{"id":24045,"date":"2021-11-10T01:19:26","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T09:19:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bcaletrail.ca\/?p=24045"},"modified":"2022-03-05T10:36:40","modified_gmt":"2022-03-05T18:36:40","slug":"robert-edmonds-and-main-st-brewing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bcaletrail.ca\/robert-edmonds-and-main-st-brewing\/","title":{"rendered":"Artist Behind the Label: Robert Edmonds and Main Street Brewing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Robert Edmonds and the folks at Main Street Brewing<\/a> are bringing new meaning to the term ‘brand storytelling’ with their latest Bond-esque brew series\u2014and you’re invited to sip along on their next mission.<\/b><\/p>\n

For the third instalment of our Artist Behind the Label series<\/a>, Robert Edmonds\u2014co-founder of Evoke International Design<\/a> and part-owner of Main Street Brewing\u2014touches on his creative rituals, his taste in the tasting room interiors and the importance of good storytelling when it comes to design. Rob’s been crafting Main Street’s distinct brightly-coloured labels since the brewery’s inception in 2014\u2014when the craft brew craze was just catching on. His designs celebrate the history of Vancouver’s storied Brewery Creek<\/a>\u00a0neighbourhood and, as of late, they’ve been inviting patrons on a series of ale-ventures that will keep you on the edge of your bar stool.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"TroubleWeighsATun-Landscape-Main-Street-Brewing-Vancouver-Brewery-Creek\"
Trouble Weighs a ‘Tun Export India Porter from Main Street Brewing’s Spy Series<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Q&A WITH ROBERT EDMONDS OF EVOKE INTERNATIONAL DESIGN<\/b><\/h3>\n

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\"Core
Main Street Brewing Pilsner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nicole: Alright, let’s start from the beginning. Tell me about yourself! What sort of life steps led you to where you are now as a designer?<\/b><\/h4>\n

Robert: I grew up in Melbourne, Australia and my first toe-dip into real-world design was a stint of \u2018work experience\u2019 at iconic Australian record label, Mushroom Records, before landing a job in a small design studio. As with most Australians, I eventually went travelling and settled in London; again, working in a design studio, this time creating packaging. From the UK, I moved to Vancouver and spent two years working at Palmer Jarvis Advertising before returning to Australia and taking up an Art Director\u2019s position at <\/span>FCB International<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

By this stage I\u2019d met my future-permanent-date and we moved back to Vancouver to start our businesses. Janis (Nicolay) is a photographer and I launched my own design studio. Eventually, my studio merged with my brother-in-law and bar mate, David Nicolay, to form Evoke International Design.<\/span><\/p>\n

N: Evoke specializes in all kinds of design\u2014interior, graphic, motion. Is there any niche you particularly enjoy?<\/b><\/h4>\n

R: My portfolio consists of over 600 [music] poster designs<\/a>\u2014from limited edition tour art prints to street level gig posters for artists including The Cure, Tom Waits, Radiohead, Haim, Flaming Lips, Willie Nelson, Ice Cube to local and National Canadian bands, including album designs for Blue Rodeo and Shawn Hook.<\/span><\/p>\n

I think over the years that has informed my work, as I try to let the style of the music lead the design (much the same way I think the style of beer should be part of the can design!).<\/span><\/p>\n

N: Evoke talks about using spatial design as another vehicle for communication. Can you tell me more about that?<\/b><\/h4>\n

R: Evoke has a very modern aesthetic and my business partner, David, handles the interiors side, as well as designing modern houses. When we formed the company, we were doing a lot of restaurant design, which incorporated both interior and graphic design so we were able to create coherent spaces that used the same language throughout.<\/p>\n

\"Tasting
Main Street Brewing in Vancouver, BC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

N: Have you always felt like you were meant to do something creative?<\/b><\/h4>\n

