Alesha Burgraff
Creative Director / Owner of TandemHart
Des Moines, IA
Q What do you do?
“I am the creative director and owner of TandemHart”
a branding and marketing boutique with a niche in the wedding industry. I am a graphic designer, creative director to my team, and entrepreneur.
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
I worked in the advertising agency world for the past 18 years, starting as an art director and then as a creative director for one of the most recognizable brands in the world. HINT! The brand helped inspire the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man ... The journey made me recognize what I wanted my next chapter to look like, to run my own creative team, make smart, creative work, and partner with people I love.
Q How do you stand out in your field?
I’m not creative for creative sake. Design should be beautiful, but it’s also solving a problem and making things better. If it doesn’t “work” it doesn’t matter if it’s beautiful. I pride myself on having both a strategic and a creative-minded approach.
Q What are you working on right now?
I just launched the final piece creative for a 6-month social video campaign to celebrate the 30 year anniversary of the company, Sticks Inc. and Gallery.
I have 3 wedding suites I’m directing and designing for my engaged couples.
I’m launching the last promotional materials for Wedding Show Productions and their winter show before we move on to designing the materials/website for the two summer shows.
I have one website launching for a floral design company and a website for a home builder that is just beginning.
And with the start of 2022, I’m also taking on new clients, making new connections, and discussing possible upcoming projects. In other words, MEETINGS.
Q What’s your style?
My style is more about you than it is about me. If you don’t have a visual/voice/vibe for your company/business/brand, I help you discover it. If you have it, I help you continue to develop it, push it, redesign it, or sell it to your best customers and fans.
Q Out of all your slashies, which one do you wish you could do more often?
I want to focus more on growing my business — adding to my team of creatives while connecting to new clients.
Q What is frustrating you right now?
I actually don’t have a lot of frustrations. I did in my previous job, but running my own business gives me the autonomy to do the work the way I want to, with the people I want to. If I’m frustrated, I need to look at how I’m running things and make a change. There will always be the small daily ones, but nothing worth the energy to mention here.
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
Self-promotion does not come easily to me, my focus is always on helping others. I just want someone to follow me around and do social media for TandemHart, while I do that for my clients, lol.
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
I waited too long to start my own business that’s now made me 100x happier. I would tell myself 5-10 years ago, do not wait for people to give you permission that you’re finally good enough to take the leap. It’s scary, but you’re smart and talented. The projects will come because you’ve worked hard and will continue to work hard. You don’t need that title at a fancy agency to define who you are.
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
Having a group of business owners/leaders, how they run their teams, how they grow their business. The hardest part is to figure out how and when to grow.
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
I run a small creative boutique, TandemHart. We play somewhere in the middle — we’re more than stand-alone freelancers offer, with the strategic and creative skillset of an agency, but without the overhead and “extra heads” you don’t need.
We’re always looking for design and copywriting opportunities. That could be building a brand, strategizing communications, designing a website, writing a blog, designing emails, or creating social media posts, the list goes on and on and on and …
We love working directly with clients, but after being a part of agency life for so long, we also partner with other agencies and internal creative departments to be an extension of their team. It looks a lot like freelancing, but we have our own internal checks and balances and can take calculated creative leaps with limited information, so you do less hand-holding and get the work you need DONE. We’re not order-takers like a lot of freelancers, we’re thinkers and partners.
Q Describe your ideal job/client/collaboration.
Companies and brands who don’t want to work with an agency, but need a greater skill set than a single freelancer can offer. Personally, my favorite projects are magazines/brochures and websites. Sign me up!
Q: What is your rate?
As of the beginning of 2022, TandemHart is $75 an hour across all our disciplines.
Depending on the project you may need just one dedicated creative which could be me or a team member to get the work done. We do our internal magic behind the scenes to make sure it lives up to our standards, which is baked into our rate.
If you truly need all hands on deck to get things done or for multiple skill sets, we will work collectively on your project and bill each person’s role.
We often quote projects or work against a budget so we’re all on the same page going into a project.
Q How should someone approach you about working together?
Send an email! Who’s picking up the phone anymore?! But give me an idea of the project, what you’re trying to accomplish, and if you have a budget. Projects are like building a house, they can range from a cute little cottage to a grand mansion, so it’s good to understand what you’re shooting for. I always want to be honest if TandemHart is the right fit or not.
Q Who is a creative you admire?
When I need to partner with someone on an event, I work with Gina Cramer with Make It Happen Events. She’s super organized, logistical, and timeline-driven. I know I can bounce thoughts and ideas as a business owner off of her too. Website: MakeItHappenDSM.com
Q Oh! and… how do you stay creative?
I surround myself with happy people. If we’re having fun, we’re also creative. It’s better, together.
This member profile was originally published in January 2022.