Well, we’ve all got to start somewhere. Here’s my first blog post since diving into the life of a freelance designer for the craft beverage industry. Cheers!
I recently attended the 2018 CA Craft Beer Summit & Festival and had an excellent experience. In addition to the educational classes on marketing in the beer industry, I had the pleasure of meeting Ryan Wheaton of Craft Brew Creative and the Branding Brews podcast. We ended up running into each other throughout the Summit and grabbed lunch just around the corner at Capital Garage, which conveniently had many delicious vegan options to Ryan's delight! He's a really rad guy who's podcast helped inspire me to go out on my own designing for the beer industry in the first place, and I can't thank him enough. You can find him on social media @wheatoncreative, @craftbrewcreative and @brandingbrews.
While at the show I also got to meet a ton of awesome brewers and brewery suppliers, who filled my swag bag with more koozies, coasters, and bottle openers than I knew what to do with. I also saw some fantastic samples of beer labels with countless printing options that blew me away! Thanks to Best Label and Trysk for the beautiful samples, they really do amazing work!
The next day (Saturday) was the festival, where over 160 breweries set up tents outside the Capitol building. My mom was able to tag along as we walked around tasting an infinite supply of CA's best droughts. Just about everyone had an IPA of some kind, and I definitely had a bit of a buzz by the time it was over.
The highlight for the day was definitely getting to talk to the folks from my local breweries, Jackrabbit, and Bike Dog, Sactown Union, and Yolo Brew. I told Sage, the designer and co-founder of Bike Dog, that I had always loved their logo, we exchanged business cards, and continued with the festival.
Fast forward to one month later, I walked into Bike Dog’s 5th anniversary party and got to see my label design alongside four other local designers! It was a great feeling seeing something I did out in the world, and it’s a piece I’m proud of.
I made some great connections, and it seems like I’m doing alright for my first couple months as a full time freelancer. The stress can be real sometimes, but doing this kind of work is too much fun to pass up. I love the freedom and creativity that comes with designing in the craft beer industry, and I can’t wait to take on more projects!