How Goose & Gander transformed its creative operations

The challenge

Starting as a made-to-order operation, Goose & Gander grew rapidly while maintaining a remarkably lean team. However, as the brand expanded, their creative operations became increasingly complex. Despite successfully managing 170,000-180,000 orders annually, the creative team struggled with disparate systems and manual processes. With separate personal spreadsheets, no unified content management, and failed attempts at hiring due to lack of process, the creative department faced significant obstacles.

This disconnected approach hindered Goose & Gander's ability to scale their creative output and maintain the efficiency needed for continued growth. As Olly noted, "We've been trying to hire and work with teams or people and it never, hardly ever works."

Creating a unified creative system from concept to campaign with Airtable

To overcome these hurdles, Goose & Gander implemented Airtable, creating a centralised system that brought structure to every stage of their creative process. With Airtable as their operational foundation, Goose & Gander established a single source of truth for all materials, designs, and campaign assets.

The transformation began with a materials library in Airtable, giving teams instant access to historical swatches, designs, and specifications. What once required 30 minutes of searching through folders now takes 30 seconds with Airtable's search functionality.

Gallery views transformed how teams collaborate, with each material showing complete details - colours, costs, suppliers, and approval status - accessible from anywhere. This eliminated the need for physical access to samples and enabled remote collaboration.

Automated workflows replaced manual presentation creation and approval cycles that previously consumed two weeks, six times per year. Teams now enjoy real-time visibility into costs and inventory, enabling immediate supplier negotiations and faster decision-making.