Studio Mini brings Big Ideas to Downtown Rutland

By Nikki Hindman | December 1st, 2021

What do custom garden gnomes, branded Swedish fish, and personalized whiskey bottles have in common? Studio Mini’s Dana Carroll created them all at Triller Print Source, whose newest endeavor is a full-service promotional agency located at 9 Center Street in Downtown Rutland.

Studio Mini acts as the marketing department for a variety of businesses throughout the Rutland region and beyond. Services include branding, graphic design, advertising, web development, and more in addition to supplying one-of-a-kind promotional products to their clients.

A New Englander most of her life, Dana moved to the Rutland area over 20 years ago. After taking time off to stay home with her young family, she joined Triller Print Source as a part-time employee in 2017 and lead a renovation of the Curtis Avenue office space that sparked the idea of an accessible, welcoming storefront in Downtown Rutland.

“I am a firm believer in the importance of a workspace that sets the tone for the type of work that you do. I find that output can be enhanced and inspired by surroundings,” said Dana Carroll, Director of Operations at Triller Print Source and Studio Mini.“ Joining the downtown businesses and moving into the cutest studio space ever was a no-brainer for me. I actually told Mark two years ago that I hoped we would land here!”

During the pandemic, the employees of Triller Print Source and Studio Mini learned that they could work from anywhere and still be successful, but also realized how much they preferred seeing clients in person during the discovery phase of their workflow – especially when it came to showing off the vast amount of products they create. For Dana, moving into their new space was a positive project that she could focus on during a time that was full of order cancellations.

“At first, designing facemasks felt creative and new, but then it turned into a constant reminder of COVID,” said Dana, who welcomed a break from COVID-centric projects while transitioning the former real estate office into Studio Mini. “Shortly after we moved in, our workload drastically increased, and I found myself without the time to set everything up – I didn’t see that coming!  We still haven’t put the finishing touches on Studio Mini, but we are loving what we have done so far.”

Dana loves how the atmosphere at Studio Mini fuels her creativity when curating collections for customers. A combination of natural light, music, food, laughter, and the shuffle of products from one pile to another offers a unique office environment both for the clients and employees. Olivia Thayer, Service Designer, is the office DJ, and on Mondays when it feels like everything around them is closed, they make unexpected lunches in their mini oven.

Dana’s favorite part, though, is the feeling she gets when a client tells her that it’s a lot of fun to work with them. “My favorite kind of client to work with is someone who isn’t afraid to take a risk and think outside the box,” said Dana. “I also enjoy clients who know exactly what they do and do not like! And I have a soft spot for designing drinkware. Everyone likes drinkware, and the new decoration capabilities that are out there mixed with some creativity can make even a basic coffee mug anything other than basic.”

Moving forward, Studio Mini hopes to continue to build partnerships, relationships, and repeat customers in Downtown Rutland while Dana chases the dream leading a team that delivers a combination of creative marketing and promotional products to clients who are fun to work with every day.

“I would like to think of myself as a good neighbor,” said Dana. “We have started to really think about the “support local” mentality, and talks about collaborating with downtown businesses are already happening at Studio Mini. If anyone needs marketing or branding help, we got you!”

Studio Mini generally works by appointment only, but they are happy to accommodate walk-ins when they are not meeting with someone. You can find Dana and Olivia at 9 Center Street most days from 9am to 4pm. You can learn more about Studio Mini by visiting their website at thestudiomini.com or by emailing Dana at dcarroll@trillerprint.com.