Founders Q+A: Spark & Bloom on brand strategy, creativity and the importance of scheduling

Spark & Bloom on brand strategy, creativity and the importance of scheduling

Spark & Bloom founder Jeanne Carlier believes in businesses’ responsibility to take action. She launched Spark & Bloom to help small business who do good in the world - supporting them to integrate their environmental values into their brand. Born in Paris, Jeanne spent 7 years in California including 18 months in her van. Jeanne is now back in France and spreading her mission values of responsible creation, transparent communication, learning and educating everyday, cultivating collaborations, nuturing mindfulness and kindness.

ESGmark®: What brought you into the world of sustainable and ethical business?

Jeanne Carlier (JC): I grew up in a family of environmental activists, so I've been questioning our global North's lifestyles, how we create things and how they impact our environment for a long time.
When I started my design career, I worked for both small family-run businesses and global corporations that sold design-forward products like stationery. But, working in the conventional product industry didn’t align with my values. I saw first-hand the wasteful effects of packaging, printing requirements, and overseas outsourcing. So I left the physical products industry and moved into the digital space, designing online experiences for a well-known wellness industry company. But something still felt off… I was being asked to design user experiences meant to generate clicks and manipulate users to buy or engage more without making conscious decisions. Ultimately, I knew I had to say goodbye to any system that chooses cheaper prices over worker’s rights, sales over sustainability, and bottom-lines over well-being. So I exited corporate life and created Spark & Bloom Studio.

ESGmark®: Having lived in both Europe and the US, what are the main differences you see in business' attitude to sustainability and positive outreach?

JC: I haven't worked with a lot of French companies since I got back a year or so ago, I still mainly work with clients in the US. But I've seen an interesting governmental initiative that I haven't witnessed in the US: The Digital National Comity created a roadmap to reduce our digital carbon footprint and make it more sustainable.

ESGmark®: The branding you put together for clients is absolutely beautiful - what inspires you creatively?

JC: Well, first thank you, it's always so nice to hear that my designs resonate with people! My clients and their specific goals are the ones that inspire my creativity. Each client comes with specific brand foundations, brand personality, people they want to appeal to and something they want to achieve. This is really the list of ingredients. For example, I just finished a project for a non-profit that trains community leaders to create lasting social change. We create a very dynamic and bold brand because we want their participants to feel energized and motivated. I'm also working with a wealth manager specializing in responsible finance. Here, we want his audience to be reassured. He fosters a very human connection with his clients but there is still a strict structure to follow with governmental and environmental regulations. Plus we're talking about numbers, so we need to design a brand that is more calm and visually structured. But of course, all of this is going to be influenced by my environment like the books I read, the walk I take and the artists I follow. So I'm very intentional about what I feed my mind with.

ESGmark®: How do you balance being so creative with the nitty-gritty of running a business?
JC: I have a precise schedule and workflow! I learned over the years that my mind works best in the morning so that is when I do brainstorming for my clients but also for my business. In the afternoon I am more in 'production mode' and it's when I take calls.

ESGmark®: What has been your biggest learning since founding the company?

JC: It's ok to not be able to do everything perfectly! Running a business is difficult, but running an ethical business adds a layer of difficulty that can be intimidating. So taking it one step at a time, and looking back at the progress is important.

ESGmark®: What are the main challenges you see facing ethical businesses in the next couple of years?
JC: I think the industry is growing, which is of course a good thing, but it's going to be more difficult to stand out and it's going to bring its fair share of woke-washing.

ESGmark®: Where do you see Spark and Bloom in the next 2 years?
JC: I'd love to be a one-stop shop to launch your business! So going from the brand strategy to the website launch, with copy and design in between. I'd love to have a grant program in place for young/marginalized people who want to become entrepreneurs. And I'd also love to offer accessible resources on mindfulness, ethics and sustainability but I'm not sure what shape or form it will be.

ESGmark®: What are you most excited about?
JC: I'm excited to finally be offering brand strategy. I could see a disconnect in business owners coming to me for brand design, but not really knowing how to articulate their position in the market, what their core values were or what kind of obstacles their audience were facing. So it was difficult to design a visual identity that was relevant, and ultimately sustainable, without this information being clear. Now I really accompany my clients' from the ground up and it's really fulfilling to see them being much more able to embody their brand and communicate about it.

ESGmark®: What are you reading at the moment?
JC: I'm re-reading Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. It's a wonderful book written by a native-American biologist where she talks about our reciprocal relationship with nature and shares indigenous knowledge and stories.

For more on Spark & Bloom and their ethical approach to branding, visit their website.

Speaking to our founders is central to keeping the ESGmark® community connected - read our other interviews with Prosody London on natural fragrance and business karma, Lofty Box on sell by dates and subscriptions or Green Glamour on sustainable fashion.