Abbeydale Brewery + Tramlines

With Tramlines 2018 just around the corner (again), I have found myself reminiscing on the project I did way back in 2013 for Abbeydale Brewery. It was a fun project and went down a storm with client and punters alike.

The lovely people at Abbeydale Brewery asked me to design the pump-clips for the official Tramlines beer that they were brewing. It was great to be asked and involved – but I also saw it as an opportunity to do something different, something that reflected Abbeydale Brewery, Tramlines, Sheffield and its people… something unique.

Sheffield is well-known for its beer and music scene, so I wanted to marry the two, somehow. I put my thinking flat-cap on and went for a pint in Kelham Island. From that excursion, a big idea was born. The concept was to use discarded vinyl records as pump-clips and screen-print the beer’s graphics onto them. So I set about selecting different album vinyls from different labels, genres and artists, so there was something for everyone. Therefore, each pump-clip becomes a talking point for punters whilst they’re queuing or waiting for the beer to be poured.

I wanted the vinyl pump-clips to be cut into the shape of the famous Abbeydale arch – this had to be done in Germany – as I couldn’t find anyone in the UK to do it. Once they arrived in Sheffield, the screen-printing was done by APG – who did a great job. The end result, I believe, was something special.

It was great seeing all the different pump-clips in the pubs, clubs and makeshift venues for that years’ festival. During which, some of the clips were stolen as souvenirs by the revellers – the ultimate compliment, I suppose. I had predicted this happening – so each venue was given reserve clips as a point-of-sale back up! I have a friend who happens to have two of them framed and hung on his wall… which is humbling. However, to this day I still haven’t asked him how he got them.

Anyway, that’s enough of the past, as another fantastic Tramlines Music Festival awaits us this year. Cheers!