About
Saltwater
Studio Saltwater is the creative, marketing, and design wing of Saltwater Stories. We help nonprofits, startups, and small businesses with all of their online marketing needs.
Happy clients
Branding projects
Websites
Client satisfaction
Meet the
amazing
team behind our agency
We pride ourselves in recognizing and working with the best talent around. In additon to the core team below, we collaborate with other talented designers and experts from around the world, based on project needs.
Sumana Palle
10 years of experience in tech marketing, branding, and communications.
Sumana has a varied career in tech marketing, brand management, and social development.
Sumana's experience
Having graduated with a BBA from the University of Michigan, she worked in the tech industry for 5 years as a brand and project manager at Amazon and Flywheel Digital. She then spent 2 years as a Youth for India Fellow at the State Bank of India's YFI Fellowship program, partnering with Seva Mandir in rural Rajasthan. Her project involved reviving indigenous agriculture, capacity-building for women entrepreneurship, and establishing end-to-end supply chains.She started Saltwater Stories from her cumulative life experience, as a way to help cool people, brands, and organizations tell their stories online.
- Bachelors in Business Administration, University of Michigan - Ross School of Business (Class of 2015)
- Alumnus, State Bank of India - Youth for India
Kari Paine
Creative extraordinaire, head of Orso Design, and a primary collaborator.
As head of Orso Design, Kari is a frequent collaborator at Saltwater, designing brand identities and websites for larger projects.
Kari's experience
Kari likes to say the first time she designed a brand was in 4th grade for her campaign to city council for adding a dog park to her home town. But she started for real for real as a paid brand designer in 2014. Since then, she’s designed for orgs and companies small and large.
- Master of Science, University of Michigan - School for Environment and Sustainability (Class of 2016)
- Bachelor of Arts, Kalamazoo College - Economics; Public Policy & Urban Affairs, Environmental Studies
- Study Abroad, International Sustainable Development Studies Institute - Thai Language, Culture, and Ecology
Sudha Palle
For all of our bookkeeping, invoicing, and other administrative needs.
With great attention to detail, Sudha helps Saltwater with all backend work. (Yes, she's Sumana's mom!)
Sudha's experience
Sudha has spent most of her career in education, working as a teacher, principal, and part of a board of directors. Currently, she works with students with special needs and autism. She takes care of Saltwater's administrative needs when she's not busy with school, gardening, spending time with her friends, or any one of the million other things she does.
- Bachelor of Education, Nagarjuna University
- Bachelor of Science, Andhra University - Mathematics and Physics
The core
values
that drive our work
Our values are our north star and we pride ourselves in meeting the highest standard of ethics. To honor the Anishinaabe land that Michigan is a part of, we donate a portion of our profits towards the conservation of the Great Lakes, threatened ecologies, and marginalized groups around the world.
Community
We thrive on building bridges and co-creating solutions. We do this by forging strong & kind relationships with our clients and collaborators.
Transparency
We share every detail of our processes, strategies, and insights with our clients. Through collective wisdom, we achieve lasting success.
Equity
We pay ethical rates to our subcontractors, provide pro bono services to those in need, and donate a portion of our profits.
Intentionality
Good things take time. We tailor our services to meet the specific needs and goals of each client after a thorough discovery process.
About our
name
Saltwater Stories is an ongoing exercise and exploration into what brings us together.
A glimpse at the
services
we offer
Founded in December 2022, Studio Saltwater provides comprehensive project development, storytelling, and marketing services that fosters lasting transformation for our clients.
Branding
We help you with everything you need to get started or hit the refresh button.
Web
We combine compelling storytelling, cutting-edge design, and data-driven analytics.
Marketing
We build holistic marketing strategies and sales funnels to bring everything together.
Check out our
projects
Our latest projects include working with some of the largest nonprofits and hungriest startups to develop solid strategies for success.
Take a look at what our
clients
say
We center our clients and their needs in all of our work. Here are some kind words from some of our long-term clients.
Absolute superstar!
Sumana is an absolute superstar, seamlessly blending her talents in social impact projects, design, and website development. Studio Saltwater is a true reflection of her dedication and expertise. Sumana’s genuine commitment makes her and her all-in-one business invaluable partners for any mission-driven initiative.
Truly reflects my vision.
Sumana transformed my disjointed project and website into a polished and professional site. With only my content and a basic shell, she created a website that truly reflects my vision. She worked closely with me to understand my goals and successfully conveyed the essence of what I wanted to present.
SEO resulting in orders of magnitude growth.
Sumana did an amazing job for my company, Home-Cost.com. She redesigned the site for simple navigation and effective product promotion. She focused on SEO resulting in orders of magnitude growth in our traffic volume. And she did it with grace, patience and a confident expertise that has made the process very enjoyable. I continue to retain her services because she is the best web developer I have come across, and I have worked with some of the larger web design firms in the past. Sumana and Studio Saltwater are the best!
My support system as I launched a new business.
Sumana did an absolutely amazing job. Not only did she build my website, but she genuinely was a sound board for me and all of my ideas. I can't thank her enough and refer her to ALL of my friends and family for anything website, marketing, business related. She is the best.
Talented force of nature!
Sumana's strong leadership skills elevated her to stand in as the project manager, and we turned over the entire rebranding effort of our firm to her care and guidance. Without Sumana's direct involvement, our branding efforts would be a year behind where they are now.
Sumana is a natural leader, equally at ease in a conversation with top management as she is supporting the newest, nervous team member.
Your project will be blessed and your team all the richer for Sumana's spirit and impressive skill set.
Absolute superstar!
Sumana is an absolute superstar, seamlessly blending her talents in social impact projects, design, and website development. Studio Saltwater is a true reflection of her dedication and expertise. Sumana’s genuine commitment makes her and her all-in-one business invaluable partners for any mission-driven initiative.
Truly reflects my vision.
Sumana transformed my disjointed project and website into a polished and professional site. With only my content and a basic shell, she created a website that truly reflects my vision. She worked closely with me to understand my goals and successfully conveyed the essence of what I wanted to present.
SEO resulting in orders of magnitude growth.
Sumana did an amazing job for my company, Home-Cost.com. She redesigned the site for simple navigation and effective product promotion. She focused on SEO resulting in orders of magnitude growth in our traffic volume. And she did it with grace, patience and a confident expertise that has made the process very enjoyable. I continue to retain her services because she is the best web developer I have come across, and I have worked with some of the larger web design firms in the past. Sumana and Studio Saltwater are the best!
My support system as I launched a new business.
Sumana did an absolutely amazing job. Not only did she build my website, but she genuinely was a sound board for me and all of my ideas. I can't thank her enough and refer her to ALL of my friends and family for anything website, marketing, business related. She is the best.
Talented force of nature!
Sumana's strong leadership skills elevated her to stand in as the project manager, and we turned over the entire rebranding effort of our firm to her care and guidance. Without Sumana's direct involvement, our branding efforts would be a year behind where they are now.
Sumana is a natural leader, equally at ease in a conversation with top management as she is supporting the newest, nervous team member.
Your project will be blessed and your team all the richer for Sumana's spirit and impressive skill set.