As an artist, a maker or craftsperson, you are closer than close to your business. You you choose the name and branding, sourced the materials, made the products, chose a photography style, picked a platform, hooked up the integrations and made the first calls to whoever you wanted to market and sell to. I’m exhausted remembering what that never ending list felt like. All of that knowledge and all of those decisions live squirrelled away in your head. They make sense to you, but when applied to “the brand” and “the website” without really putting the customer’s needs first your idea of what your business ‘should’ look like gets muddied. I think you get the gist of where I might be going with this.
Customers don’t see any of your hard work, or care about your why. They see the problem you can solve or fulfil a desire or need.
As business owners we are charged with learning the behavioural economics that rule our customers’ commercial habits. From harnessing the power of the “lipstick effect” to keep your “small luxury” products selling, to figuring out the ecosystem that will eventually (and I mean eventually) sell the customer their dream £60k custom kitchen.
At some point in your ecosystem, the customer arrives cold, whether it is from Instagram, LinkedIn or organic search etc.. They see what they want to see: a homepage, a product grid or services list, a gallery of work, an enquiry form. In a few seconds their brain files your business under a category: high‑end, mid‑range, affordable or nice, but not for me. Hopefully it is “dream purchase territory”. That filing happens before they even decide to click on a product or service.
They decide based on heuristics. In non-jargon, mental short-cuts that reduce cognitive load. Elements like your visuals, pricing, contrast between text and background, legible text, messaging, choice, the functionality they need in order to find what they want or get on touch, brand consistency. The foundations of an archetypal structure they expect to discover.
Some businesses succeed because they have made themselves the only or the go‑to choice in their category, whilst also creating a strong brand identity. Think of Plain English kitchens, Tess Newall’s homewares, Jessica McCormack diamonds or Sophie Breitmeyer Fine Jewellery. These businesses are (or are becoming) household names because they are crystal clear on where they sit in the market. They have made themselves simple to understand and easy to find. There is very little confusion about what to do next when you land on their websites. There are very few questions a customer has to ask before they enquire or hit “pay now”, because the website structure, functionality and messaging have been curated meticulously to lead them on a specific journey; they follow an archetype, one that works for the product and the customer’s needs.
Clarity is not accidental. It comes from understanding what you sell, knowing how to sell it by learning how your customers shop and what incentivises them to do so. The digital ecosystem is then built to make that journey feel natural for them.
Underneath the shiny new theme, apps and opinions about “what you should do next” there are a few critical questions to ask yourself:
- What kind of product‑based business am I running?
- Does my route to market fit my product and customers?
- Does my digital ecosystem serve my customers’ needs, desires and habits?
Archetypes and their profit protocols
There is no one‑size‑fits‑all in website design and every digital ecosystem operates in it’s . Some businesses rely on daily online orders, some on showrooms and trade accounts, some on commissions and a handful of high‑value pieces each year. Your archetype is the bridge between how your business really works and the digital ecosystem you configure. Whether this is a full ecommerce platform, an enquiry‑led Webflow site, or a mix of both is down to your archetype.
Success does not come from having more features or a homepage designed to follow the latest trend; it comes from knowing your archetype and committing to the systems that suit it, behind the scenes and customer‑facing too.
At Folklore I work with four of the five archetypes I see most often. Each one comes with distinct customer habits, emotional needs and sales patterns, and needs a different digital ecosystem around it, whether that is a classic online shop, a showroom‑first model or a more enquiry‑driven setup. When you know which archetype you are, you can stop copying what is working for someone else’s business model and build a setup that actually fits your own.
For example, a Daily Ritual skincare business lives or dies on repeat purchase and retention. Your first sale is a huge win, but you make your best margins on the second sale and all the ones that follow.
A high‑end kitchen or furniture business, by contrast, has a much higher cost per acquisition. What costs you (CPA) is convincing someone to switch from a mid‑range option to a high‑end business. A High‑End Craft Business may only need a few high‑conviction sales per client over many years to have a profitable business. Those two businesses cannot share the same homepage, enquiry flow, tech stack or ad strategy and expect the same results.
That is what this article is about: giving you a clear language for the type of business you are really running, so you can stop fighting your own website and start designing the right ecosystem around it.
The Archetypes
At Folklore I focus on the four archetypes I see most often in high‑end craft, design and lifestyle businesses: the High‑End Craft Business, the Daily Ritual Business, the Everyday Essentials Business and the Seasonal Gift Giving Business. There is a fifth archetype, the Trend Driven Retailer, which I name here because it dominates a lot of online growth advice, but it is not a category I work with.
