From New York to St. Barts: Working with Elizabeth Sutton

There are clients… and then there are clients who take you to St. Barts for their birthday party.

As we celebrate ten years of The Social Formula, I wanted to share a few stories about the people who have made this journey special. Elizabeth Sutton is definitely one of them.

Elizabeth is a New York–based artist whose work is full of color, joy, and optimism. That feeling runs through everything she creates, whether it is a painting, a fashion accessory, or something you use every day in your home. Working with her meant always having something new to look forward to.

From twelve products to more than a thousand #

When we started working together, Elizabeth had around twelve products. By the time our cooperation ended in 2022, she had more than a thousand.

There were clutches, belts, bags, and an expanding world of home décor: doorknobs, napkins, tabletops, and so much more. Ordinary objects became another place for her art to live.

Watching that collection grow was exciting. Her creativity kept finding new forms, and we got to work alongside her as the brand expanded.

From a marketing perspective, it was also a reminder that a personal brand can have many different expressions. Elizabeth’s products could be very different from one another, but her style made them feel connected. You could recognize the person behind them.

Art, a podcast, and a cooking blog #

Our work together went beyond her product collections. We also worked on launching her podcast, maintaining her cooking blog, and managing ongoing content.

And yes, she really can cook.

I loved that there was so much personality to work with. There was her art, of course, but also her interests, her ideas, and the things she wanted to share. Our job involved helping communicate those different parts of her world while keeping up with everything that was happening.

My favorite part: the murals #

My absolute favorite thing was seeing her murals come to life.

One project involved a New York pool, where the entire pool area was painted in her signature style. Seeing her work at that scale was something else. The colors and patterns changed the whole space.

Projects like that were always the most inspiring for me to watch. A product brings a piece of an artist’s work into someone’s life. A mural lets people step into it.

And then came St. Barts #

Another memorable chapter was Elizabeth’s partnership with Eden Rock St Barths.

Around that time, she invited me to celebrate her birthday with twelve other girls. So we all flew to St. Barts for a weekend together.

It is still one of my favorite memories from those years. Besides doing business, we had fun. We spent time together, celebrated, and had an amazing weekend.

When you run an agency, so much of your attention goes into the next deadline, the next launch, and the next thing that needs to get done. Experiences like that give you a moment to appreciate the people you have met through your work.

A favorite chapter in our first ten years #

Looking back, what stays with me is how much happened during our cooperation: the growing collection, the podcast, the cooking blog, the murals, the collaborations, and all the content in between.

Elizabeth brought an enormous amount of creativity into everything she did. It was a pleasure to be part of that world and to see so many of her ideas become real.

Ten years into The Social Formula, I have plenty of projects to look back on. This one still makes me smile.

And the birthday weekend in St. Barts certainly helps.

Watch me tell the story on Instagram:

View this post on Instagram