R: Yes. I was originally interested in fine arts but ended up going the graphic design route. I still always carry a sketchbook with me. I paint in my free time, and I\u2019m also in a band, <\/span>The Wivez<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0(Editor’s note: I can confirm their newest single, “Take You Higher” is pretty rad. You should check it out the next time you have a cold Fruit Bomb in your hand.)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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“My portfolio consists of over 600 [music] poster designs…I think over the years that has informed my work, as I try to let the style of the music lead the design (much the same way the style of beer should be part of the can design!)”<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n

N: Let\u2019s talk about Main Street Brewing\u2014how did it come to be?\u00a0<\/b><\/h4>\n

R: Early on, Evoke was drawn to the hospitality industry and we wanted to practice what we preached from a design point of view. David and I, along with Wendy Nicolay and Nigel Pike, are partners at the <\/span>Cascade Group of Restaurants<\/span><\/a> (The Cascade Room, El Camino\u2019s and The Union). Through that partnership, we teamed up with our friend, Cameron Forsyth (<\/span>Portland Craft<\/span><\/a>) to create Main Street Brewing.<\/span><\/p>\n

We initially started off by creating an in-house beer for our restaurants. We called it \u2018Main Street Pilsner\u2019, as that\u2019s where all our establishments were located at the time. Then the craft brewery craze hit, so we decided to find a location and open a brewery ourselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Core
Main Street Brewing in Vancouver, BC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

N: The tasting room space is gorgeous\u2014what was Evoke\u2019s thought process behind the design?<\/b><\/h4>\n

R: The game has definitely been raised in the craft beer industry over the last 5+ years, so conveying the brand not only through the packaging but also through tasting room space is important.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Main Street is in a beautiful old building in the heart of Brewery Creek in Vancouver. It was the original home of Doering & Marstrand Brewery, so we were cognizant of the history and only touched the building lightly. We used complementary materials within the retail store and tasting room to highlight the existing space, including the 30\u2019 high warehouse ceilings and exposed wood trusses.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Interior-Main-St-Brewing-Vancouver-Brewery-Creek\"
Inside Main Street Brewing’s tasting room in Vancouver, BC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

N: Main Street\u2019s labels are unique. Did you draw inspiration from anywhere in particular?<\/b><\/h4>\n

R: As with the interior design, the labels were designed as a modern interpretation of historical stories from the neighbourhood. We created our core four<\/a> to stand out against the plethora of multicolored labels on the shelf by keeping them a single colour with a dark graphic icon for each.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Departure
Departure Lounge Hibiscus Grisette from Main Street Brewing’s Vacation Series<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

N: The \u201cVacation Series\u201d was a hit! So much fun. How did the idea come together?<\/b>
\n<\/b><\/h4>\n

R: It was born out of Covid. Travel was not an option for people, so Cam and Nigel wanted to create a series of beers that gave you a chance to escape, if only in your mind, as we all longed to get back to \u2018normal\u2019. They worked with our head brewer Azlan Graves on the beer styles and I ran with the designs. We wanted to make the series a journey, so we started with \u201c<\/span>Departure Lounge<\/span><\/a>\u201d, followed by the arrival at your room with the \u201c<\/span>Ocean View<\/span><\/a>\u201d, the big blowout party with \u201c<\/span>Hula Hula Shake<\/span><\/a>\u201d, then finally the recovery day \u201c<\/span>Poolside<\/span><\/a>\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

People were really engaged with the through-line and we also created a series of videos for the tasting room TV\u2019s and social media (linked above)<\/em>, which embellished the stories.<\/span><\/p>\n

N: Now, what about this not-so-top-secret new spy-themed series? <\/b>
\n<\/b><\/h4>\n

R: We wanted to riff on the release of the latest Bond film. Initially, it was going to be very similar to the Vacation Series, but once I got stuck into the design, I saw an opportunity to dedicate more space for a story. I\u2019ve been working with writer J.C. Sorensen, who jumped at the chance to flex his beer muscle! We wanted to have a female hero, so we came up with \u2018I.P.Agent Holly Hoppington\u2019, who will be <\/span>going on a series of adventures<\/span><\/a> to recover the Malt-Tease Falcon.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A post shared by Main St. Brewing Company (@mainstreetbeer)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n