Surf Brewery is an awesome brewery in Ventura, if you have not been you can check them out here. They have just celebrated their first year anniversary, so that means it has already been a year since I got the opportunity to help with the design of the tasting room! My best friend's husband, Chas, is the head brewer there (he's cool like that), and he was nice enough to introduce me to the Surf Brew team as a design consultant. I love the beach, I love beer, I love design...how could I resist? After meeting with the guys and getting a tour of the brewery I left with some great ideas for the space. I wanted to gather some inspiration images so that I could translate the feeling I was going to try to get across.
When thinking about Ventura and the vibe of the town I felt the mood of the tasting room should match...therefore be cool, vintage and inviting. Kind of like hanging out in your buddies really cool garage.
One of the biggest concerns of the owners was that the space of the tasting room was long and narrow, and it dead-ended into a huge cinder block wall. I thought this would be the perfect spot for a huge mural of the Ventura pier, as if you were hanging out drinking Mondo's Cream Ale (my favorite) watching the surf from the beach! This turned into one of the highlights of the entire design. Originally I thought about a photo mural, but they ended up hiring an extremely talented artist to paint the mural on the wall (Art by Craig Tyler, mural by Erin O'Brien). She did this by projecting a photo on the wall, tracing and then filling it in. The end result is definitely the highlight of the entire design. Some of my other designs that made it into the space were eclectic furniture, reclaimed wood features, concrete bar top, stained concrete floor and paint colors. Of course they put their own personal spin on it but overall I was thrilled to see my design inspiration come to life.
I highly recommend making the trip to check Surf Brew out for yourself and of course get a sampler while you are at it! If you get thirsty before you get down there you can now get Surf Brew beer at Whole Foods in Santa Barbara!
love it!
ReplyDelete