Brand Management // Events + Social

As mentioned previously, I am someone who likes to keep busy, and wears a lot of creative hats. Having gone to school for Fashion Merchandising, but get my energy from Visual Merchandising + Marketing specifically, I am always looking for new ways to flex those creative muscles and leverage those skills. Brand Management is something that ties into both of these worlds: Visual Merchandising helps amplify a brand and set the tone for the customer experience whereas Marketing promotes the brand identity and creates a unified voice to build customer loyalty. Another aspect of Brand Management that I started working directly with, during my time at Target, was the store experience marketing and in-store signage: ensuring we are amplifying + communicating to guests the right information to improve the overall experience. However, there are many other components to Brand Management that I was not able to work within while at Target, as those roles belong to other parts of the team. As someone that loves to continuously learn, grow, + push myself to try new things and further explore my capabilities… it seemed my background in Visual + Marketing, as well as my strengths in relationship building + networking were drawing me to other hands-on roles outside of the corporate landscape that directly tie back to Brand Management. Since moving back from MN to NH in 2022, I have been able to better dive into this capability in two different ways. Below you will see 2 different companies, one that I work for and one that I created + own. While the Brand Management world is still a newer field of focus for me, the last 3 going on 4 years with both of these companies have been truly exciting + rewarding!

Feathered Friend Brewing …

As mentioned above, I moved back to NH in 2022. Shortly after that move, I started working part-time at Feathered Friend Brewing in Concord, NH. This started out as just a 2nd job to get out of the house, since my full-time job was work from home, and a way for me to be social in my community + hopefully make new friends. Little did I know that this would quickly turn into much more than just a part time job pouring beers + integrating into the community. After only being with FFB for a month, I stepped into the Brand Management role: coordinating all brewery events and running/managing the brewery’s social media presence. This work was full-on and in the first year did require full-time hours to get everything up and running smoothly. Now, it is back to being more of a part-time time commitment, but thats because of the major success of that first year. Feathered Friend Brewing opened in March of 2022 and I started working there in August, then stepping into this Brand Management role in September. Because I started this work so close to when the brewery opened, I was fortunate to help create what the brand voice would and should be, vs. having to replicate a pre-existing brand expression.

Being in the driver’s seat of all aspects of the brand identity was amazing! I created our social profiles + how the brewery showed up to guests on all platforms; I brainstormed + curated all of the events we brought in to bring in traffic daily and keep things fun + exciting; I decided when and how we would post + promote all of our events and brewery happenings; and I was responsible for all daily/weekly/monthly posts + promotions. Before I was in role, the brewery operated just as a taproom, pouring and selling beer. Once I was in role, the calendar was full + we’ve had a non-stop line-up of events ever since.

Below are just some examples of the weekly events:

Monday = BINGO Night + Service Industry Discount Night
Tuesday = Video Game Night + DIY Craft Night (alternating weeks)
- Craft nights such as: paint + pint nights, calligraphy classes, candle making, succulent potting, ink art, tie-dye, gingerbread houses, etc
- sometimes Boards + Brews game nights
Wednesday = Trivia Night
- sometimes Cornhole League + Tournaments
Thursday = Cribbage Night + Thirsty Thursday Discounts
- sometimes Axe Throwing
- sometimes Drum Circle events + other music pop-ups
Friday = Live Music + Fur-baby Friday Celebrations
Saturday = Live Music + Miscellaneous Fundraising events
Sunday = Doggy Adoption Days (bi-weekly) + Reptile Petting Zoos (monthly)
- sometimes Sip + Stretch Yoga class pop-ups

Outside of reoccurring weekly events, there have also been a ton of additional pop-ups + community focused events I’ve ideated + coordinated as well.

Some examples of these are:

Pint Night Fundraising events for local causes
- such as BEBOP Labs, Boston Marathon Runners, local schools, NHPR, etc
Different types of drives to help the community
- such as food drives, toy drives, women’s clothing, diapers, etc
Food pop-ups to support local small businesses
- collaborations with The Pizza Project/Sour Joes, Teenie Wienies, Analog Pizza, Sleazy Vegan, Baltic Kitchen Pierogies, NH Doh Co, Blue Daisy Sweet Treats, LGC Bakery, etc
Other good-cause pop-ups
- such as Girl Scout cookie sales, cancer relief carnivals + info booths, etc
Educational events
- such as NHPR hosted events, Networking events, Flight through History nights, sponsored Happy Hours, etc
Art Market + Holiday Celebrations
- such as Earth Day eco-friendly market, Pride celebration + education market, Oktoberfest, Halloween costume competitions, Friendsgiving, Holiday arts markets, etc
Big Fundraising events + Raffles
- such as Ayla’s Army for DIPG (kids cancer), Concord Skatepark Restoration + Rebuild, Sad AF Emo Night for Mental Health + Suicide Prevention (AFSP), Flood Relief efforts, etc
Beer collaboration events
- both brewing with new partners + donating a portion of proceeds, as well as beer release parties

This work kept me on my toes, as I was the sole organizer of all the things: planning, networking, organizing, collecting raffle items (as necessary), coordinating needed supplies, promoting, setting up, hosting, capturing pics + videos, posting about them/ recapping, and breaking down/cleaning up from them. Luckily I was only solo on all of these pieces for that first year, until we got things running smoothly!

