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Small Ass Vineyard
A charming family owned vineyard tucked in the rolling hills of the California Loomis Basin.
Our objective was to create a wine packaging solution and sentimental branding that would tell an emotional story. Prince and Penelope, 2 small donkeys, provided the foundation for this amazing brand.
“In 2017 we stumbled upon our fairy tale home in Loomis, California. The charming property had an established vineyard with both Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.”
The new property is indeed beautiful and peaceful, the perfect setting for this family to explore new possibilities. As we interviewed the owners and explored the relationship of the 2 donkeys and the vineyard, a heart felt story unfolded.
It became clear that the brand would be centered around Prince and Penelope. After some back and forth on brand name possibilities the clear winner was Small Ass Vineyard! It captured not only the essence of the vineyards on the property, it also tied the miniature donkeys into the brand strategy. Our next challenge was to put some life into the branding and start to explore the visual solution.
“It wasn’t until a year later that I’d come to realize just how important the new home and those donkeys would be in my battle against breast cancer.”
We scheduled a photography session at the vineyard and began capturing the mood of the property. Although the donkeys proved to be a challenge, we managed to capture some great images and we were ready to start the wine label packaging design.
It became clear that we needed to add some character to the branding through stylized illustration for the donkeys. I contacted an old friend who has been a leading watercolor artists in the Sacramento area for decades, David Lobenberg. I knew he would be able to render the hero image we needed to build this brand upon. His artwork was a home run! The 2 donkeys were painted and we now had the centerpiece we needed.
Our creative objective was to design a brand that the owners could embrace. The brand also had to appeal to a broad audience of wine lovers. The illustration provided that bridge that connects all of the elements.
The finished wine label package was an instant success. People are drawn to the approachable donkeys on the label and feel connected to the small, intimate vineyard.
We carried this brand through the Small Ass Vineyard stationery design, web site design, and additional food packaging designs. The property boasts a large garden which produces enough tomatoes and peppers to enable the owners to produce their own salsa. There are also a number of chicken so we produced food packaging for Small Ass Eggs too!