Relish Creative was briefed to develop the brand name, design the identity, packaging design and brand positioning for a new gin brand which has been developed as a fundraising vehicle for churches in Surbiton, Surrey. Our first job was to develop the brand name. The gin is being produced in Surbiton which has very close ties with architecture with Surbiton Station widely recognised as a fine example of Art Deco style. Investigating a number of architectural cues we arrived at ‘Blomfield’s Batch No.1’ after the architect who designed and built St Andrews, Sir Arthur Blomfield. 

Whilst the history of Surbiton is very much based on the establishment of a fast train line into London, Church per se has a long-standing ethos of being the heart of a community. Extending this thinking, by building St Andrew’s, Blomfield helped build the community.

At the same time, we worked with local distillery No.97 and Boutique Bar Brands to identify the perfect blend of botanicals. 

Blomfield’s has a base of lemon peel, cardamom, coriander, orris root, angelica, and juniper. The keynotes to this are Rosemary and Nettle. Adding a slightly herby flavour to the recipe, rosemary grows in the church gardens, is used in the liturgy and can be seen in gardens around Surbiton. Nettles adds a slightly tart edge to the gin. Not only are Nettles found across the English countryside but are widely used in food and drink recipes. We wanted to introduce nettle as a mild warning to people – gin is ok in moderation, but beware of its sting.

Finally, we developed the packaging design. We created various design routes, referencing the gin’s botanicals, and the history and the architecture of the area. The chosen route was inspired by the stained glass in both churches. We used the colours from St Andrew & St Mark’s branding to create a label design that resembles a stain glass window. The typography is a nod to historical scriptures written on the church walls. The quatrefoil symbol appears in numerous places around the church and is a prominent feature of other Blomfield designs around the country.

Blomfield’s gin was created and produced in collaboration with The Good Life Gin company on Maple Road, Surbiton; the first batch was distilled in a traditional copper pot in the basement gin bar of No.97.

Sir Arthur Blomfield was the architect behind St Andrew’s Church, Surbiton, completed in 1872, as well as sixty other churches. We do not actually know if he was fond of gin, but we like to think so. All profits from this gin will go towards supporting the parish of St Andrew and St Mark, Surbiton, churches at the heart of the community. We hope you like the Blomfield’s Gin branding as much as we do.