Last week I collaborated with the amazing People like Us - a Danish brewing company run by people from socially marginalised groups and supported by Mikkeller.
Founders Lars and Jesper Carlsen, brothers with teaching and psychology backgrounds have created a socio-innovative business which celebrates inclusive employment. Working with Autistic people they have set up special educational programmes which have enabled people like Sylvester - a 21 year old with Autism, who has struggled to fit into 'normal' social and work related relations, to flourish in his work, providing design work for the company.
This year they created a festival in Copenhagen called the Social Revolution By Beer Festival 2020. The aim was to host a festival which celebrates diversity, progressiveness and social responsibility through craft beer, talks, live music and art performances. Led by incredible motives to create a more inclusive labour market and a #socialrevolutionbybeer they created a truly inspiring festival.
The festival saw the launch of a very special limited edition of their COVFEFE beer, in collaboration with Mikkeller and Phantom Sprits. The stout is infused with coffee, vanilla, pecan nuts and cocoa nibs and has been barrel aged on both Whiskey and Rum. I was approached by People like Us, alongside other artists, to create a label for one of the stouts which was to be auctioned at the festival. The profit of the auction went to establishing a solid foundation for Sylvester.
The name COVFEFE is a satirical comment based on Trump's famous tweet "Despite the constant negative press covfefe". The inspiration had to derive from Sylvester's drawings of Donald Trump and suit People Like Us's bright and crooked style.
I was chuffed that the bottle that I had designed had raised 4,000 dkr (£476.06) which went straight to Sylvester and People Like Us to continue doing their incredible and hugely important work!
