Young Hamilton entrepreneur builds her brand in Barton Village
Published September 14, 2020 at 3:38 pm
Recently, the Barton Village BIA welcomed their newest and youngest business owner to the fold, who just so happens to be the daughter of one of the BIA’s longest-standing business owners.
Recently, the Barton Village BIA welcomed their newest and youngest business owner to the fold, who just so happens to be the daughter of one of the BIA’s longest-standing business owners.
Hamilton’s Sydni Brooker had her sights set on becoming a veterinary technician, but now she finds herself, at 19 years of age, the co-owner of a design and branding business, following in the footsteps of her father, Rob, the owner of Signaids
“Dad taught me the basics of graphic design,” Sydni told InTheHammer of her time spent helping her father out around his shop, which has been on Barton for decades.
“I’ve always been interested in animals but when I did a co-op at a vet’s office, and it just wasn’t for me.”
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She says that helping her father around the shop was always enjoyable for her as she liked the process of creating and bringing his designs to life so she decided to throw herself into it full-time.
Sydni said that once she got into the swing of things around the Signaids business, she was hooked.
“I enjoyed designing my own things,” she said. “And then getting to see how people reacted to them…it just felt really good.”
A project designing T-Shirts for Triple C Farms in Ancaster, a family-run animal sanctuary that runs a volunteer program for people with developmental disabilities and teaches them farm skills and involves them in the process of rescuing and rehoming abused and neglected animals, determined Sydni’s path forward.
“I created T-shirts for their fundraiser,” Sydni said. “And I saw how much joy they put on the kids’ faces. That was it.”
So while Rob’s Signaids focuses more on producing signage for businesses, Sydni has launched, in partnership with her father and out of his Barton Street shop, Brookers Branded Workwear that customizes items like T-Shirts, hats, mugs and more.
Sydni said they’re also personalizing face masks, particularly masks for children returning to school who can have their name printed on it. The masks are two-ply cotton washable masks with no filter.
“We can [print] the child’s name on the side of that mask,” Sydni said. “That way it’s easier to keep track of for everyone.”
The thrill of helping people and businesses bring their vision and their brand to life has been a source of inspiration, Sydni says, and she’s looking forward to doing more.
“When you show people what you’ve made for them, they’re just so happy,” she said. “It’s nice to feel like you’ve helped someone build their business.”
For more information on Brookers Branded, follow them on Instagram or check out the website.
Sydni says she can be reached through Instagram DM on the Brookers account.
Photos: Sydni and Rob Brooker
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