Collection

I first started working for Exploradora Coffee as a barista. In a two short weeks, I learned how to pull espresso shots, package coffees, and the science behind taking green coffee to that dark color. While I am no where near ready to get a barista license, this little roastery with the brightest passion has quickly become crucial to my artistic journey and my escape to good people, good drinks, and a good environment.

Alison, the owner of Exploradora Coffee, presented a project to me just weeks into my employment; she wanted to create a specialty bandana the was rooted in the passion and symbolism Exploradora brings to the table. After learning her story and gaining some creative insight from Helen, my manager and another amazing artist, we settled on where we wanted to take this bandana.

A little background…

Alison started Exploradora almost as a love letter to the women coffee growers she visited in many coffee countries. She saw an opportunity to highlight these growers so she formed the roastery with her two daughters Wade and Hollis to not only bring high quality, flavorful beans, but also give back to the women growers who have been long overshadowed. The women empowerment doesn’t stop there; even the imagery and symbolism is directly from Alison’s mother Patsy Gray.

Patsy created breathtaking water color illustrations for Exploradora’s information card. It is here that we pulled for the bandana. It highlights 18 different plants & animals all with representation that makes the Exploradora message.

We decided on taking only 7 of these entities, ones we felt had a strong connection with Exploradora’s main message. They include the hawk, the owl, bees, butterflies, ladybugs, coffee cherries, black-eyed Susans, and red honeysuckles. Oh! also two bonus elements the compass and of course coffee beans.