One of the newest brands on our radar is Social Club Seltzer, a premium, cocktail-inspired hard seltzer. Whether you’re a seltzer snob or a casual drinker, you’ll appreciate the look and taste of it. At 7% ABV, 150 calories, and gluten-free, it’s a lighter, refreshing alternative to the usual variety.
The brand reimagines classic cocktails, like its Old Fashioned, which features a blood orange flavor and a smoky oak scent. And its Citrus Gimlet, for example, livens up an old favorite with a sweet and sour flavor. It’s no surprise, then, that these seltzers have become our drink of choice as of late.
Beyond the beverage, Social Club is using its brand as a collaborative platform for artists and a place to celebrate the hustle behind their achievements. For its first brand campaign, “Create The Club,” Social Club put a call out to trailblazing artists and creatives of all kinds across the country, from designers to filmmakers, musicians, and much more. The idea behind the initiative was to create more than just a brand, but a collaborative community built by consumers themselves. A place where artists are commissioned to create original works, engage in dialogue about the triumphs and struggles of the hustle, network, and talk about chasing their creative passions.
The first edition of the Create The Club campaign features 10 up-and-coming creators who are also on our radar. To get a closer look, here we spotlight four of them, learning about their craft and how they collaborated with Social Club.
Edward Wycliff
Edward Wycliff is the founder of Bow Shoeshoe, which he launched in Lesotho, Africa, in 2015. He makes bowties, among other items, with an African fabric called Shweshwe. “I’m inspired by the hustle and have travelled the world to build a brand. I train communities in Africa with nothing to sew my vision with their traditional fabric,” he says. Wycliff, a self-taught sewer, has trained over 150 people to create his designs.
In 2019, he began selling his designs in New Orleans. But in the wake of Covid-19, he shifted his business and pivoted to making masks, which resulted in hiring other local artists to support production. Recognizing that masks are essential in fighting the pandemic, he launched an initiative where for each mask purchased another would be donated to an essential worker. His masks not only support locals in New Orleans, but sewers in Lesotho and other parts of southern Africa. Wycliff successfully advocates for building up Black-owned businesses and supporting a global Black community and economy.
For Social Club's Create The Club campaign, Wycliff designed custom masks (scroll through the images above).
Chiomma Hall
Chiomma Hall is a 24-year-old Atlanta-based illustrator. As a Black, unapologetically queer-identifying woman, her illustrations and paintings are as much a commentary about identity and representation as they are works of art. “Through a series of trial and error, I draw from the intersections of my identity to partake in a dialogue of community, love, and friendship as a Black, queer woman. My expressive figures vary in color and composition to tell the stories of individuals who exist without shame,” Hall shares.
For Create The Club, Hall was invited to illustrate a scene depicting community and togetherness. She describes the things that influence her point of view: "When I first started to illustrate people, I was doing it in this way that I thought I had to. When I realized that I needed to stop asking for acceptance and that I needed to start creating the spaces that I want to be in, my work changed. I wanted to create work that created space for Blackness in the way that I've experienced it: healing and accountable and vulnerable and happy. It feels crazy to be able to bring my own style into Social Club and to authentically show up as myself."
Eric Pagsanjan
Chicago-based Eric Pagsanjan is an illustrator and graphic designer whose works include sneaker art that was featured at ComplexCon and album art commissioned by 2 Chainz, to name a few. Notably, his project SneakerHeroes illustrates some of his favorite sneaker designers as heroes gracing the covers of comic books. “I started a project [SneakerHeroes] where I’ve raised money through selling my art to help give back to the city of Chicago in the form of shoes,” he shares.
Pagsanjan was invited to design apparel and merch for Social Club and share his experiences as an artist. "Being a person of color in the creative industry was not as easy as I thought. I was often the only Asian creative in the room. There weren't many resources or information on how to actually break into the ad world. I wish there were more Filipinos in the industry that I could look up to, but I was forging my own path. I love the sentiment behind the Create The Club program and how the brand wanted to provide a diverse and collaborative platform for creatives. I'm just now recognizing the potential of my own voice and how powerful telling my own story can be, especially to help others."
Roland Baker
Roland Baker works as an IT analyst by day and is a product and portrait photographer outside of his 9-to-5. Based out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he collaborated with Social Club by shooting a series of photos for the brand's national campaign.
"My ambitious spirit really comes from me being resilient. I was a person that would never take giving up as an answer. Creators, a lot of times, we struggle with imposter syndrome. 'Should I take this gig? Am I good enough?' You have to take that risk to get better. What I am excited about with joining the Create The Club community is the collaboration. You learn so much from other people. You get to see things from a different perspective."
To learn more about the Create The Club campaign, visit socialclubseltzer.com. Enjoy Responsibly. 21+ Only. © 2020 Anheuser-Busch, Social ClubTM Seltzer, Old Fashioned, IRC Beer (Ale in TX), Citrus Gimlet, IRC Beer (Ale in TX), Sidecar, IRC Beer (Ale in TX) St. Louis, MO 63118.
