Custom brands, semi-custom Showit websites, design days, and monthly website care. Find the service that fits where your business is right now.

the studio

Poured To Your Measure.

That's where the refining comes in.

Your website is doing your business a disservice

"Fix the website" has lived at the bottom of your to-do list for a year.

Your photos are beautiful. Your site makes them look like stock.

Updating one page means emailing someone and waiting.

You apologize for your website before you send the link.

Let's be honest for a second

You've built something real. The work is good, better than good, and your clients say so. But the website is still the first rough pour: thrown together at midnight, borrowed from the same template everyone in your industry uses, or made by someone's cousin and never touched again.

Good design, No Drama.

Pretty is table stakes. Anyone can buy pretty. What moves someone from browsing to booking is a brand with a point of view and a site built to make one decision easy. That's strategy, hierarchy, and typography doing real work, not another round of picking a prettier font.

That's the whole job here. Editorial design with substance underneath it, built so you can update it yourself without a developer, a ticket, or a bill. One designer from first call to launch: no account manager, no hand-offs, no house style flattening you into everyone else.

A nice website isn't the same as a website that works.

Here's the thing Nobody tells you

Three ways to work together, plus a couple of extras on the side. Pick the pour that fits where your business is right now. No bloated process, no mystery ingredients.

Poured to your measure.

ON The MENU

BRAND + WEB | FROM THE GROUND UP

Explore Top Shelf
  • Brand strategy and positioning
  • Logo suite, palette, and typography
  • Custom website, designed from scratch
  • Brand guide, training, and launch support

8-10 weeks

from $7,500

timeline:

Investment:

Your brand and your website, designed from the ground up around your strategy, your people, and your goals. No template underneath. Just the good stuff, refined start to finish.

The whole nine, built from strategy up.

Top Shelf

NO. 01 · DONE FOR YOU

Timeline: About 2 to 3 weeks

Templates are purchased separately. Come with your brand, copy, and photos ready; the clock starts when they arrive. No brand yet? Add Small Batch first. Pay in full, or in two payments: a deposit to book and the balance before launch.

  • Everything in Neat
  • Layout adjustments to fit your content
  • Added sections or pages
  • A hands-on launch walkthrough
  • Your brand colors, fonts, and logo applied throughout.
  • Your copy and photos placed on every page.
  • Mobile check, basic SEO setup, and launch.

Investment:

$1,250

Investment:

$2,950

The Full Pour

two options

The straight pour

explore the house pour

You found a Refinery Nine template you love. I make it yours: your colors, fonts, logo, copy, and photos, poured in and launched in about two to three weeks. All the polish, none of the building.

Semi-custom website design.

The House Pour

No. 02 · Done with you

Days and weeks are booked and paid separately, so you only pay for the time your project needs.

  • Five consecutive design days on one project
  • Big enough for a brand refresh or a new sales page
  • A kickoff call on day one and delivery on day five
  • A full day of focused design time, booked on the calendar
  • Logo design, a landing page, graphics, or website updates
  • Finished files delivered at the end of the day

Investment:

$2,750

Investment:

$850

The Week

two options

One day

Book a Tasting Room day

Some projects don't need two months. They need one clear day and a designer who's all yours. Book a single day for a logo, a landing page, or that list of fixes you keep pushing back. Book a full week and walk away with a project that would usually drag on for weeks.

Focused design days or weeks.

The Tasting Room

No. 03 · Done in days

Tell me about your project

Not everything fits neatly on a menu, and that's fine. Maybe you need a refresh, a sales page, an online shop, or a build on WordPress or Squarespace instead of Showit.

I take on a handful of off-menu projects when they're the right fit. Tell me what you have in mind and we'll talk it through. No pressure, just a real conversation and a custom quote.

Got a project that doesn't fit a box?

Something else in mind?

Brand Strategist  •  founder of Refinery Nine.

Maria C. Walls

One designer,  No Shortcuts.

That's not magic.

That's just knowing what to leave out.

I'm Maria, the founder and principal designer behind Refinery Nine. I've watched plenty of design trends come, go, and embarrassingly come back again, so I don't chase them. I'd rather build something that ages well.

I started Refinery Nine because good design shouldn't require a second mortgage or a six-month wait. My approach is equal parts editorial obsession and real business strategy: design that holds attention, builds trust, and sells while you're doing literally anything else.

I take on a small number of projects at a time, so you get me from first call to launch. Never a junior designer, never a hand-off halfway through.

I'm based in the Hudson Valley and love working with businesses in my own backyard: a real designer you can sit across the table from, who knows this market and the people you're trying to reach. Somewhere else? The whole process runs beautifully remote.

(or a Zoom).

LOCAL?
Let's grab a coffee

Hudson Valley, NY

Tell me where your business is and what you need, and I'll point you to the right pour. Book a call, send an inquiry, or just email me.

Not sure which? LET'S TALK.

Yes — payment plans are available on custom and customization projects, and templates offer split-pay at checkout. Just ask.

Do you offer payment plans?

Absolutely. Plenty of people buy a template, then come back for Template Customization or a full custom project as they grow. The doors connect.

Can I start with a template and upgrade later?

YES. I'm based in the Hudson Valley, NY, and work with local businesses in person plus creative entrepreneurs nationwide. The full process runs remotely when needed.

Do you work with clients outside the Hudson Valley?

Showit is my primary platform, but I also build on WordPress, Squarespace, and Shopify (for e-commerce) on a case-by-case basis.


What platforms do you build on?

Yes — beyond the three core services, I take on a limited number of custom projects: logos, refreshes, landing pages, or builds on WordPress, Squarespace, or Shopify. Just reach out for a custom quote.

Do you take on custom or one-off projects?

It comes down to one question: how much do you want done for you? Need a brand built from scratch → Custom. Have your branding, want it built → Customization. Want to DIY → the Shop. Still unsure? Reach out and I'll point you the right way.

How do I know which service is right for me?

Before you ask.

just the faq