This work also allowed me to be creative, as I was taking all the pictures + videos of events, creating all social media posts, developing event flyers + promotional material, and animating all stories to keep the brewery trend-relevant. This work also fulfilled my urge to be more involved in the community, as it allowed me to curate events + special activities not available anywhere else in town, bringing in new faces + cultivating a community-driven safe-place for anyone and everyone to feel welcomed at the brewery. In addition, it pushed me to build my local network + create one for the brewery, partnering with tons of other local businesses, supporting other small businesses with pop-up events + collaborations, and ensuring we were also making a name for ourselves in the world of fundraising + giving back, by raising money for a ton of different local causes!

In addition to all of the event coordinating + social media posting, I also leaned into other projects that helped improve the overall brand of FFB + made a positive impact on our guest. I redesigned + mocked up what our Merch space could + should look like to clean it up and make it easier for guests to see what we have + shop. This space was re-done to bring my concept to life + is now called our Merch Perch! I’ve also leaned in to Merch item designs, ensuring we are staying relevant on item types to offer to the guest, helping to get the right designs on the right item-types, and ensuring the team is trained on fold + display techniques. I also initiated merch collab with a local designer that works with thrifted pieces to up-cycle garments. This collaboration with Xan.Co created truly one-of-a-kind unique to FFB pieces while supporting another local business and helping the environment by reusing garments… win win!

As you can see from all of the above, I am heavily involved with the brewery + ensuring the brand projection is consistent across all venues. It has been a very rewarding + fun experience to improve my community while participating in the growth of a local small business.

While I do not have all of the financial statistics of how much money we have raised + donated over the years, or all the data at my fingertips to prove out the full picture of growth my contributions have had on the brewery… I do know a few of the stats + some of the sales data:

We have helped over 50 dogs get adopted into their now forever homes (over the course of 2 years)
We have helped over 100 local kids get Christmas presents (and not just 1 item, but their entire wish lists)
We have donated 4 car loads of non-perishable + canned goods to the Friendly Kitchen of Concord (over the course of 2 years)
We have collected over 100 lbs of can tabs to submit to Shriner’s Children’s Hospital
We have donated substantial amounts of dollars (thousands) for both community raised + beer sale proceeds to:
- The Audubon Society, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), Concord Skate Park, National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI), Flood Relief, + more!
Sales growth achieved by implementing the daily events mentioned above (growth every day but 1):
- Total Sales Growth (year one) = 26.14%
  - Total 2 year stack sales growth = 18.63%
- Monday Night (BINGO) year-one sales growth = 43%
  - 2 year stack sales growth = 44.04%
- Wednesday Night (Trivia) year-one sales growth = 17%
- Thursday Night (Cribbage) year-one sales growth = 49%
  - 2 year stack sales growth = 36.85%
- Friday (Live Music) year-one sales growth = 35%
  - 2 year stack sales growth = 47.04%
- Saturday (Live Music) year-one sales growth = 7%
- Sunday (Miscellaneous Events) year-one sales growth = 57%

All of the work I have done for FFB allowed us to surpass the social media success of the most popular + longest-standing local brewery in town: Concord Craft Brewing. When I started, FFB only had a couple hundred followers on Instagram. We gained more followers in the first year of me running Brand Management, than Concord Craft Brewing had acquired in their first 5 years as a business. Now, 3 years in, I have built our following to over 4,600 people!

In addition, the events I have created for the brewery have significantly increased traffic + sales for every single day of operation (and we are open 7 days a week!). Plus, we have become a well-known leader in the community for events, inclusion, + joy! We have been featured in the Concord Monitor many times for the events we put on + we have been featured on In-Town Concord’s social posts multiple times as well!

