We’re always delighted when Bellingham, Washington’s Camber Coffee collaborates with a visual artist for their annual Artist Seriesย coffee offerings. This year, the team worked with Canadian illustrator and muralist Paige Bowman. Bowman’s work “explores themes of identity and transformation through intricate visual storytelling,” explains Camber Coffee’s Ryan Russell.
“Their illustrations are visceral and animated, drawing inspiration from folklore, mythology, the occult, and the natural world,” Russell continues.
Coffee Design is a feature series on Sprudge presented by TricorBraun Flex.
For the collaboration, Bowman created unique and colorful pieces that will showcase coffee offerings throughout the season. The art will also appear on items like cups and tumblers, apparel, an enamel keychain, and a sticker pack featuring all three pieces of art.
The first release is almost sold out, but rest assured, there will be many other coffees released in the coming months as part of this series. Folks can sign up for Camber Coffee Artist Series text alerts to learn about the latest Artist Series drops.
We spoke with Camber Coffee’s Ryan Russell to learn more.
How did you connect with the artist?
We caught a first glimpse of their work at the Vancouver ArtBreakers Market in 2019 and we were blown away by their use of bold, graphic textures and bright contrasting colors. When we reached out to see if they wanted to partner with us, we were pleased to learn they’re an avid coffee drinker, and the rest is history!
How does the collaboration work? Do you present them with ideas first?ย
We review their art as a team to see if any pieces jump out to us. From there, we see if there’s the possibility to license our favorite pieces. If everything is licensed or doesn’t vibe with our brand, we’ll ask them to create something custom for us. Luckily, Paige had an incredible library available for us to browse. Our team selected five to six illustrations and we were fortunate to license our favorites.
Did anything delightful or surprising happen during the collab?ย
This is our first “local” artist, so we were hopeful for an opportunity to meet in person. Luckily, we were able to spend a day shooting photos, browsing murals, and talking coffee with Paige in Vancouver. We were able to see their prints and murals in person, and they were able to see how their work translated to packaging; it was a rad day with a talented artist and kind person.
Are there additional Artist Series products that pair with the coffee release?ย
Yes, we will have our biggest merch drop ever with this Artist Series! We have a Fellow Cold Cup and Carter Move Tumbler, apparel, an enamel keychain, and a sticker pack featuring all three pieces of art. We were blown away by how well the art translated onto everything, and we’re working on more merch for upcoming coffee releases.
Photos by Ryan Russellย courtesy Camber Coffee.
Explore Coffee Design archives at our exclusiveย Coffee Design hub.ย
Coffee Design is a feature series on Sprudge presented by TricorBraun Flex.
