Meerkats and Hatchet join forces to support Perth social enterprise FLANNO

Formed during WA’s inaugural Start-up Weekend as a part of Perth’s Social Impact Festival 2018, FLANNO was pitched by Kathryn Laferla and Penny Little, who wanted to create an shirt for good, pointing out the alarming statistics around suicide rates in Australia.

Charged with a passion to make a difference, Laferla and Little pitched their idea of how a social enterprise could be created around the iconic Australian flannel-patterned shirt with 50% of proceeds benefiting charities in the mental health and suicide prevention space, such as Lifeline and RUOK.

FLANNO’s early vision was to spread their message online and sell flannel-patterned shirts through an ecommerce platform, however they needed the partners to support their ideas with the creative and technical know-how to bring that vision to life.

“This was an idea that resonated with so many people and when thrown out to the team at Meerkats to see who wanted to pitch in, 50 brand concepts flooded in,” said Laferla.

“Choosing a final logo and brand concept was no easy task, but the selected Logo, a subtle depiction of the Echidna, was just perfect for our brand. Hard on the outside, soft underneath and uniquely Australian, a bit like your stereo-typical Aussie male we hope to help.”

After Meerkats wrapped up the brand guide, including colour palette and website concepts, the project moved to Hatchet.

“Dan and his team helped us understand what we initially couldn’t even conceptualize and ultimately built a website we never imagined,” said Little. “They made sure our website remained true to the style guide provided by Meerkats while gently incorporating our ever changing wish list of features and being brave enough to let us know if something wouldn’t work.”

With the site recently launching, Laferla and Little have finally seen their vision come to fruition.

“Meerkats and Hatchet did more than build a website for Flanno, they collaboratively took the time to understand our vision and then took it to the next level with a contemporary, bold, mobile friendly ecommerce website. The feedback has been really positive.”

Read more about the FLANNO story and purchase a shirt for good on their website.