Orkney is a very creative, collaborative place, and a new project launched by two of the county’s most innovative businesses is helping to keep that reputation alive.
Bringing together the food and drink and crafts sectors, the Swannay Brewery has joined forces with knitwear designers Mixter Maxter to launch a new range of beer-inspired pompom hats.
Well, not quite beer-inspired, but definitely influenced by the bright and brilliant branding of the Brewery’s new ‘Mutiny’ range, as well as some of Swannay’s classic ales, including Scapa Special and Duke IPA.
The idea for the collaboration originally came from Lauren Thomson, Office Manager at the Brewery. “We’ve wanted to feature a quality range of Swannay knitwear in our shop and online for some time and we were keen to make sure it would both capture our brand and showcase the talent in Orkney’s fantastic craft scene,” said Lauren.
The connection with Mixter Maxter is the latest local link-up by the Brewery in Orkney. The team at Swannay has already created beers for the Orkney Folk Festival and has sponsored events including the annual St Magnus Marathon.
“We sell 40% of our beer right here in Orkney so it’s important for us to be part of the community,” said Lewis Hill from the Brewery. “It feels natural to work with local people and organisations that are already doing such great work in the islands.”
“I have always loved the colour combinations that the team at Swannay use for their branding. The Mutiny range is so fun, fresh and bold and I was instantly drawn to it for a design project,” she said.
“We created a range of colourways from all their designs and they picked three to start with. It was a great opportunity to work with a forward-thinking local company and we’re really happy with the finished pompom products!”
It’s just another example of what Lewis Hill hopes will be a number of projects with local businesses. “We now export beer regularly across the UK and to eight countries, as far afield as Hong Kong, but we have a very strong following in Orkney and we want to do our bit to support what happens here in the islands,” he said.
“We’d like to do more local tie-ups, so get in touch!”
The hats are available now in the Swannay Brewery shop in Orkney’s west mainland and via the Brewery’s website. Follow the Swannay Brewery on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
See the full Mixter Maxter range via the official website. You can also find the range on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.