READ SPEAR Independent operator + advisor Oaxaca / MX

I help makecomplicated businesseseasier to see.

An outside view can help
the whole come into focus.

Start with the request ↓
Web + Design

I also do the work.

Alongside consulting, I design, build, and manage websites and create the materials businesses need to operate and sell. Individual projects and ongoing web and design support.

Explore Web + Design →
Quick diagnostic

How can I help?

Choose what brought you here.

You say“We need a new website.”
I’m also looking at
  • The offer
  • Positioning
  • Product hierarchy
  • Decision journey
  • Operations

Sometimes the website is the problem. Sometimes it is where a larger problem becomes visible.

You say“The brand isn’t landing.”
I’m also looking at
  • Who it is for
  • Why it exists
  • Market contrast
  • Product truth
  • Internal alignment

Distinction usually begins with a business decision, then becomes a design decision.

You say“We have a product idea.”
I’m also looking at
  • The actual customer
  • Production
  • Compliance
  • Margin
  • Route to market

A good concept also has to work in production, regulation, and the market.

You say“We need to get this out.”
I’m also looking at
  • Sequence
  • Dependencies
  • Claims
  • Channel
  • What can wait

Launch problems often begin earlier than they first appear.

You say“Everything takes more effort than it should.”
I’m also looking at
  • Handoffs
  • Ownership
  • Incentives
  • Information
  • Tools and feedback

Sometimes the problem isn’t a person or a product. It’s the way the parts interact.

Method

It’s hard to see the machine when you’re knee-deep in the gears.

I don’t arrive with a process that assumes the answer.

I can work across the gaps between the people already involved.

And sometimes the website really isn’t the problem.

Selected projects

The work, in context

I look at how the parts affect one another before deciding which part to change.

Founder-ledSpirits / importing / brandLive ↗

Tso’ok Rum

Oaxacan mountain rum

Cloud forest in the Sierra Mixe mountains of Oaxaca
Sierra Mixe / Oaxaca / source region
Context
Remarkable cane spirit. Remote producers. No established path to the U.S. market.
System in play
Producers → product → compliance → importing → distribution → brand
Role
Discovery / producer relationships / product / brand / importing / route to market / digital
Public result
VinePair Top 50 Spirits of 2023.
ClientCannabis / CPG / digitalLive ↗

Summit Made

Colorado cannabis

Summit Made Weekender product packaging with teal rays and mountain identity
The Weekender / product packaging
Context
Established operator preparing its brand and product portfolio for a more competitive market.
System in play
Cultivation → product portfolio → positioning → retail → customer
Role
Positioning / product naming and architecture / copy / creative direction / website design and development
Public work
A clearer platform around purity, provenance, and products made for the life around them. See the design work →
ClientAg-tech / commercial storyLive ↗

DAGDA AgMix

Automated cultivation system

DAGDA AgMix website showing the automated mixing system and product story
DAGDA AgMix / website
Context
A capable technical system whose value depended on how hardware, software, operators, and economics worked together.
System in play
Recipe → equipment → operator → crop consistency → economics
Role
Positioning / information architecture / economic tools / customer story / copy / website design and development
Public work
A sales experience organized around repeatability, confidence, and measurable return. See the website and collateral →
ClientHospitality / placeLive ↗

Tobacco River Ranch

Eureka / Montana

Landscape at Tobacco River Ranch in Montana
450 acres / 2 miles of river / 6 stays
Context
Six unusual accommodations encountered mainly as individual rental listings.
System in play
Place → stays → guest expectations → booking → operations
Role
Destination positioning / experience architecture / copy / booking journey / digital
Public work
One hospitality story grounded in river, privacy, dark skies, and whole-ranch gatherings.
ClientCannabis / operations / servicesLive ↗

Camaraderie Group

Operator-led cannabis services

Camaraderie Group website showing its consulting services and operating approach
Camaraderie Group / website
Context
Years of operating knowledge lived across services, products, people, facilities, and results.
System in play
Facilities → people → production → products → proof → services
Role
Positioning / offer architecture / information architecture / copy / creative direction / website design and development
Public work
A service platform that makes the team’s practical experience and range easier to understand. See the website work →
ClientHome fragrance / CPG / ecommerceLive ↗

Sacred Wild Goods

Intention candles / Montana

Sacred Wild Goods intention candles arranged with dried botanicals
Scent / intention / ritual goods
Context
An established maker with a deep catalog and a distinctive world that needed a clearer way to shop.
System in play
Intention → scent → catalog → navigation → purchase
Role
Ecommerce strategy / information architecture / copy / creative direction / Shopify
Public work
A more legible storefront organized around scent, intention, and the feeling of a room.
Built from the inside / my own brands

Not just the wrapper.

I’ve built brands of my own, working across the product, identity, packaging, trade materials, and website, as well as getting them into the market. I lead the branding and work with artists I know and trust.

Front and illustrated back labels on Cuentacuentos Cuishe bottles
Cuishe / front and back labels

Cuentacuentos

Legacy agave spirits

I built the brand around the spirits and the families who make them, with product labels, trade materials, and a website.

Visit Cuentacuentos ↗
Tipo Bueno mezcal bottle with an illustrated opossum in a copper hat and bold product lettering
Tipo Bueno / identity and packaging

Tipo Bueno

Mezcal for the bar

I developed the positioning and led the character, packaging, and website work for a mezcal made for the bar.

Visit Tipo Bueno ↗
El Barro Espadín bottle with its clay-pot illustration and Cuentacuentos insignia
El Barro / label design

El Barro

Mezcal de la casa

I led the identity and packaging work that gave a house mezcal its own place within the Cuentacuentos range.

Explore the Cuentacuentos range ↗
Operating history

I’ve spent a long time inside complicated businesses.

Whole Health Discount Center

Seven years running an early online dietary-supplement store / millions of consumer products sold / product research / copy / compliance / data / fulfillment / operations / acquisition

Cannabis

Ownership / cultivation / products / licensing / books / special projects

Spirits

Producers / product development / importing / distribution / fundraising / market

Everything between departments

Hospitality / ag-tech / systems / positioning / digital / getting it done

In public

Some of it is on the record.

Writing and appearances →
Book

Marijuana Cultivation Reconsidered

Amazon ↗ By Read

The good, the bad, and the funky

Mezcalistas ↗ Feature

Following mezcal’s footsteps, Mexican rum is on the rise

PUNCH ↗
Start hereAvailable for projects and ongoing work

Tell me what’s
not working.

If the parts seem reasonable but the whole still isn’t working, I’d be glad to take a look with you.

Read Spear speaking in the doorway of a rural production site in Oaxaca
Read Spear / Oaxaca
Start a conversation ↗

Need ongoing web and design support?

I work with a limited number of companies on monthly engagements, handling their websites and recurring creative needs.

Start a conversation →
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