Northwest Arkansas seems to draw in the creatives from across the state. A true hub for niche markets, this corner of the state knows how to make a statement. Faytown Designs is making its presence known to not only the people of Arkansas, but to people across the globe. Different products, each unique and impressive, come from the Faytown Designs team, and the sub-brand “Etched” is a venture that shows how art and engineering combine.
Dylan Trichell, owner of Faytown Designs, began his own creative journey when practicing an alternative side to STEM. “Most of my initial experience was from mechanical engineering, manufacturing, and new product development. What I noticed was that I truly had fun with the creative side of engineering, so I started teaching myself entry-level graphic design techniques while in school full-time and working part-time as an engineer in a local R&D department,” Trichell says. “I love to create products that sell, whether that is our own in-house product or leading our design team to help develop new products for clients. There is something special about having an idea, putting it on paper, and then turning it into a physical representation of what it will look like.”
The team at Faytown Designs may call themselves engineers, marketers, software architects and sales representatives, but they are really artists in disguise. “Initially, we were a service-based company full of engineers and manufacturers back in 2017. Around 2020 we started noticing we had all of the capabilities to develop our own in-house products that we can sell. Those products are now all sold under the name, Etched, which focuses on unique personalized gifts and home goods,” Trichell explains. He shares that the name “Etched” may be changing soon, but it won’t affect their products that will still be easily accessible on the Faytown Designs website along with the new name.
The process for creating the impressive products that the Faytown Designs team puts out is less complicated than you might think. Because they are centered on engineering, the team has a system down pat to produce standard and custom orders flawlessly. “We actually have been developing a backend system that automates this process. We currently start by having customers design their products on our website or talk with our design team. The design then automatically gets sent to our laser etching team and then straight to our shipping fulfillment team. We try to keep as many of our hands off of this process so that less variables go into making exactly what the customer wants. Less variables lead to better quality assurance and much faster lead times,” Trichell says. Common products from Etched include metal wallets, drinking glasses, beer mugs and desk lamps. Each of these items can be personalized with images, messages and a unique feature for the desk lamps are maps of neighborhoods and cities.
“We are currently selling via our online store, Etsy, Jane.com, Faire.com. Thanks to our new sales rep, you will probably start seeing us popping up in some stores in Arkansas and the U.S. over the coming months,” Trichell shares. The company has been highlighted by Jane.com as a best seller, and the Faytown Designs team is expecting to continue growing that relationship with upcoming events on the website. More platforms have reached out to the company in the past, so Trichell is hopeful that the brand will continue to grow in the years to come to help tackle other ideas he has brewing.
“I plan to expand our company into numerous brands that turn into a support structure for small businesses while developing our own in-house products to sell. In the near future, our service based business will be more focused on being able to help small businesses increase revenue, decrease costs, and make beautiful new products. In the not so far future, we have some software we hope to release to the public which we expect to grow exponentially once it is finally available.”
Keep an eye out on Faytown Designs’ website and social media pages for new products released after Father’s Day.
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