Our Favorite Packaging Partners

At Blades Creative, we love talking about the wonderful vendors and partners we get to work with, or the tools we use regularly that make a big impact on our branding and packaging design work. 

We’ve recently been talking about packaging design, like what a packaging designer thinks about before starting the design process, or what makes packaging design so effective. And now, we’re continuing that trend of packaging design-focused blogs with this one. Here’s a look at our favorite packaging partners and why we love them.

Photo Credit: Julie Holder Photography

noissue

We say it often in social media, in blogs, and on our website: it’s important that we work with people we feel a connection to, a kinship with. If a project doesn't feel right (or if it feels downright wrong) we politely take a pass. Contributing something to the world, making it better, is part of our mission.

That’s why finding a packaging partner like noissue that prioritizes sustainability felt like kismet. They’re all about eco-friendly packaging options that still manage to offer affordable customization. Small businesses don’t have to sacrifice on-brand packaging for sustainable tissue paper, boxes and mailers, or cards and tags.

Noissue makes packaging accessible to small biz owners by offering low minimum order quantities, or MOQs. Many packaging partners require big numbers, which can be a drag if you’re a new small business or don’t need lots of packaging all at once. Their low MOQs are good for entrepreneurs and the environment.

Another great thing about noissue? Their sense of community and their dedication to creativity. Sometimes the packaging process can feel a little boring and bland if you don’t find the right vendors, but noissue really supports the creatives they work with. We love that.

Jamel Containers

If y'all follow Blades Creative on Instagram, you probably remember that we relocated from Chattanooga to Austin in 2021. So, we have fond memories of the people we met and the professional relationships we built back home in Tennessee!

One of those is Jamel Containers, a local packaging company (and fellow Southerners) based in Chattanooga. We’re so inspired by Jamel’s story of how they came to Tennessee. 

Founded in 1984 in Alabama, they became the leading packaging supplier for the sock industry in the area. Their quest for business in larger markets took them to Chattanooga in 2011, where they began serving other industries like food, health products, and manufacturing.

In 2017, Jamel moved to an even larger space — but still in Chattanooga! — to keep up with their scaling business. They offer options for all sorts of packaging needs, from boxes to retail displays to interior packaging and more. 

We love Jamel in particular for their one-on-one, personal service. The Jamel team meets you in person, with mock ups created for your project, and lots of options for you to choose from. Seeing what packaging actually looks like can be a huge help, and Jamel has done that for our projects multiple times!

Photo Credit: Julie Holder Photography

Wonderpress

Last but certainly not least, one of our favorite packaging partners is Wonderpress. They’ve been a partner of ours from the very beginning, and were a huge help when we needed labels for some of our favorite design projects, Wildflower Tea Shop and The Bitter Bottle. (Both local Chattanooga businesses!)

The Bitter Bottle needed our help creating on-brand shipping materials, as well as labels for their line of bitters and tinctures. As for Wildflower Tea Shop and Apothecary, they wanted branding design that reflected their story and aesthetics, that could also be used for packaging their loose-leaf tea products. 

Enter Wonderpress. They’re another Tennessee-based business that blends modern printing services with “old school production values,” as they like to say. Wonderpress does it all, from brochures to business cards to invitations to books.

We partnered up with Wonderpress to create labels for both The Bitter Bottle and Wildflower, and were so happy with the way they turned out! Wonderpress is our go-to for inserts and special printing, but we always send clients their way for excellent packaging services that are customized from head to toe.

Looking for packaging design help?

Running a small business can be challenging, but one thing that helps is finding your people. Finding vendors, partners, and other businesses that not only make your job easier, but make it more enjoyable and fulfilling, too! When we find a partner we really love at Blades Creative, we can’t help but give them a shoutout when we can. 

In case you can’t tell, packaging design projects are one of our favorite things ever. We believe every small business should have branding and packaging that feels elevated and genuine. Book a consultation with Blades Creative today to speak to a packaging designer about your business!