Back to New York: Joining Squarespace Circle Day 2026 as a Branding Consultant

I’m very happy to be heading back to New York this October for Squarespace Circle Day 2026, this time as one of six in-person Branding Consultants at Squarespace Headquarters.

Last year, I had the opportunity to contribute to Circle Day in three different sessions: two in-person roundtables in New York and an online presentation on Project Management for Web Design Agencies, where I shared how I grew September Design Studio from a solo practice into a collaborative, multi-location studio.

Returning this year as a Branding Consultant feels like a natural continuation of that conversation, but from a different perspective.

From building a studio to building a brand

Over the past eight years of growing September Design Studio, my own role has gradually evolved. Today, much of my work sits at the intersection of creative direction, brand positioning, client experience, and business development.

One of the things I’ve learned along the way is that exceptional design talent is only part of building a successful creative business. A strong brand makes the value of that talent clear long before the first discovery call.

For Circle Day 2026, I’ll be meeting individually with three fellow Squarespace designers for complimentary 1:1 branding consultations. We’ll have a short, focused window to look at their businesses from the perspective of the people they most want to work with: how they position themselves, how they present their work, what their website communicates, and where there may be opportunities to create greater clarity, distinction, and trust.

I’m especially curious about these sessions because they’re not about applying a formula. Every creative business is different. The interesting part is understanding what someone does exceptionally well and finding the clearest, most compelling way for the rest of the world to see it too.

Three designers, three conversations

I know that three people have already signed up for their sessions with me, but I don’t yet know much about them, which makes this part especially exciting.

Before we meet in New York, I’ll have the opportunity to discover their work, understand where they are in their businesses, and think about what could be most useful to explore together. I’m genuinely curious to see who they are, what they’ve built, what questions they bring to the table, and where a fresh outside perspective might help.

There is something I really enjoy about stepping into another creative person’s world for a moment. When you spend every day inside your own business, it can be surprisingly difficult to experience it the way a prospective client does. Sometimes an outside perspective can reveal an opportunity that has been sitting there all along.

Meet all six Circle Day 2026 Branding Consultants

I’m also very happy to be part of this year’s group of six Branding Consultants, each bringing a different perspective and area of expertise to the 1:1 sessions. Alongside September Design Studio, the consultant lineup includes Andre Bussanich of Dos Dos Design, John Hundley of John August Design, Patricia Johnson of Cultivation Studio, Liz Martinez-Nelson of Favorite Things Studio, and Jessica Cabanin of This Way to Fabulous. Our studios span branding, strategy, storytelling, hospitality and CPG, interior design, values-driven businesses, and digital experiences, so Circle members have a really interesting range of perspectives to choose from. I’m looking forward to meeting the other consultants in New York, exchanging ideas, and seeing the different approaches we each bring to helping creative businesses strengthen their brands.

Returning to Circle Day

Circle Day has become particularly meaningful to me because it brings together people who understand the very specific experience of building a creative business around the web.

Last year was also an opportunity to reflect on how much September Design Studio has changed since I started it. What began as my own independent design practice has become a collaborative studio shaped by the different talents, perspectives, and expertise of the people I work alongside.

That experience has influenced so much of what I now think about branding and creative businesses: not simply how something looks, but how a business communicates what makes it valuable, creates trust, and builds a world people want to be part of.

I’m looking forward to bringing that perspective into my three consultations, learning from the designers I’m paired with, reconnecting with the Circle community, and spending a few days immersed in conversations about where our industry is going next.

New York, see you in October.

Circle Day 2026 takes place at Squarespace Headquarters in New York City. Complimentary branding consultations are available exclusively to in-person Circle Day ticket holders.

Looking back at Circle Day 2025

Last year, I joined Circle Day as a speaker and roundtable facilitator, sharing the systems and decisions behind September Design Studio’s evolution from a solo practice into a collaborative, multi-location studio. My session, Project Management for Web Design Agencies, explored everything from recognizing when it’s time to grow your team to mapping workflows, finding and onboarding collaborators, communication, and pricing. If you’re building your own creative studio, you can download the resources from my 2025 Circle Day sessions, or read my full Circle Day 2025 recap. You can also watch the prerecorded online talk below and read Squarespace’s feature on the session for a closer look at the ideas we explored together.

Circle Day 25 Squarespace Headquarters