People-First Employers and Organizations

HR and culture teams, recognition programs, onboarding initiatives, and organizations that steward donors, volunteers, and community partners. They understand that their most important brand audience is often internal -- and that making people feel genuinely seen requires more than a logo on a gift.

Community Builders

Outdoor brands, event organizations, alumni networks, student programs, sports councils, and volunteer-driven communities whose brand lives or dies by how connected their people feel to something worth belonging to. They need merchandise that creates identity, not just visibility.

Mission-Driven Organizations

Nonprofits, environmental businesses, renewable energy companies, healthcare systems, educational institutions, and ESG-aligned brands whose merchandise needs to extend their mission -- not just carry their logo. These organizations need a partner who understands that every branded touchpoint is an opportunity to reinforce what they stand for.

Responsible sourcing, intentional design, and waste reduction run through every engagement -- not as an add-on, but as the operating standard. Cedarhue works best with organizations that are already thinking this way, or are ready to start.

The Real Story

Some organizations treat branded merchandise as an afterthought. A box to check. Something to order before the event and forget about after.

But the people who care -- the ones running environmental nonprofits, building outdoor communities, stewarding donors and volunteers -- they know the difference. They've held something in their hands that meant something. A well-made jacket from an organization they believed in. A pin that told a story. Something they kept, not because it was expensive, but because it was intentional.

They've also seen the other version. The table of giveaways nobody wanted. The branded item that ended up in a drawer and eventually the trash. The disconnect between what an organization stands for and what it hands to the people who matter most to it.

Tyler Merriam and Nick Prechel saw that gap too -- and spent their careers on the other side of it. In conservation. Outdoor education. Nonprofit communications. Service-driven work where resources were finite and every decision had to mean something.

When they took ownership of a 60-year-old Lake Placid business in 2022, they weren't coming to maintain it. They were coming to redirect it -- toward the organizations they'd spent their lives working alongside, and toward a standard for branded merchandise that those organizations actually deserve.

That's the work. That's why they're here.

What We Do

Every branded touchpoint is a chance to reinforce what an organization stands for. Most of them don't land that way -- not because the intent wasn't there, but because the right partnership and the right thinking weren't part of the process. The result is merchandise that misses the mark, budgets that don't stretch as far as they could, and products that don't get the life they deserved.

Cedarhue works alongside organizations before the decisions get made -- helping clarify what they actually need, source it responsibly, and deliver it in a way that reflects what they stand for. That covers everything from custom apparel and branded merchandise to recognition programs, on-demand stores, packaging, and creative development.

The result is a process that's more intentional from the start -- responsible sourcing, smarter use of budget, and products people are proud to own and proud to wear. Merchandise that reflects the organization's values, reduces waste, and builds the kind of connection that lasts beyond the event, the campaign, or the moment it was handed out.

What We Believe

Quality Without Compromise

We build relationships with vendors, partners, and clients who hold the same standard we do -- because the product is only as good as the thinking and care that went into it. Quality isn't a feature. It's the baseline.

Always Getting Better

We're a learning organization. Every project teaches us something. Every process can be improved. We don't treat growth as a destination -- we treat it as how we show up every day.

People First

Every person we work with -- client, vendor, contractor, or team member -- deserves to feel heard, respected, and valued. That's not a policy. It's just how we operate.

Environmental Stewardship

We minimize our ecological footprint through responsible sourcing, waste reduction, and sustainable practices at every level of how we work. And we bring that same thinking to every client engagement -- helping the organizations we partner with make more intentional decisions about what they put their name on, so their branded merchandise reflects the same values they hold everywhere else in their business.

Transformational Giving

We use our time, skills, and resources to support the causes and communities that align with what we believe. Business is a tool for positive change. We intend to use it that way.

Vision

To be the guide that purpose-driven organizations trust when it matters -- setting the standard for branded merchandise that amplifies their story, reflects their values, and leaves something worth keeping behind.

Mission

We help purpose-driven organizations elevate how their brand shows up in the world -- through merchandise that's thoughtfully designed, responsibly sourced, and worthy of everything they stand for.