Built and executed a content strategy for a sustainable handmade outerwear brand that drove 100% year-over-year sales growth and led to planned order closures two summers running.
Client: Half Moon Travel Clothing — Website | Instagram
The Brief
Half Moon Travel Clothing makes handmade sustainable outerwear, mostly cloaks, coats, and cowls, sold through Renaissance Festival booths across the Mid-Atlantic region, New York, and Vermont, as well as through their online shop. Before I came on as social media manager in 2024, their posting was inconsistent and their content was mostly product photos taken in the shop against white backgrounds. The garments are genuinely beautiful and the brand has a loyal following, but the account wasn’t reaching new audiences.
My Role
I manage their Instagram and Facebook presence end to end: content strategy, writing, graphic design, video editing, posting, and analytics. I also frequently model the garments on-site at festival locations while capturing B-roll, which means I’m often doing double duty as both the content creator and the subject.
My Background with the Brand
I worked at Half Moon’s Maryland Renaissance Festival booth from 2016 to 2023, which means by the time I became their social media manager I already understood the brand, the product, the customer, and the festival culture deeply. That history made a real difference in how quickly I could develop a content strategy that felt authentic rather than generic. The analytical side of the role also drew on skills I’d built running my own YouTube channel, Music with Miss Bliss, where I learned to read audience data and use it to make better content decisions.
The Process
Overhauling the visual approach.
The first thing I changed was how the products looked on screen. Rather than posting the existing shop photos on white backgrounds, I used Canva to create custom colored backgrounds that made each garment stand out and feel more editorial. That shift alone gave the feed a more intentional, cohesive look without requiring a full photoshoot budget.
Bringing the garments to life.
Static product photos only go so far for clothing that’s meant to be worn and experienced. I started incorporating reels and video content showing the garments on real people in real settings, including myself at festival locations. Seeing how a cloak moves, how it looks in a crowd, how it feels as part of an outfit makes it much easier for someone to imagine owning it.
Bringing a consistent posting rhythm and content mix.
Prior to 2024 the account posted sporadically. I established a consistent cadence of 3 posts per week during the off-season and 4 to 5 per week during festival season, a mix of Reels and static posts across Instagram and Facebook. Content rotates through a set of recurring themes: custom commission spotlights, stock collection features, manufacturing process reels, and customer photos when they’re shared with us. That mix keeps the feed varied while staying on brand, and the manufacturing content in particular gives followers a window into the craft behind the garments.
Using analytics to drive decisions.
I review performance data regularly and use what’s working to inform what comes next. Content formats, posting times, caption styles, and which products generate the most interest all factor into the ongoing strategy.
The Outcome
Since taking over the account in July 2024, the results have been consistent and measurable, all through organic strategy with no paid advertising. Facebook reach grew 37% year over year and Instagram reach grew 109%. The bigger story is what happened to sales: the strategy drove 100% year-over-year sales growth in 2025, generating enough sustained demand that Half Moon closed custom orders temporarily in both Summer 2025 and Summer 2026 to catch up with production. For a small handmade business, planned order closures because of too much demand is about as good an outcome as social media work can produce.
Tools
Canva, DaVinci Resolve, ON1 PhotoRAW, ChatGPT, Claude, Meta Business Suite