When we recently put out a call to the artist community to see who was interested in designing a new sleeve for our coffee box, we had no idea what the response would be. There was no way we could have foreseen the wave of interest we received and the resulting amount of artworks that were sent our way to for us to pick from.
Our previous two sleeves depicted Amsterdam (1) and a beautiful illustration of a French café scene (2), both using mostly darker colours. With spring definitely on our doorstep, we briefed our artists to go away and come back with designs that would really pop.
From the many submissions that were sent in, we picked a beautiful piece of work by Amsterdam-based artist Ren Phillips.
This morning we went over to his bright and stylish apartment to catch up with him and to show him how his work looked wrapped around our box in real life. We wanted to know what his thinking was behind his illustrations, to which he said: “I am a huge coffee fan and I think The Coffeevine is one of the most elaborate and beautiful coffee brands out there. My design represents a number of elements that are associated with urban coffee culture at large, namely: baristas, coolness, fruity tasting notes and more Coffeevine specific, the box traveling around the world.”
His style draws its inspiration from bold lines and colourful imagery that he gets from living in one of Europe’s most dynamic and innovative cities. Amsterdam to him and to us is a city that is constantly reinventing itself and never sits still. “It’s a city on a constant caffeine high,” Ren said while throwing a ball at his adorable rescue dog Rico. “I just love the energy.”
We asked him what his motivation was to submit a design for our sleeve, to which he said: “When you’re a young artist trying to get noticed, things like this are an amazing opportunity to showcase your work. And as a real coffee lover I feel even more connected to the product than if it was a beauty box or something else. I can’t wait to hear what people think!” For the next few months Ren’s beautiful design will grace the sleeves that go around our coffee boxes and travel to coffee lovers in more than 40 countries.
It’s use of deep reds and pink stand in strong contrast to our previous design and offer really make our boxes stand out more than ever. We’re absolutely love this new look and we’re incredibly grateful to be working with such a talented artist.
To find out more about Ren Phillips or see his work visit ren-tin.com
