West Lea Farm Shop
Brand Refresh, Packaging, Website & Collateral Design
One frosty winter afternoon, I found myself at Rachel Peppiatt’s kitchen table, mugs of tea warming our hands. Rachel had recently taken on West Lea Farm Shop, a cherished fixture of the Alresford community, and was wrestling with the challenge of designing a flyer that encapsulated her vision. Her frustration became a portal to a richer conversation that unfolded the shop’s storied past and her aspirations to transform it into a hub for local producers and the narratives that bind them to the land. What began as a practical intervention evolved into an immersive collaboration fueled by our shared appreciation for the Hampshire countryside and the vibrant, interwoven communities it sustains.
West Lea: More Than a Farm Shop
Nestled between two small bridges and flanked by watercress beds whose history is as deep as the surrounding soil, West Lea Farm Shop transcends its function as a mere retail space. Its origins as a humble honesty box decades ago remain etched into its identity, a testament to the quiet resilience of rural enterprise. With her understated determination, Rachel has built upon this legacy, imbuing the shop with a new vitality while preserving its grounded ethos.
The Process: Honouring Heritage, Shaping the Future
Rachel had already begun to weave the threads of West Lea’s identity with the help of her family. My role was not to overwrite her vision but to distil and amplify it—crafting an identity that respected its roots while equipping it for a future that felt as authentic as it was ambitious.
Visual Identity
The new branding draws deeply from the shop’s rural heritage, embracing the textures and tones of the surrounding landscape. Muted greens and soft earth tones nod to the watercress fields, while hand-drawn elements and bespoke typography reflect both craft and care. The result is a visual language that balances the shop’s history with Rachel’s contemporary sensibility.
Website: A Digital Extension of Place
The website became a cornerstone of the refresh, designed as a welcoming digital mirror of the shop itself. We envisioned it not just as an online storefront but as a space where stories could be told: a blog celebrating local producers, pages dedicated to watercress and the shop’s unique landscape, and an e-commerce section showcasing hampers and gifts that could bring West Lea into homes far beyond Hampshire. Subtle design details—a ripple pattern evoking water over cress beds and evocative photography of the hands that tend the produce—anchored the site in its sense of place.
Packaging and Touchpoints
In the physical space, the branding extended seamlessly. Recyclable materials and restrained designs ensured that the packaging put the quality of the products first. Swing tags, flyers, and signage were infused with the same handmade sensibility, inviting customers to engage with the shop’s story at every touchpoint.
The Outcome: From Local Staple to Destination
The transformation was profound. West Lea Farm Shop has flourished amid a challenging economic landscape for food retail. Record sales and increased footfall have marked its evolution from a quiet local treasure to a destination in its own right. Online sales soared, and Rachel’s efforts even caught the eye of TV chef James Martin, who featured the shop and its watercress on his Saturday morning show, weaving West Lea’s story into a recipe that celebrated its essence.
Reflection: A Celebration of Place and Purpose
Collaborating with Rachel was an exercise in respect and care—towards the land, the community, and the profoundly personal vision she brings to her work. The new identity doesn’t merely modernize the shop; it amplifies its role as a space where the local landscape, people, and produce are celebrated equally.
West Lea Farm Shop is no longer just a place to buy food. It is an invitation—to connect with the rhythms of the countryside, to support the people and practices that sustain it, and to rediscover the quiet, profound joys of local living.
