HERE IS A LITTLE SOMETHING

About our fantastic team!

Our leadership and marketing talent reside in Brookings, South Dakota and Marshall, Minnesota. We bring the same core values of our agricultural and commerce hubs to all we do. Because we live and work here, we have a vested interest in rural marketing and small business marketing for our region – and beyond.

Our Mission

To create lasting impact and growth by providing full-service marketing and design to the regional businesses and organizations who are the foundation of our rural communities.

Our Vision

Create meaningful opportunities to serve rural communities.

Our Values

We will always be reliable – and never leave you hanging for an answer.
We will always be approachable – and never shy away from a challenge.
We will always be intentional – and never advise what we don’t believe.

Meet Our Team

People Make All the Difference

As a business, you already know people are the difference. Upframe Creative knows this, too. As a company, we have built a team that values integrity, progress, purpose and a pioneering creative spirit. We create:

Website design
Branding and logo design
Graphic design
Strategy
Rural marketing and small business marketing
• Customer communications and newsletters
WordPress maintenance and support

Most importantly, we constantly challenge ourselves to be the type of team we would want to work with. Our values will always reflect those of our clients – and that’s how we move beyond just great work – to measurable impact and lasting legacies.

Let’s start a conversation about what’s next.

Carrie Kuhl

CEO | Founder

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Shay Vandendriessche

Director of Sales & Project Management

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About Carrie

When you work with UpFrame, you work with Carrie – web guru, graphic designer and photographer all rolled into one positive person. She loves to use her skills to nurture small businesses from their very inception or take existing ones to the next level.

She has served on various boards within the community including Vision Brookings Board of Directors, Downtown Brookings Business District Committee under the Chamber, Visit Brookings, Brookings Historical Commission and the Public Arts Commission. Carrie has also taught graphic design at South Dakota State University (SDSU) and currently focuses on being a mentor to other business owners and designers.

She contributes much of her success, and sometimes the ability to keep her sanity, to participating in a Masterminds group which consists of like-minded women who act as a sounding board and hold each other accountable.

Carrie’s built-in support group begins with her husband Jason (the love of her life), sweet son Maxen (who is already a creative genius), daughter Rylee (who is their sweet little rainbow baby) the best dog ever (Hanna) along with her family and close friends who always show up when she needs them, even when she doesn’t ask. She enjoys family time, playing games, watching movies, reading books, going for a run, traveling and relaxing at home (Basically she is as normal as it gets).

Things about me you didn't know, you wanted to know...

I prefer pie over cake, and if I do eat cake, I scrape off the frosting and give it to my husband.
Speaking of my husband, he is also a designer. I'm sure you can imagine the conversations and "constructive criticism" that happens at our house.
I was named after a song recorded in 1967 by the Hollies called Hey Carrie Anne.
Although I went to school for Graphic Design, I taught myself animation, WordPress and studied photography under a great local photographer. I love learning new skills, it's all apart of what makes up my creative map.
I'm not a fan of Pizza... not saying anything else about that.
I would consider myself an ambivert, a person whose personality has a balance of extrovert and introvert features. I love being at home, but if you ask me to come "play" I'm all in. I just may need to rest the next day, haha!

About Shay

Shay was born and raised in Marshall, MN and is a proud SDSU Alumni & Jackrabbit. She brings a huge passion for small businesses, entrepreneurs and the agriculture industry. Meeting new people and helping make their dreams a reality fuels her creative spirit. Shay will specialize in client experience, idea generation, sales, market research, creative thinking, branding, graphic design, and photography. When she isn't working, you can find her enjoying time on the family farm with her husband, two toddler girls, and their black Angus cattle. Any day that starts with coffee and donuts is a great day in her book.

Hannah Merritt

Director of Marketing

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Taylor Livingston

Creative Fulfillment Director

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About Hannah

She is the queen of acceptability and has a type-A personality who makes sure all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed. She has project management and communication talents which are key to strengthening and growing our partnerships with customers. Hannah graduated from the College of Saint Benedict with a degree in business management and an emphasis in marketing. She will specialize in all things marketing, communications and organization. She's a self-proclaimed small town, South Dakota girl, and is fortunate to call Lake Cochrane home. In her free time, Hannah enjoys playing league volleyball, running, and being outdoors and at the farm with her husband and 4 kids.

About Taylor

Finding a combination between her love for design and communications, Taylor Livingston pursued graphic design and advertising at South Dakota State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in both areas, along with a certificate in fine arts.

After graduation, Taylor began her career as the marketing and promotions coordinator at the Brookings Area Chamber of Commerce. For three years, her duties included writing press releases, designing graphics and helping promote the local Brookings businesses. Later, she moved to Kansas City and worked as the creative coordinator for the Lee’s Summit Chamber of Commerce. After a proposal, saying “I do” and a move back to Brookings, she began her journey at UpFrame Creative, previously a division of Hitch Studio.

As a designer at UpFrame Creative, Taylor takes on a variety of projects. Whether she’s busy meeting with clients, designing collateral materials for small businesses, or helping clients look good online, she revels in the fact that no day is ever the same and enjoys working along-side Carrie.

While not at work, Taylor enjoys spending her time with family and friends, her lovable puppy Moby, her husband Stephan, and her new baby girl Charlie. She loves to stay active, whether it’s a bike ride through the Dakota Nature Park, catching a concert at her favorite venues, or of course as an SDSU alum, cheering on the Jackrabbits. She also likes to wind down by curling up on the couch and watching cheesy romantic comedies on Netflix.

Fun facts about me:

I wear slippers in public all the time.
My favorite color is yellow.
I am embarrassed at the amount of times I’ve watch the whole series of The Office. Eight.
I attended my first concert at the age of 8 when my parents took my brother, sister, and I to see Shania Twain in Fargo. To this day I get excited when I hear “let’s go girls”.

We Take A Special Approach To Every Client!

Let's chat about your project, we are happy to answer any questions you have, gather information and put together a quote free of charge.

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