier entrepreneur Jacob Bromwell) was one of the oldest active companies in the United States, yet their brand was almost unknown, and they weren’t doing a good job telling their own story.

Here’s what their website looked like when they first came to us:

As you can see, they were missing out on a lot of the overall experience potential customers could be having with this amazing, historical brand.

Forty’s solution

Our first step was to get to know the man behind the company so we could truly understand the origins of the brand. We began researching Jacob Bromwell himself, including researching his genealogy, and found him to be a truly all-American character: a veteran of the War of 1812 who drifted down the Ohio River on a flatboat with a handful of wire looms, launching a new business just at the start of the “Panic of 1819,” America’s first real financial crisis.

Inspired by Jacob Bromwell’s personal story, we developed a brand experience based around the man himself, whose hard-working, inventive, and cheerful character shines through even nearly two centuries later. We developed a rich visual and verbal style that reflects the company’s colorful history, deep character, and authentic manufacturing processes (which are still used today).

The visual strategy includes textures that pioneers would have seen or used as they crossed the United States in the 1800s, such as burlap, leather, and wood. Meanwhile, the brand’s verbal strategy creates a lighthearted sense of warmth and excitement.

(And yes, that’s Jacob Bromwell’s actual signature!)

Ultimately, the brand was completely renovated–including changing the name from “Bromwell Housewares” to “Jacob Bromwell”–to reflect the most important elements of its history and pave the way for a promising future.

We’re proud of our involvement with this great American brand, and of the new brand experience we were able to create for them.

Visit Jacob Bromwell online at http://jacobbromwell.com/