A final sweep of the floor and a quick check to see all the frames were straight before the doors to 37 Queen St were finally open. Months of hard work had brought together an eclectic range of Northern Irish talent to create Belfast’s first and only illustration agency.
The studio was packed with illustrators, designers, and students from around the country enjoying a bit of an old chin-wag over some lovely work. Obviously no launch party would be complete without the complimentary booze, and for this we decided to go one step further than the standard warm, stubby lager.
In an effort to collaborate with the amazing independent talent that has risen up in Northern Ireland in the past few years, we worked with the guys at Brewbot on the Ormeau Road to create a custom 6% Citra & Black IPA exclusively for the opening night.
You always want the work to get directly into the hands of the right people, and what better way than by giving it to them in the form of a tasty beer? Playing on the promotional material for the launch, David McMillan, created two illustrated label designs acting as small souvenirs for the night.
It was great to see everyone enjoying both the work on the walls and the work in their hands, and I’m pretty sure they enjoyed what was in the bottles too, which was evident by some cheesy dance moves at the end of the night. Though maybe we’ll blame the wine for that.
You can see photos from the opening night by Donnie Wright here, as well as some by Brewbot’s own Filly Campbell here.