Spinlight: News

For Immediate Release 09/18/08
For more information, contact:
Matt Hutton : 217.351.6700

Spinlight Puts the Amish on the Pages of Print Magazine.

For some, the idea of an Amish brand being recognized by the arbiters of modern graphic design is hard to imagine. But that's what makes their inclusion in Print Magazine's Regional Design Annual doubly sweet for Matt Hutton and Debby Winter, the owners of Spinlight Studio and the Simply Amish Furniture Boutique in downtown Champaign, Illinois.

"We're never happier than when we're defying expectations," says Hutton. "And when we have a client that's willing to join you in that journey, that's when you can really start to see some great work happen."

Since 2002, Spinlight Studio has been providing the marketing for Simply Amish, a national furniture company based out of Arcola, Illinois, that enables buyers to custom-order Amish furniture in their choice of styles, woods and stains, from small Amish shops throughout the Midwest.

"Changing expectations has been a key element of our work with Simply Amish from the start," explains Winter. "When we first began working with the company, most people thought of two things when they heard the word "Amish" — quality construction and a style of furniture that was more associated with doilies than high-design. Our job was to convince them that they were only half right. Simply Amish does build exceptionally well-made furniture, but they make it in a broad range of styles — from contemporary to craftsmen, and all points in between."

To accomplish that, Spinlight took a traditional brand, and gave it a modern edge. "One of our first ads featured a picture of a beautiful kitchen table with a headline that simply read, 'Envy, Pride and Gluttony. Leave it to the Amish to inspire three deadly sins with one piece of furniture,'" says Hutton. "It was out there, but it laid the groundwork for one of our key marketing objectives — to have fun with the Amish without making fun of the Amish. For us, that's a very important distinction. Simply Amish has a great brand story and a great product, and we never want to lose that by crossing that line."

In 2007, Spinlight took their belief in the brand one step beyond the typical client/agency relationship, opening their own Simply Amish furniture store at the corner of Walnut and Washington in downtown Champaign.

"It's been a lot of hard work," says Winter. "Running a retail furniture business is very different than running an ad agency, but we've had a blast learning. And our experiences have given us a lot more empathy for clients on the other side of the equation."

To see the corporate identity branding that Spinlight Studio created for Simply Amish, see the 2008 Print Magazine Regional Design issue, on shelves now.

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About Spinlight Studio
Since it's founding in 2000, Spinlight Studio has won numerous awards for design excellence, including 22 A"merican Graphic Design Awards. Located on South Staley Round in Champaign, the company offers a full range of print, broadcast and digital marketing services for a range of local and regional clients.