Over ten years ago as a graphic design student, I dreamed of getting to work on certain kinds of projects. I realize now that I was envisioning my ideal client – creatives, people not afraid of color, bold thinkers – and working on Uptown Candy was one of those experiences. A sister store to Uptown Kids, Uptown Candy opened in November just in time for the holiday rush. And what a rush it was! Now two months later, the store still brings a smile to my face every time I go in . It’s totally my happy place! And I wanted to share it with you too.

The overall goal of the store was to focus on bringing in more than just kids – we wanted it to be a place where kids of any age could find something fun and delicious.  The shop opens into Uptown Kids on one side, but also has its own main entrance.  In the center of the store is a giant revolving lollipop, lit from within. (Architecture firm Elliott & Associates designed the entire buildout of the space – it’s so crazy cheerful and fun!)

The store is full of all kinds of in-house candy and gourmet popcorn, as well as a few other brands such as Hammond’s (YUM). In addition to creating the overall branding and color scheme for the store, I worked with the private label candy company to develop the packaging labels on all of the Uptown Candy branded items.  My two absolute must-haves from the line are the smores kits (complete with marshmallows and skewers!) and any of the popcorn flavors (hello, kettle corn. I LURVE YOU). Absolutely delicious.

Ummm, yes. Those are chocolate-covered potato chips in the photo below. YES.

In the back, you can have candied apples made on site just for you, with any number of custom toppings. They also feature macarons (a la Laduree!) baked by a local pastry chef trained in France.

Big thanks to the lovely team at Uptown Candy for allowing me to help out with getting the shop up and running. It really was a dream to get to brand not only the store, but also work with all of the different packaging elements.

Additionally, my team here at Pencil Shavings is helping out with the UTC social media, and we’d love to connect with you both on FB, Instagram, and Twitter!  We’re going to be doing some fun giveaways coming up too – and if you’re interested in ordering anything from UTC, they ship nationwide. Call 405.418.8881 to get your order in the works.