Hello there, my frozen spring rolls. What's the dipping sauce of choice today? What other nonsense will ol’ Marko drop into this diary? Will Marsha leave Roger? Will Doctor Dean manage to save Little Jenny? And what about the cat?
Yes, the springs are a bit more unwound than usual tonight. I can't even properly blame it on the moon.
I might just be stalling. Well, I took almost no photos all week, but I'll scrounge up something to share to get this open thread rolling ...
It started with a boy …
This week I had a bit of artwork for a client to get done. They're a small independent brewery located about a 15 minute walk from my apartment. The brewery opened in 2020. I was brought in a bit earlier to help put together the graphics and artwork for the place. One day, my barber asks if I'd be interested in an illustration project. Turns out he and a friend wanted to start a brewery. He was attending a course at the brewing college to get his brewmaster’s certificate. What did I think of their idea to create a line of beers, each with its own illustrated character— a sort of family of beers. Would I like to meet him at the possible site for the new brewery to look over the place?
We went out for a beer to talk things over, of course.
I ended up creating their brewpub's logo and did the designs for their beer labels. As the building they renovated and used to install their brewery and restaurant was built as a tavern in the between World Wars era known as The First Republic, I took inspiration for the logo and label designs from the Art Deco style of the roaring 20s. Similarly, I used the walnut ink I'd made the year before for the illustrations, giving them a sepia-tone look and costumed the characters in fashions that would have been around before World War II.
The first beer was called "Kluk” which is the Czech word for boy.
There quickly followed a wide array of family members. There was a “Holka” — a girl beer, there was a mom and a dad, not to be confused with the no-nonsense father, an honorable lady, a lass …
As a fun little side project, the lads at the brewery had me come up with two labels for beers that were never actually brewed. They were called "Kluk” and "Holka” and actually, the “They” were two Holland Pygmy Goats that had been added as an attraction on the brewery's property. A couple of cute pets to entertain the kids who might be getting bored while their parents relaxed in the beer garden.
And there have been seasonal specialty beers added to the selection from time to time. Some are named for saints whose associated days have particular cultural significance for Czechs, and some simply commemorate Czech traditions.
Turns out the brewery's owners were so happy for the inauguration of a new Czech President last year that they wanted to mark the occasion with a new beer.
My latest label design for the brewery is "Švagr" or Brother-In-Law if you prefer English.
Here's looking forward to more years of work with this client. I really enjoy creating these characters.
And to end on a properly positive note, here's a snowy sunrise for you:
Thanks for stopping by.
This is an open thread.