Celebrating One Year of Pennington Design Studio
REFLECTING ON MY FIRST YEAR IN BUSINESS
Next week, I’m having a ribbon cutting with the Madison Chamber of Commerce to celebrate one year of Pennington Design Studio. As this milestone approaches, I wanted to look back on my journey so far and reflect on the highs, the lows, and what I’m taking away from this opening chapter of the business.
I can’t say that this business has always been my dream. I didn’t grow up thinking I’d start a business. I didn’t even grow up wanting to be a graphic designer. (I mean who does? Most kids don’t realize that’s an option.) But I have always had a creative drive. Long story short, the little girl who asked for “art supplies” almost every year for Christmas became the high schooler making the group project powerpoint and designing t-shirts for her high school marching band. When my band director joked that he’d have to pay me once I got a degree, I realized “Wait a minute, I could actually do this!”
My “big girl job” out of Auburn was with a small branding team in Opelika called eloise design co. While in school I learned a ton about the discipline of design, it was here that I learned what I could really do with it. How I could serve clients well by producing good work with an excellent project experience. And it’s where I truly fell in love with the world of brand design.
Branding really relies on this practice of what I’ve started to call “visual translation.” It’s the skill as a designer, to take the words, stories, ideas, and fragmented inspiration of a non-designer and translate them into functional and attractive design. It’s the ability to take a client’s prompt of “refined but colorful and exciting” and decide what imagery, color choices, and typography will get their idea on the page.
I love this part of the creative process. Especially in small business branding, I found that I loved listening to a client tell me all about their passion and what sparked them to start this whole business; I get the chance to try and bottle that up and put it into visuals, creating a brand that when they see it, they say “Yes! This is it! This is what I had in my head!”
I spent two years after graduation honing my branding skills as my fiance finished up school.
As we neared a wedding and a move to Huntsville, I was at a crossroads. I can try to find a graphic designer role (which are honestly few and far between) or I can start my own business and keep doing the same type of work that I love… Can’t say it was that hard of a decision. So I officially got the LLC for Pennington Design Studio that summer and got to work. Eventually, I got everything set to launch with confidence in October 2025.
I remember that launch day/week so clearly. I had been working for months on the business – naming it, branding it, making a website, building out packages and pricing, mapping out the client process with email templates and the project documents, setting up a bank account, learning QuickBooks – the list goes on and on. I posted the launch on the @penningtondesignstudio account, basically saying “Here I am! I’m open for business!” And then… crickets.
just because you build it, doesn't mean they will automatically come.
That’s when I learned my first big lesson in owning a business. Just because you build it, doesn’t mean they will automatically come. We want to believe that if we put in the work to create a good product/service that people will just start lining up. Well, if it works like that for you, I’d love to know your secret.
I remember feeling so frustrated in those first couple of months. Not only had I invested so much time into building the business before the launch, but now I was going to events, following up with people religiously, posting thoughtful content 3 times a week, and working really really hard. And still seemingly nothing to show for it.
It was discouraging at times, but that was offset by the incredible community that I started to form around me. In that time, I connected with multiple other women business owners. These women gave me their time and so kindly sat at the table to listen, encourage, offer wisdom, and get me into the right rooms. My network of women like these has continued to grow larger and deeper after a year in Huntsville and it’s an essential part of sustaining this one-woman show I have going on over here.
Eventually, as these women gently assured me, the business did come. I taught a workshop with the Small Business Development Center and one of the attendees became my first client, Earthgrove Artistry.
Then a month or so later, I met Tonya Ross with Southern Kitchen and Home through a Women Connect event and went on to lead SK&H’s rebrand. That naturally flowed into a connection with one of her then-employees with Jackalope Folk.
In January 2026, I made a goal to complete 10 branding projects in the calendar year. At that point clients were trickling in slowly, so I was trying to be realistic and not stress myself out with too high of expectations. Well, I just off-boarded my 13th branding client in 2026. Now it’s clear that the building work was not for nothing – it just takes time.
I always like to tell people that I’m a designer because I’m creative and a control freak and graphic design is art with rules. That Type A perfectionist part of me can be really loud sometimes. When I sat down to write about this year in business, I naturally wanted to analyze, to critique. To use this milestone as a place to find the leaky pipes and make sure everything is working in the optimal way to set up for the next year. If you’re like me (Enneagram 1, anybody?), you know that it’s actually really hard to celebrate even though deep down that’s the one thing you want. It’s difficult to stop working, stop perfecting, and just pause to be grateful.
So here I am doing that.
I get to “go to work” everyday and do something I genuinely love. I get to create. I get to meet so many people and make the sweetest friends. I get to hear about what makes people light up. I get to help them feel proud and confident and prepared. As my friends joke, I literally get paid to color.
I’m able to do this because I have been surrounded by supportive family and friends from the very beginning. My parents buying me those art kits; my cohort at Auburn powering through the late night projects together; the EDC team training me in client work; my weekly coffees with my friend Elizabeth; my husband who has been by my side for every high and low of it all – I could go on for pages. The point is: this business was not built by me in a couple of months in 2025. It has been taking shape for decades and there are countless people who have played a role in it.
When I pictured my career, this was never what I would have drawn up for myself. God has always had this way of turning things into something so, so much greater than I could ever imagine. He has been paving the way for this for a long while and I am overwhelmed with gratitude and humility at His kindness. He really outdid Himself with Pennington Design Studio.
Celebrate one year with me!
I would be so honored to have you celebrate one year of Pennington Design Studio with me.
Add it to your calendar and if you know you'll be there, I'd love an RSVP!
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14
11:00AM
BELLEHOUSE VENUE
4097 Sullivan St, Madison, AL 35758
in search of small business sponsors
I'm offering sponsorship opportunities ranging from $100-300.
Your sponsorship (of any level) gets:
Your business on signage at event
Your business on printed take-home card for every attendee
Your business on the event web page with beneficial SEO content
Your business on a social post from @penningtondesignstudio
+ A ton of gratitude from me!!
If you're interested, check out this form or email me at allie@penningtondesignstudio.com!
At Pennington Design Studio,
I offer comprehensive brand design packages that are rooted in brand strategy and give you a well-designed and effective visual identity and ready-to-use materials.
If this sounds like the kind of process you've been looking for, I'd love to hear about your business. My Intro Call is free, low pressure, and a great way to figure out if we're a good fit!
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