1. The High‑End Craft Business
High‑value, integrity‑led, rooted in high‑quality materials and heritage craft skills. Purchases per client are lower‑frequency but higher‑ticket; this world gives “investment piece” more than “nice to have”. Deep storytelling, true provenance and a sense of prestige are non‑negotiable.
Examples: fine jewellers, custom kitchens, handmade rugs, valuable artwork, antiques, premium and luxury homewares, ceramic artists. Sales might happen online, via showroom appointments, interior designers, galleries or all of the above.
2. The Daily Ritual Business
Think frequent, repeated purchases anchored in habit. This archetype lives on loyalty, retention and repeat orders; subscriptions, refills and top‑ups are often the backbone of revenue. Your job is to make re‑ordering or upgrading feel effortless and obvious, whether that is via a “buy now” button, a subscription portal or a very simple way to say “same again, please”.
Examples: skincare, wellness products and other subscription‑driven services or memberships that anchor a day or week.
3. The Everyday Essentials Business
Functional, trusted basics with continuous demand. The job here is clarity, reliability and ease: people know what they want or need and can find it easily at a price and quality that feels sensible and dependable. This might be through a straightforward online shop, a steady trickle of wholesale orders, or a small but reliable direct‑to‑consumer channel.
Examples: affordable homewares like hand‑painted lampshades, accessible prints, luxurious household staples, sales that tick along quietly in the background and have a nice margin.
4. The Seasonal Gift Giving Business
Every business has its peak season. However, the Seasonal Gift Giving business serves recurring occasions and seasonality. Sales peak around holidays, life events and “thinking of you” moments, so the business has to help people quickly find the right thing, at the right time, for the right person, whether that ends in an online purchase, an in‑store visit or a bespoke enquiry.
Examples: businesses that see a clear purchase spike around Christmas, Valentine’s, weddings, baby arrivals and other gifting seasons; think chocolate, flowers, stationery, jewellery, special‑edition homewares.
5. The Trend Driven Retailer
I won’t go into much detail on this archetype as I don’t work with it at Folklore. These businesses tend not to be founded in craft, be purpose‑driven, or have ethical or responsible supply chains.
Volume‑centric and trend‑led, focused on urgency, “newness” and fast shipping. This archetype thrives on regular drops, quick decisions and creating that “if you don’t grab it now, it will be gone” feeling.
Examples: lower‑end homewares or cheaper fashion garments with an AOV around £25.00, fashion‑forward ceramicists or fashion jewellery working in constant “new in” cycles.
Let’s zoom back out: build it for the market, not for yourself
Understand your customer and their needs and you will win every time. Your job at the helm is to use tactics that make sense for your purchase frequency, product margins and the (yes) emotional needs of your customers.
When you know your archetype and work to your strengths, you play by your own set of rules and follow a purchasing flow your customers understand. When you choose the systems that work for you, your homepage, enquiry paths, sales emails, messaging, photography and ad spend finally pull in the same direction. The perception of your brand starts to generate “aha” moments and, consequently, sales.
Mini checklist: which archetype are you?
So now you want to get clear on your archetype, right? Start here. These questions will point you towards strategies that play to your strengths before you begin to label anything. You will need to be honest with yourself. Heritage businesses are earned, not built overnight.
1. How often do my customers realistically buy from me?
Weekly, monthly, yearly, a few times in a lifetime? Does my business need them to come back repeatedly, or are we content with one or two big, high‑value purchases per client?
- Higher purchase frequency → Everyday Essentials Business or Daily Ritual Business.
- Lower purchase frequency → High‑End Craft Business or Seasonal Gift Business.
2. What is my average order value (AOV)?
Do my website and wider digital presence reflect this? Does it feel as luxurious or as accessible as the numbers suggest? Remember, heritage businesses are not launched, they are earned.
- High AOV → High‑End Craft Business or Daily Ritual Business, potentially Seasonal Gift Business.
- Lower AOV → Seasonal Gift Business or Everyday Essentials Business.
Sidenote: your AOV can be increased based on a number of markers and factors. Let’s keep it straightforward for now.
3. What kind of margin do I need on most orders to be sustainable?
Am I relying on generous margins on fewer orders, or thinner margins on higher volume?
- High margin + lower volume → High‑End Craft Business.
- Lower margin + higher volume → Everyday Essentials, Daily Ritual, Trend‑Driven Retailer.
4. Does my product need deep storytelling and trust‑building signals, or light explanation and a very clear “add to cart / enquire” path?
- Greater depth, more explaining and proof of value via visual references, project images and careful language → High‑End Craft Business or certain Daily Ritual businesses.
- More surface‑level storytelling that piques a more immediate, “nice to have now” need → Seasonal Gift Business or Everyday Essentials Business.
