What is a fractional marketing team?

A fractional marketing team provides ongoing marketing support without the cost of hiring full-time staff. Istari Creative acts as your outsourced marketing department, offering monthly support to keep your brand consistent and strategy on track. You get experienced marketing expertise at a fraction of the cost of building an in-house team.

Who does Istari Creative work with?

Istari Creative works with small businesses, nonprofits, and mission-driven teams, with particular expertise serving wine businesses and educational nonprofits. We're based in Bellingham, Washington and support clients across the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

What is brand foundations work?

Brand foundations work helps you understand your audience, clarify your message, and strengthen your visuals to build a brand designed to grow. It includes defining your positioning, developing your brand voice and messaging framework, and creating visual identity guidelines that keep your brand consistent across all touchpoints.

How is Istari Creative different from a traditional marketing agency?

Istari Creative is not a bloated agency or a one-off freelancer. We're a small, hands-on team that shows up, asks the right questions, and helps make the hard stuff clearer. We work as your strategic partner—your second brain—helping you untangle the 'I know what I want but I can't say it' moments. We're transparent, fully invested, and focused on marketing that works without feeling like a second job.

Does Istari Creative offer social media marketing?

Yes. Istari Creative offers social media strategy and content planning as part of our marketing services. We help you get your message out through content that works across social platforms and wherever your audience is paying attention, with packages designed for small business needs and budgets.

Where is Istari Creative located?

Istari Creative is based in Bellingham, Washington. We support clients across the Pacific Northwest and work remotely with mission-driven teams throughout the United States.

What does it cost to work with Istari Creative?

Istari Creative offers different packages depending on your needs, from one-time brand foundation projects to ongoing monthly marketing support. Contact us for a consultation to discuss your specific situation and get pricing tailored to your goals and budget.

FAQs

A quick guide to what Istari Creative does, who we’re for, and how we work.

About Istari Creative

Who is Istari Creative and who do you work with?

Istari Creative is a small, senior-level branding and marketing studio focused on smart marketing for small businesses. Most of our clients are service-based or brick-and-mortar businesses: salons and med spas, bars and restaurants, construction and trades, and mission-driven organizations, especially in education. What they have in common is that they care about their brand and are tired of piecemeal marketing that doesn’t add up. Istari Creative helps those teams clarify their message, align their visuals, and build a marketing system that makes sense for the business they’re actually running.

What problems does Istari Creative help small businesses solve?

Most small businesses we work with share a familiar set of pain points. They know their work is good, but they don’t have a clear way to talk about it. Their logo, website, and social media may all feel slightly “off” or disconnected. Marketing tends to happen in spurts: a few good weeks of posting or emailing, followed by months of silence. Istari Creative helps solve these problems by defining your brand foundations (audience, story, visuals), then turning that clarity into plans, content, and systems you can sustain. The goal is to make your marketing feel less chaotic and more like a natural extension of how you already serve your customers.

How is Istari Creative different from a big agency?

We like to say “You don’t need a big agency. You need the right people.” We mean it. Instead of layers of account managers and junior staff, you work directly with Andrea and David, who bring deep experience in brand strategy, messaging, and creative direction. We scope projects realistically for small-business budgets and timelines, and we’re honest if something isn’t worth doing. That means less overhead, fewer hoops, and a partnership focused on work that actually helps your business grow.

How is Istari Creative different from hiring a single freelancer?

Hiring a freelancer is often about filling a single gap: a designer for a logo, a copywriter for a page, or someone to post on social. Istari Creative blends those skills into one integrated studio. We think about how your brand positioning, messaging, visual identity, website, and social media all connect. Because we stay with you over time, we can build on past work, refine what’s working, and adjust your marketing system as your business grows. You get continuity and strategy, not just disconnected pieces.

Services & Offers

What services does Istari Creative offer?

Our work is grouped into a few core areas. Brand Foundations covers brand strategy, brand messaging, and logo and identity design so your brand has a clear story and a visual system that can grow with you. Marketing in Action turns that strategy into campaigns, content strategy, and marketing messaging kits. Social Media & Websites covers social media strategy and content, plus Squarespace website design with basic SEO setup. Ongoing Support is where Istari Creative acts as your fractional marketing team, providing monthly strategy and content so your brand doesn’t stall after launch.

Do you design and build websites? What platform do you use?

Websites are part of our “Social Media & Websites” work. Istari Creative uses Squarespace because it’s stable, flexible, and user-friendly for small businesses. We design custom layouts, write website copy that speaks to your audience, and structure your pages to guide people toward the next step (calling, booking, buying, or visiting). We also include basic SEO setup, including page titles, meta descriptions, and on-page structure, so your site has a solid foundation for search.

What social media services and packages does Istari Creative offer?

Our social media work is built around strategy first. Istari Creative helps you clarify your audience, brand voice, and goals, then turns that into monthly content calendars, creative direction, and original photo and video content. The Social Collab package is for businesses that want to stay hands-on with posting but need expert planning, design, and support. Full-Service Social is for teams who want us to handle everything: content planning, writing, design, Reels, scheduling, and reporting. In both cases, the content is rooted in your brand, not in chasing trends for the sake of it.

Working Together

What does the process of working with Istari Creative look like?

Most engagements with Istari Creative follow the same rhythm. We begin with discovery and strategy to understand your business, audience, and goals. From there, we map out a plan—this might be a brand framework, a content calendar, a website sitemap, or a campaign strategy. Then we create: visual concepts, messaging, layouts, content, and assets. You give feedback; we refine. Once things are launched or implemented, we can either hand you a clear toolkit or continue with ongoing support so your marketing keeps moving.

How long does a typical branding or website project take?

Because every business and scope is different, Istari Creative doesn’t list one standard timeline on the site. A branding project usually includes discovery, strategy, concepts, refinements, and final files, which typically takes a few focused weeks. A website project adds copywriting, design, development, and testing, so it usually runs a bit longer. During your initial conversation, we’ll outline a realistic schedule that fits your goals and constraints, and we’ll be clear about what we need from you to keep things moving.

Do you offer ongoing retainers or fractional marketing support?

For businesses that want continuity, a one-time project isn’t enough. Istari Creative offers ongoing retainers where we function like your part-time marketing department. That can include regular strategy sessions, monthly content calendars, social media content, email campaigns, light website updates, and support for launches or events. The scope is tailored to your needs and budget, but the goal is the same: keep your brand consistent, your message clear, and your marketing moving.

Do you work with clients outside your local area?

Even though many of our case studies feature local and regional businesses, the work Istari Creative does—brand strategy, messaging, design, websites, and social media—translates easily to remote collaboration. We meet over video, share work in collaborative documents, and set clear checkpoints for feedback. For content like photography or video, we can travel, work with trusted collaborators, or guide you in capturing assets on your end. Geography doesn’t need to be a barrier if the fit is right.