LAUREN LESTER
——brand strategist, web designer, creative
I’VE BUILT BUSINESSES, BRANDS, AND DINNER. SOMETIMES all at once.
I’ve worn a lot of hats over the years — food media founder, digital strategist, investment & business consultant, marketing manager, photographer, cookbook author, web designer. What ties it all together is a deep understanding of how people connect with ideas — and how brands can show up with clarity, purpose, and a point of view.
These days, I’m focused on building Template Town, a product-based business for folks that want to stand out online without overthinking it. I also collaborate on pro-bono projects that align with my values, develop custom brand systems for companies, creatives, and community orgs and carve out space for slower, more personal work — like my Food on the Street photo series and a growing collection of abstract paintings.
currently working on
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currently working on ↓
TEMPLATE town
Template Town was born out of frustration — and a decade of experience building websites, brands, and content systems that actually work. After years in the industry, I saw how often small businesses got stuck between two bad options: a generic site that looks like everyone else’s, or an expensive custom build with fragile code they can’t maintain.
Web design agencies love to overcomplicate things. And I get it — I’ve worked on $10K+ custom Squarespace builds, and $70K+ WordPress projects. But most small brands don’t need that. What they need is structure, style, and strategy — at a price that doesn’t drain their entire marketing budget.
That’s where Template Town comes in: $225, all-native Squarespace, no custom code, no agency markup. Just well-built, niche-focused templates that give businesses, creators, and artists a site they are proud to share — and the confidence to run it without a developer on speed dial.
CUSTOM BRAND systems
Behind every smooth-running brand is a system built to hold it all together — not just a pretty logo or a shiny website. I work with founders and creative entrepreneurs to design foundational brand systems that are clear, intentional, and scale with you.
From strategic messaging to web design that converts without shouting, my process is built to support your growth, not add to the noise.
If you’ve outgrown the duct tape stage — or never had the time to build the bones of your brand in the first place — I’ll help you build a framework that feels like you, functions like it should, and frees you up to do your actual work.
A custom brand system can cover everything from:
BRAND STRATEGY — colors, logos, fonts, copy, and offer clarity that aligns every touchpoint
WEB DESIGN — Squarespace sites built for backend ease
SYSTEMS — thoughtful workflows, client onboarding, and brand ops that scale with you
SEO — foundational setup, content strategy, and structural edits so you’re findable and compelling
THE backstory
My career started in college with Wicked Spatula, a digital food publication I built while working at the Alzheimer’s Association.
What began as a creative outlet quickly grew into a thriving platform, leading me to launch my own agency, Healthful Creative, in 2015 — specializing in content development, branding, and photography for global brands and independent publishers.
In 2017, my partner Alex and I founded Cast Iron Keto, scaling it to an audience of millions within months. That success led to a cookbook deal in 2020 and the eventual sale of both Wicked Spatula and Cast Iron Keto. After those exits, I shifted my focus to helping other brands grow, working with clients across digital media, branding, and content strategy.
Over the years, I’ve built and scaled businesses, consulted on multi-million-dollar acquisitions, and developed digital platforms that have shaped how brands connect with their audiences. My expertise spans SEO, brand strategy, UX-focused web design, digital business valuation/M&A, and creative production — all with an emphasis on helping small businesses and creative entrepreneurs build sustainable, standout brands.
PERSONAL projects
Art, food, and cultural storytelling are part of the ecosystem that fuels my work. Explore my personal projects below.
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FOOD ON THE STREET
Photo series of food people left behind. Forgotten meals, broken takeout boxes, tiny urban moments. It’s part documentation, part “wtf?”
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ABSTRACT PAINTING
Painting is my meditation. It’s the place where logic drops and emotion takes over — bold, messy, unfiltered, a bit weird. It’s art after all.
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SOMEDAY SUBSTACK
[coming soon, but not too soon!] …Appalachian roots meet global vibe: a recipe project in progress (IYKYK)
Have a project in mind?
Let’s build your thing. I’m available for freelance and pro-bono work on projects that are thoughtful, creative, or values-driven. Use the contact form if you want to share a bit more.