We have also won multiple awards, that I am very proud of! Inclusive of:

Hippo Press’ Award: Best Place to Make New Friends, 2023
Hippo Press’ Award: Best Place to Make New Friends, 2024
Hippo Press’ Award: Best Happy Hour, 2024
Uno’s Pizzeria in Tilton, March Madness: Best Beer, 2025
Concord Chamber of Commerce: Small Business of the Year Award, 2025

It is hard to capture the progression + full extent of all of the work I have done for this brewery over the last 3+ years, but below is my attempt at showing some of the highlights! Below are some Instagram screenshots + post examples, team photos of morale/good vibes + good energy, photos from some of our events, merch perch concepting work + execution, and some of the awards won!

Social Media

Instagram feed:

Post examples:

BINGO Night:

Events

Video Game Night:

DIY / Craft Nights (calligraphy, candles, gingerbread houses, paint + pints, pysanky eggs, succulent terrariums)

Trivia Night:

Boards + Brews Night:

Cribbage Night:

Axe Throwing Night:

Cornhole:

Flight Through History Night:

Live Music Nights:

Sip + Stretch Yoga:

Reptile Petting Zoos:

Tie Dye Days:

Fundraisers / Seasonal Events

Girl Scouts : Jan/Feb:

March Madness:

Feathered Friend Brewing Anniversary: March:

Earth Day Market: April:

Pride Party: June:

Flood Relief: July:

Skatepark Association Art Auction: August:

Ayla’s Army (DIPG / childhood cancer awareness): September:

Oktoberfest: Sept / Oct:

Halloween Costume Competitions: October:

Food Drives + Donation Baskets: Nov/ Dec:

Salvation Army Angel Tags / Christmas Gifts for Kids: December:

Shriner’s Hospitals for Children: Tabs for Kids: Year-round:

Merch Designs:

Merch

Merch Collab with Xan.Co:

Doggy Adoption Days:

Merch Perch Reinvent:

Awards:

Sad AF Collective …

This one is one that not everyone will understand, but to me is insanely important.

I grew up in a non-traditional home setting, being raised by my mom and my grandparents. Living in a wealthy area, but not having the typical 2 parent household, or coming from a “rich” family, made growing up where I did a challenge. I often felt like the outcast or odd-ball, I felt less-than and like I didn’t belong, and those feelings of differentness don’t just go away… they shape who + how you are as an individual and your perspective on certain things in your life. When I was in high-school I found Emo Music. For those who don’t know what that is, it stands for “emotional” music. Its a form of Rock music, filled with angst + raw expression, made to make you feel something. Artists like Taking Back Sunday, Hawthorne Heights, Paramore, Panic! At The Disco, Mayday Parade, Blink 182, The Used, Avril Lavigne, etc … are some of the names you may recognize, and these are some of the artists that shaped this genre for me. Emo Music has a stigma around it that its all just sad, depressing music, sometimes with screaming (known as scream-o music) and it comes off as off-putting to a lot of people that don’t understand it. However, Emo Music isn’t just sad, it can be heart-felt, up-beat, catchy, and easy to singalong to as well. For me, Emo Music was where I could escape to, where I didn’t feel as alone, and where I could just feel my emotions + know I’ll be okay because I’m not the only one going through something I don’t understand, that there is peace in the gray area + its okay to not be okay. Emo Music became a form of lifeline for me to deal with the teenage struggles of not fitting in, feeling bullied even if I wasn’t directly being bullied, feeling abandoned by my dad, and helping me understand that I am stronger for my struggles + I will be okay. Emo Music helped me become a strong, confident, hard-working, unapologetic version of myself who found beauty in my emotions, strength in my pain, + peace with my differences.

Everyone relates to Emo Music in their own way, and for a lot of people in the Emo community— no matter what the reason that drew them to the genre, they all have at least one of these things in common: it saved them, it helped them through something difficult, and/or it became a way to feel at peace again + less alone.

This scene has a saying attached to it, “its just a phase” … because (at least for the Millennial generation) everyone went through an Emo “phase” … where even if you weren’t considered Emo or didn’t identify fully with the genre, you still knew the music + most likely rocked out to some of it, and it brought you joy. Emo music was on the radio, it was the soundtrack to many classic TV shows in the 90’s and early 2000’s, and it was part of our culture. However, not everyone resonated with it as deeply, and for a good amount of people it was just that… “a phase” … it did what it was created to do, and helped those people heal and move on. BUT— for some of us, and by some I mean a lot of us, “it was never just a phase” … and that is the saying that is more frequently used by the true Emo community today, because for a lot of people Emo Music became so much more than just a moment in time. It became a part of their identity, a part of what makes them feel whole, a saving grace, or even a constant reminder that you’re not alone + everything will be okay.

