wonderful years gone by — and 30 more to plan for! We have set our sights on the future with a focus on our design innovation lab, which gives clients the strategic and design support to get winning ideas to market faster.

Of course, retail innovation is nothing new for us at Willoughby. We’ve been fortunate to work with many entrepreneurs over the years, designing successful brands from the ground up. What better way to celebrate our 30th anniversary (and our clients’ achievements) than with a few of their stories?

A longtime star in the Willoughby portfolio, we first partnered with Peruvian Connection in 1995 on a brand identity and catalog redesign. We communicated the rich story behind the artisan-made clothes, inviting customers to buy not just clothes, but to fall in love with the beautiful Peruvian culture that first inspired Annie as a Yale anthropology student.

This year, we have helped Annie enter the retail scene on a grand level, opening a flagship store in Washington, D.C., which joins four smaller stores, including one in Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District.

Shop Peruvian Connection and find store locations online at peruvianconnection.com.

We first worked with Gail to pioneer the “fast casual” restaurant concept Bagel & Bagel, which was rolled into a national partnership as Einstein Bros. Bagels. (We designed the Einstein brand and helped launch the first concept store in Ogden, Utah — a perfect test ground in a region where bagels were almost unheard of in 1996.)

After Gail left Einstein’s, we collaborated with her again to design the brand experience for SPIN!, inspired by the simplicity of authentic Neapolitan pizza and her love of biking the Italian countryside. We helped open the “favoloso” pizza shop’s fourth KC area location in June.

For locations, visit spinpizza.com. View more images in our online portfolio, WORK.

Around the turn of the millennium, we were introduced to the Park Place vision: To create a mixed-use downtown in Leawood, Kansas, a KC suburb. The vision became a brand, and this spring, the brand has come to life with streets full of shops and eateries, a weekly flower market and an outdoor ice rink to look forward to in November.

As part of the Park Place brand team from the beginning, we extend our congratulations to developers Jeff and Melanie for the realization of years of hard work. (We’re up for a glass of wine at Trezo Vino anytime you are!)

For a shops and eateries directory, visit parkplaceleawood.com. Park Place is located at 117th and Nall in Leawood, KS.

The Willoughby Design Barn in Weston, Mo., will soon be producing organic veggies and pioneering the use of sustainable farming tools and techniques. Steve Robbins, our Director of Sustainability, is leading the initiative, recruiting minds and business alliances. For more info, contact Steve.

“... if we can show them how it will benefit their business,” Ann said in the August issue of Communication Arts. Ann has been increasingly asked to offer her perspective on the designer’s role in creating a sustainable future. Her thoughts also appeared this month in the Rockport book “SustainAble” by Aaris Sherin.

With a long history of AIGA leadership both locally and nationally, Willoughby’s leader of late is Design Director Zack Shubkagel, who has been elected 2008-2010 president of the AIGA Kansas City Chapter. Visit kansascity.aiga.org for upcoming events.

First, she was one of our favorite clients as marketing director at Tivol. Now, she’s our newest VP! Katy brings us 15 years of advertising and marketing experience, with an emphasis on strategy, relationship management and brand development. Most recently with Barkley, she directed the Build-A-Bear Workshop account. She joins the management team as vice president of strategic planning.