We are so, so grateful for 2020. 

That might sound strange, but we are eternal optimists here at Carew Co. The Great Recession hit just a year after our founding, so we learned early on that there is always a way forward — and that path to brighter things is forged by relationships.

It’s been seven months since Gov. Brad Little issued a stay-at-home order in response to COVID-19.

I first met Thomas Walsh over a decade ago when we were paired up for the AIGA Idaho “Mix Mentor” program, which matched Boise State graphic design students with industry professionals. The idea was to give soon-to-graduate students a mentor so they could ask questions and get an idea of what the real world was like.

When we first started collecting experiences for this post a few weeks ago, it seemed like Idaho was cautiously heading out of the woods. We thought, “Maybe we can share what we learned during quarantine?” It has been such a rollercoaster experience and we’ve each reacted in our own unique ways — there have been moments of joy, despair, creativity, hope, camaraderie. There have been new opportunities and grief over what we have lost.

This week, Carew Co is going remote to help flatten the curve. It’s a tough call, but we want our employees and clients to be healthy and recover quickly from this pandemic.

Aaron Kvarfordt just started with us, but we’re already beginning to think of him as a human Swiss Army knife. He creates super clean, solid typography. He can illustrate by hand or digitally. He designs prototypes and mockups for packaging. He knows how to build brands from the ground up.

We had a blast at Carew Co.’s 10^th anniversary party, and we hope you did, too!

We couldn’t have made it this past decade without such awesome work and support. We’re growing, we have fantastic clients, we even got new carpet in the office, and signed a lease for the office space next door. Life is good, you know?

We’ve had a great year thanks to our awesome clients and creative, up-for-anything staff. Through 365 days of challenging — and rewarding — work, we’ve racked up big numbers and gone through so much coffee. So, so much coffee.