Marblehead born. Built on relationships.

I'm Rafe Hershfield. I've spent my whole career helping businesses get noticed — first on paper, now everywhere else.

My story

I've lived in Marblehead my entire life, and I've spent my career helping businesses get their message in front of the right people. It just looks a lot different than it used to.

For more than 20 years, I owned a printing company in Boston. Menus, brochures, signage, direct mail — if a business needed to get the word out, it probably came across my desk. That gave me a front-row seat to a big shift: the work my clients used to put on paper was moving to screens. Instead of fighting that change, I followed it.

In 2012, I branched off from the print business and started Hershfield Creative. Coming out of COVID, I went all in full time. Local businesses had just come through one of the hardest stretches they'd ever faced, and they needed marketing that was personal, nimble, and built for how people find and choose businesses today. That's what I set out to give them.

How I work

I love working with businesses that are good at what they do and proud of it. The owner who obsesses over every plate that leaves the kitchen. The agent who picks up the phone on a Saturday. Those are my people.

Even when I'm hired for one thing, I end up caring about all of it. I'd rather be part of your whole marketing picture — social, content, your website, the conversation about next season's promotion — than a vendor who emails off a file and disappears. That's why I work as an embedded marketing department: one person who knows your business inside and out, shows up in person, and treats your brand like it's my own.

Two decades in print also taught me a few things that still guide every project: details matter, deadlines are real, and good work is built on relationships.

Off the clock

Home is Marblehead, and family comes first. I have two sons, Jacob and Tyler, and sports run through just about everything we do. Jacob is in college in a Golf Management program, working toward becoming a PGA professional. Tyler plays football and basketball, so on most weekends you'll find me in the stands. When we're not playing or watching our own games, we're all in on our local teams.

I also love to travel. Seeing new places keeps me curious — every trip turns into a notebook of ideas, from a great menu design to a clever storefront to the way a small hotel makes you feel at home. There's no better way to get inspired, and no better feeling than coming home to Marblehead with fresh eyes.

Giving back

This town has given me a lot, and I've always tried to give back. I've served on the boards of the Marblehead Chamber of Commerce, the Marblehead Counseling Center, and Friends of Marblehead Hockey.

For our family, community and helping others aren't a strategy. They're just how we live. It's also why I love working with local businesses: when they do well, the whole town does.

If you're proud of what you do, let's make sure people know about it.

[Let's Talk]