We were lucky to catch up with Sara Russell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sara, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

When I began building my company’s branding and style, I was really inspired by vintage airmail letters and travel postcards, and I wanted to incorporate that aesthetic across my entire brand. This inspiration is reflected throughout my company, from the design of the soap labels, which resemble airmail envelopes, to my logo, a postmark stamp, and even my packaging. Everything ties into this overarching theme. I actually had the design ideas for my labels and logo before I’d officially decided on a company name, so I needed to make sure that what I ended up choosing fit perfectly into the branding I was already so excited about. Naming a company isn’t just about describing what your business is—it’s also about evoking a feeling, an emotion, and creating a connection with your customers through the name itself.

To kick things off I built a naming exercise, where I wrote down every word I could think of that fit into my vintage airmail theme. I then found synonyms and related words and expanded the list even more. Once I had about 50 words written down I cut them all out into little pieces of paper and started moving them around to come up with word combinations. Having everything physically in front of me was incredibly helpful during this phase, as it allowed me to see how different words could relate to each other. Most of the combinations were never going to be winners, but the exercise helped me narrow down a short list of names that I really liked.

What made “Mainland Vintage” stand out above the rest was its ability to evoke both location and history. As I was creating my initial soap collections, I drew inspiration from different locations across the country that I’d seen on vintage travel postcards. I wanted each collection to be centered around a place, and “mainland” reminded me of all the places you can travel to—or send letters to—across the U.S. On the historical side, “vintage” perfectly captured the nods to the past that are present throughout my branding. It even inspired me to create historical collections based on different decades, like my Victory Collection, which is all about the 1940s.

The final step in choosing the name required me to move away from the creative side and focus on the logistics. I checked to see if the domain name was available—it was. I ensured that the social media handles weren’t taken—they weren’t. I also did a quick Google search to check for any other registered companies or associations with the same name that might cause confusion. Happily, there weren’t any red flags or roadblocks in my way, so I made it official and finalized Mainland Vintage as my company name.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Sara Russell, I’ve lived in New York City for five years and started my company, Mainland Vintage, almost four years ago. Before moving here, I lived in San Francisco for almost a decade, but grew up in Colorado. I’ve loved learning about different places and histories since I was a kid, and traveling has always been such a joy, especially when I can dive into the rich history and culture of a state or country.

Looking back, it’s easy to see how my different personal passions and professional career choices have led me to feeling confident and capable of starting my own business.

I was in the marketing and branding space for about seven years at both smaller start ups, and large international brands. This allowed me to not only learn how to build a brand from the ground up, but to also see the impact of creating lasting branding and messaging. These things are so important regardless of what your product is.

One of the primary goals I had when I created Mainland Vintage was for people to have a personal attachment to my products. My collections are based on different regions, where someone living in Arizona might feel pulled towards my Twilight Saguaro soap, someone in Florida might really identify with the Twin Palms soap. I dedicate time to creating a cohesive through-line across the name of a product, to the scent, to the design so that every item feels like a fully formed concept. I want my soaps to make people smile, with a design and scent they’ll love to look at as much as they’ll love using.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Mainland Vintage serves several different audiences, each interacting with my brand in unique ways, so I’ve developed specific strategies for each. I sell to individuals both in-person and online, as well as to wholesale customers. For individual customers, whether they encounter my brand at a market or on my website, it’s important that they resonate either with me as the business owner, or with the style and aesthetic of my website and social channels. For wholesale customers, I’ve had to find ways to communicate my brand’s voice through the stores that carry my products.

In-person, I maintain a consistent presence at specific local markets, which has been key to growing my local clientele. Regular customers know where to find me when they need to restock their soaps. It took about a year of trial and error to figure out which markets worked best for me, but it’s been worth the effort. Even within the same city, different locations can attract vastly different customers, so finding the right fit was crucial.

For online customers, some enjoy following my journey as a small business owner, while others eagerly anticipate new product launches. I’ve found that sharing personal milestones alongside product highlights is essential for keeping this audience engaged.

Wholesale is a completely different game since I’m selling to businesses that will then sell my products. To ensure my brand’s personality shines through in these settings, I’ve added elements to my offerings that help translate my voice to their displays. This includes tags that highlight key ingredients, upgraded eco-friendly packaging, and display cards that share what I love most about each product.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I began making soap in 2020 as a COVID hobby, one of many creative projects I tried while stuck inside. But unlike the others, soap-making immediately captivated me—I finished my first batch and was already brainstorming dozens of new designs. It unlocked my creativity in a way I hadn’t experienced before, and I quickly realized I wanted to turn this into a business. Even more exciting was discovering that building a company and creating unique branding was just as enjoyable as making soap. Turning this hobby into a business wasn’t just a chore; it was a natural expansion of my creative pursuits.

I started small with an Etsy store selling to friends and family, all while working a full time marketing job. I slowly released new collections throughout the next year and built up a nice variety of soaps and a customer base who were eager to try new things.

​​2022 was a pivotal year for Mainland Vintage. I launched my website in the spring, giving me more creative control over my brand’s online presence. That summer, I began selling my soaps in-person at craft markets throughout New York City, marking an exciting shift from online-only sales to finding a local audience who loved my products as much as I did. By fall, I took another leap by expanding into wholesale. By year’s end, I had three steady revenue streams serving different audiences, and I started to seriously consider taking Mainland Vintage full-time.

Four days into 2023, fate made the decision for me when I was laid off from my job. Suddenly, those theoretical conversations about going full-time with my business became realistic and immediate. Looking back, I realize I might never have felt “ready” while working another full-time job. The time and energy required to truly scale my business couldn’t have been achieved after hours and on the weekends. So, I embraced the change as a blessing in disguise. I spent the first few months of 2023 building out a business plan and strategizing for growth, and by spring I was ready to hit the ground running. The first major change was launching new products, officially transitioning from a soap company to a bath & body company. I signed up for every craft market I could find, seeing where my audience was, and honing in on what made me successful so I could focus my energies on the right places. My wholesale business also grew, and by December, I hit a significant milestone—I hired my first part-time employee.

As I look forward to 2024 and beyond, I am excited about the challenges and milestones I have to look forward to. I’ve learned so much over the past few years about where I want to grow, and how I can continue to expand as opportunities arise, as well as engage the community I’ve built since the beginning.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mainlandvintage.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mainlandvintage/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mainlandvintage
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mainland-vintage/

Image Credits

@lovinglocalnyc