This is why I created Sad AF Collective LLC with 2 friends (at the time) back in 2021. We knew there were a lot of other people from the Emo scene out there, and unfortunately Concord, NH did not have a space where this genre of music could thrive… which also meant there was no place in town that felt like a safe space for people who identify as part of the scene to feel comfortable being their uniquely quirky + unapologetic selves. We wanted to create a place where that was possible. Start a brand that stood for all the things beautiful about the Emo scene: authenticity, self expression, community, connection, inclusiveness, vulnerability, mental health awareness, compassion, angst, love, kindness, + care. The goal was to cultivate a brand that hosted a handful of music events each year, that created this safe space for the Emo community to come together + support one another.

The idea was to host Emo Nights in Concord, a few times a year. Emo Nights are like 80’s Nights but with Emo Music. Its a night of nostalgia, angst, feeling your feels, where dressing up is encouraged — whether that’s in all black, rocking fishnets, putting on the thick black eyeliner, or going full-on mall goth or scene kid aesthetic for one night. Nights where you are surrounded by community + good company, that would support the scene + become a safe space for people to be uniquely and unapologetically themselves, and allow people to escape their day-to-day lives with a night of fun, instagrammable moments, freebies, giveaways, and so much more!

Unfortunately, after the first 5 events (January 2022 - October 2022), the 2 friends I started this with walked away due to personal reasons. However, this being such a meaningful cause and passion project for me, it was not something I was ready to give up on or walk away from. This is when Sad AF Collective became so much more than just a side-hustle project for me + invested in making it an actual LLC in 2023. This is also when I was able to take the concept a bit further than what I had created previously with the guys— and introduce the connectivity to more of a Mental Health Advocacy partnership with the events. Having each event provide Mental Health + Suicide Prevention resources to the community, while raising funds for local organizations that help with those things specifically.

Creating this brand from the ground up was a wild + exhilarating ride! A ton went into the successful build-up of this brand, inclusive but not limited to: developing the brand logo with my friend Kacie, starting + maintaining an Instagram + Facebook page for the Collective, planning/coordinating/curating the events and every detail around the logistics of them, designing all the marketing + promotional materials + show flyers, going to local shows to meet New England bands, networking + building a community of artists and Emo fans, connecting with local venues, scheduling out + successfully coordinating multiple events a year, building selfie stations + fully decorating each event, capturing all events via photos + videos, posting all of the events successes online, designing + developing Sad AF merch to sell to support future shows, partnering with local Mental Health + Suicide Prevention organizations to supply resources + raise money for the cause, and running each and every show from set up, on-mic intros, raffles, selling merch, capturing sad selfies, and end-of-show breakdown of all sets + decor.

I am proud to say that I have successfully built this brand from less than 20 followers on Instagram, to 774 community members!

There is another Emo Night brand in NH: “Live Free Or Cry”, that hosts events in other towns in NH. In my first year doing Sad AF Collective solo (2023) I was able to get the brand’s Instagram to over 500 followers, well surpassing what Live Free Or Cry had achieved (only 391 followers) in their first 6 years as a business.

In the 3 years I have run Sad AF Collective by myself, I have planned, coordinated, hosted, + ran 10 events so far at 3 primary locations in Concord. Each event has brought anywhere from 150 - 250 people out to connect + enjoy the scene, support local music, and raise money for a great cause! We have partnered with multiple local bakeries for bake sales at a handful of the shows, as well as creating a delicious collab beer that has been brewed + sold all 3 years at our outdoor patio show event. I have also been able to coordinate a collaboration with my favorite (famous) Emo band in the scene: Hawthorne Heights, who run their own screen printing company: Skeleton Club, and have had Sad AF merch hand-printed by the band members!

Even more importantly, we have provided resources consistently to the community for a ‘no-shame’ / ‘help-is-here’ / ‘you are not alone’ reminder that everything will be okay for community members in need, for the last 3 years… and we have collectively raised over $3,000 for Mental Health Awareness + Suicide Prevention!!

In addition, I am extremely proud and absolutely honored that I was recognized as a Hometown Hero, in our local newspaper: The Concord Monitor. They wrote an entire article on me, Sad AF Collective, the safe-space I’m creating for the community, and the many ways Sad AF Collective is doing good + giving back… plus, it was on the front page above the fold!!

This journey has been a heart-felt passion project for me, that luckily has turned into something so much bigger… because it has fostered a community of likeminded individuals to feel seen, heard, loved, + respected, and I couldn’t wish for anything more powerful than that.

Again, like with FFB, it is hard to capture the progression + full extent of all of the work I have done for this brand over the last 4+ years, especially on a single page… but below is my attempt at showing some of the highlights! Below you will see the brand logo + merch designs, past show flyers, some Instagram screenshots + post examples, photos from some of the events showing the cultivation of community + care as well as good vibes, good energy, + absolute angsty joy, beer collabs, and the Hometown Hero recognition article!