5. What does a typical buying journey look like?
Do people usually discover you and buy in the same session, enquire, go away, come back with drawings and measurements, or join your world (newsletter, social) and buy weeks or months later?
- Longer, more relational journeys with consultations and projects → High‑End Craft.
- Fast, habitual “top‑up” journeys → Daily Ritual.
- Fast, occasion‑based spikes → Seasonal Gift Giving.
6. Where do my best enquiries and orders originate?
Word‑of‑mouth, PR and exhibitions, interior designers, galleries, architects, or ads and social?
- Heavy trade/press/word‑of‑mouth → High‑End Craft Business.
- Heavy performance marketing, influencer‑driven, discount codes → Daily Ritual, Everyday Essentials, Trend‑Driven Retailer.
7. What does my launch rhythm look like?
Does my business constantly launch new collections, quietly refine a core collection over years, lean into seasonal gifting peaks, or build repeat routines and refills?
- Constant high‑frequency drops → Trend‑Driven Retailer.
- Slow, evolving core collection → High‑End Craft.
- Strong seasonal peaks → Seasonal Gift Giving.
- Repeat routines and refills → Daily Ritual.
8. How urgent does my website feel?
Does it feel calm, spacious and confident, or pressure-on to buy and “always on sale”? Does the tone say “take your time while you sip your tea” or “grab it now before it’s gone”?
- Calm, spacious, patient → High‑End Craft.
- Gentle urgency around habits and refills → Daily Ritual.
- Strong time‑bound urgency around dates and cut‑offs → Seasonal Gift Giving.
- Constant “new in / last chance” → Trend‑Driven Retailer.
9. What am I optimising for in the next 12–24 months: depth or volume?
Am I aiming for deeper, higher‑value projects with fewer clients, or more people buying smaller, more frequent things? Your ecosystem should reflect that.
- Depth (fewer clients, higher value) → High‑End Craft.
- Volume (more customers, smaller baskets) → Everyday Essentials, Daily Ritual, Seasonal Gift Giving, Trend‑Driven Retailer.
10. What kind of customer retention strategy does my business use?
Do we use (or need to be using):
- a loyalty points or rewards system?
- subscriptions, refills or “subscribe and save”?
- a private client club or loyalty tier?
- a trade programme for designers and architects?
- regular launches, previews or studio events?
- ongoing PR and editorial coverage?
- a simple but consistent newsletter or digital community hub?
Roughly:
- Points, rewards, subscriptions, refills, “VIP” discounts → Daily Ritual Business.
- Trade programmes, client previews, launches, studio events, PR and editorial coverage → High‑End Craft Businesses.
- Simple “10% off your next order” codes or basic offers, with light touch otherwise → Everyday Essentials or Seasonal Gift Giving Businesses.
If you are a Daily Ritual Business but you obsess over one‑off drops more than retention, loyalty and subscription, you are quietly leaking profit. If you are a High‑End Craft business using a trend retailer’s homepage layout, you are teaching people to skim and price‑shop instead of lingering and committing to watching the story unfold.
Why knowing your archetype changes what you do next.
Once you know your archetype, the question “what should I do next?” becomes straightforward, whether you are running a shop with an ecommerce store, a kitchen showroom or a hybrid with both enquiries and commissions.
- Your homepage becomes a directive tool, not a convoluted moodboard. A High‑End Craft business prioritises storytelling, trust signals and a clear consultation or trade path; a Daily Ritual business prioritises on‑ramp offers, bundles and repeat purchase incentives.
- Your campaigns stop competing. Launch calendars, email flows and ad strategy line up with how your customer actually buys, instead of chasing every trend you see online.
- Your tech stack gets lighter. You can see which tools genuinely support your archetype and which are just clutter.
Real success comes from aligning your website, marketing and operations with the way your customers behave in your specific category. That is how you build a brand that generates connection with the people who are interested and ready to buy from you.
Next steps and how Folklore can help.
Over the next few posts, I will unpack each archetype in more detail, starting with the High‑End Craft Business. I will explain the archetype should shape your digital ecosystem, brand perception, the homepage layout, photography and campaign strategy, whether you are selling directly online, via showrooms, trade or a mix of the three.
If you are reading this and thinking “I have no idea which archetype we are, but I know something is off and I want to fix it NOW”, you may:
- reply to this email with a link to your site and a sentence on how often customers typically buy, and I will point you towards the most likely archetype, or
- if you now need to refresh or redesign your Shopify or Webflow site and its wider digital ecosystem around your true archetype, book a complimentary 15‑minute archetype audit with me and we can look at working together to map it out.
