R&R Head Labs is a Denver-based barbershop that focuses on employing formerly incarcerated men and women and returning community members who learned their skills through their lived experience. Taking this concept from dream to reality was a labor of love and one of the most meaningful projects I've ever worked on. The team and I dug deep to understand the needs and triggers that would inform the shop's design, the overall aesthetic, and all details. We built relationships and visited several prisons and correctional facilities to understand our team's experiences and to find future barbers as they transition out of the system. We organized an advisory board of mentors with lived experience to ensure we were getting everything right. I have been involved from the beginning, helping to choose the branding direction, key colors, fonts, etc. As the acting creative director, I have an ongoing role in helping with marketing campaigns, current and future merchandise development, and offering ideas and opinions as needed. We are opening our second location soon!

I conceived and designed the fixture for the retail section of the shop and worked alongside the branding and interior design teams to bring the shop's interiors to life.

I designed all the merchandise in the shop, sourced favorite magazines for sale, embroidered hats with our logo and key phrases, and had bags made from recycled “Welcome to Denver” billboards. I designed our team’s aprons to accommodate what they would need on hand during their services. The team wanted to incorporate a detail to make the aprons customizable; I created the zipper detail below so that each team member could zip on different descriptors daily.

After landing on the theme of our initial photoshoot campaign, I identified and hired the photographer and production team to make our vision come to life. I contacted key creatives and change-makers in the Denver area to be our models. Along with the team, we scouted locations and conducted six separate photoshoots in five different locations over the course of two days. The exhilarating two days became our GO PUBLIC campaign, which invited our clients and barbering team to GO PUBLIC with their life’s journey.

I set up the online shop with Wix to sell the merchandise I designed to our clients and fans nationwide. I manage all the details of online sales, fulfill orders, manage inventory, and work on future orders to bring new ideas and creativity to the shop and online.

I initiated and executed our first “Artist In Residence” program with artist TUKE. We worked together on conceptualizing the debut mural on the side of our shop and artwork to be printed on T-shirts, Sweatshirts, and hats.

I write and publish all the monthly newsletters as well as create all the in-shop signage.