Origin story

Bolster started the way a lot of things do, not with a careful plan, but with a few conversations.

Peter Kang, co-founder of Barrel, had an idea for a brand agency. Jacob, co-founder of BX Studio, another organism in the Barrel Holdings ecosystem, mentioned this to me one day, casually, the way people mention things that end up reorganizing your life. I’d been doing some freelance design work for Barrel and BX. One conversation led to another. After a few trial projects like test batches in a brewery, we made it official.

Two years of iteration followed. We tried things. Some of them worked beautifully, some less so. Brand stayed central throughout with the Omakase and the process behind it becoming our hallmark.

Then, late in 2025, Bolster and the holding company parted ways. Barrel Holdings had gotten clearer on its vision, and we didn’t fit the pattern. No hard feelings.

I’ll be honest, I hesitated at first. But after a bit of introspection, independence arrived like a window opening in a room you’d stopped noticing was stuffy.

We’re still friendly with the family, currently rebranding one of their newest acquisitions, and building the brand for The Long Aisle, Lucas Ballasy’s (Barrel CEO) podcast about CPG founders playing the long game.

I’m grateful for the experience of being part of this thing, it was a two year crash course on how to run a design agency. But leaving has allowed us to focus and given us a new perspective.

Inside a growth machine, the questions are mostly financial. Outside one we have the freedom to view our work through a whole new set of lenses: what are we most proud of, what excites us, what do we want to do more of? What clients do we enjoy working with? Who is actually impacting the world in positive ways? These aren’t questions that optimize for anything obvious, but they make us more engaged and invested in the work, which leads to better outcomes all around.

Here’s the thing with holding companies: they hold things. That’s not a criticism, just an observation. But a hand that holds is also a hand that can’t quite wave, can’t signal who it is, what it believes, and where it’s going.

Omakase no. 136 - The Mysteries

An unusual one for certain: Omakase 136 is for The Mysteries, an Austin-based artists’ collective devoted to giving a voice to the ineffable. Earth Song is their latest creation.

Sensory Links

Audio — Enjoying this new release from Jeff Parker

Visual — Business casual by artist Pablo Barba

Who are you and where are you going?

Bolster is an independent design agency that makes brands, websites, and experiences that work together, so founders and teams can connect who they are with where they’re going. If you need help with this we’d love to chat.