“Saw This Made This”: BOMBAY SAPPHIRE and The Hoxton partner with artists in five cities

BOMBAY SAPPHIRE and The Hoxton will be coming together to bring an exciting addition to their neighbourhoods in Amsterdam, Barcelona, London, Paris, and Rome as part of the gin brand’s Saw This Made This campaign. The Hoxton is a series of hotels that prides itself on supporting local communities, whether that be local food, local creatives, or the local streets and scenes that it calls home around the world. BOMBAY SAPPHIRE is a brand that celebrates creativity both inside the cocktail glass and beyond, and now the two have teamed up to unveil a special, locally flavoured art installation series. BOMBAY SAPPHIRE and the Hoxton will be championing new-gen artists in five European locations in the form of five unique pop-up art installations, with the aim of encouraging guests to discover the creative inspiration all around them.

This latest news is revealed as part of the BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Saw This Made This campaign; launched firstly with iconic film director Baz Luhrmann as the campaign Creative Director, with the aim of inspiring people to see creativity and beauty all around them. BOMBAY SAPPHIRE is continuing its global mission, calling for everyone to be inspired in their local areas, engage their own creativity, and unlock their creative potential.

The project comes as an extension of the Hox Gallery; an area within each hotels’ public spaces dedicated to showcasing exciting, up-and-coming local artists through seasonal programming, demonstrating long-term, meaningful support to the creative communities in and around each Hox neighbourhood. Drawing from a wide range of mediums, genres and influences, the chosen artists in each city are united by the inspiration they draw from the feel and character of their local setting, taking over lobbies, windows and rooftops across Europe.

With BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin’s balanced flavour profile and versatility, it is the ideal canvas for cocktail creativity. The world-renowned gin brand has partnered with the head bartenders at The Hoxton bars to create a series of Saw This, Made This limited-edition cocktails, taking inspiration from the local city. Each art installation and unique gin cocktail will be available to enjoy so guests can enjoy a creative tipple while taking in the wonders of the artist’s installations.

London

The line-up of local talent involved in the installations begins with London-based, Argentina-born fine artist Sofia Clausse. Sofia will be putting her Royal Academy-trained skills to use celebrating the city she now calls home at The Hoxton, Holborn this August, creating a colourful stained glass-style mural to mirror the vibes of one of London’s liveliest neighbourhoods.

Sofia was attracted to the series of arched windows by the bar in the lobby of the Holborn Hox, which look out onto High Holborn, seeing them as reminiscent of stained-glass windows, particularly because of the arched shape, so chose these as the canvas for her artwork. Much of Sofia’s work uses lines, and she has created her own sets of painting tools to create these, from custom screen-printing squeegees to 3D printed tools.

The London bar team have been inspired by the crossroads in High Holborn and The Kingsway, an almost perfect north/south/east/west crossroads. The Crosstown Traffic includes BOMBAY SAPPHIRE, Claret Vermouth and sage and hop-smoked Honey – a play on a Martinez served in a rocks glass. The large cross-stamped ice block evokes the crossroads motif, garnished with brushstrokes, black for the road, red for the Central Line and blue for the Piccadilly Line.

Barcelona

French-born, Barcelona-based illustrator and muralist Perrine Honoré will be spreading joy in The Hoxton, Poblenou, using her ebullient style and pops of awesome colour to reflect the area’s vibrant beachside appeal. While Perrine works across a variety of mediums including street art, textiles, posters and even jewellery, all her work is united through a festive and colourful aesthetic, building a narrative where spontaneity prevails.

Perrine chose to move to Barcelona because of the city’s buzzing network of dynamic designers and illustrators, and Poblenou is a hub for the local creative community; in recent years urban regeneration has seen old textiles factories and mills converted to artist studios, design showrooms and art schools, breathing fresh life into the neighbourhood and establishing it as one of the most cultural districts of the city.

Inspired by a typical beach in Barcelona, the Cala is made with BOMBAY SAPPHIRE, grapefruit juice, cider and salty butter syrup and garnished with a banana leaf and butter cracker, drawing upon the atmosphere and lifestyle in Spain, mixing salty flavours with bitter and floral notes.

Amsterdam

Over at The Hoxton, Amsterdam, self-taught Dutch artist Frederique Matti will be using thick layers of paint to depict the cosy vibes of an Amsterdam party in full flow. Her tactile, colour-popping motifs will appear on a glass wall just inside the hotel entrance, capturing local moments in her signature line style, expressed through objects you might find at a party, telling a story about the guests, surroundings and energy.

Frederique’s art is inspired by her inner world, acting as a visual diary of little life moments translated into colour, shapes and objects, with the subjects simultaneously important and insignificant. Using thick layers of paint to depict the minor yet charming moments that fill people’s ordinary lives, her work has a highly tactile quality and is characterised by flat shapes and an abundance of colour.

The Dutch bar team has created the Spirit of Resilience featuring BOMBAY SAPPHIRE, tarragon infused genever, Green Chartreuse, apple cordial and lime juice. The name was chosen to depict the windmills found in Amsterdam which have been a familiar structure throughout the history of the Netherlands. The cocktail is garnished with a banana leaf to represent the propellers of the windmills.

Rome

For the pop-up installation at The Hoxton, Rome, visual artist Luca Font will be taking centre stage. His bold, geometric graphics with strong blacks and primary colours will come to life in the Rome lobby in the form of four wanderlust illustrations Giclée printed.

Luca captures the local spirit of Rome by absorbing the city’s many artistic historic and cultural layers and tells stories of everyday life. His distinctive work ranges from tattooing to illustration and painting, focussing on bold graphics, strong blacks, and primary colours: a contemporary take on mid-century European art and Italian futurism, with a retro feel.

In Rome, inspiration for the drink comes from the vine found near the Colosseum – the ancient Pantastica grapes found on Palatine Hill in the heart of Rome. To represent this the Colosseum Shadow is made from Roman wine ‘tea’ – made from leftover local wine infused with BOMBAY SAPPHIRE, Roman chamomile, wine syrup and lemon juice.

Paris

Parisian artist Caroline Derveaux, will be using a joyful palette to create a dream-like artwork on the glass roof of The Hoxton, Paris. Caroline combines bright colours with geometric shapes and abstract elements, and a mix of architectural and organic forms creating an imagined microcosm exploring dreams, emotions and memories.

The design will play with the natural light streaming through the hotel’s glass roof and is inspired by evening cocktails at golden hour in the City of Light. Caroline wanted her installation to give an immersive feel, adding figurative elements to her abstract style, alluding to the end of summer in Paris – her favourite time to enjoy the city.

The French bartenders have been inspired by the Grand Palais and to bring this to life their cocktail Le Palais Carré is served in a hexagon shaped glass with a pyramid shaped ice cube and includes BOMBAY SAPPHIRE, Martini Riserva Special Rubino, lemon juice, strawberries, grapefruit zest and figs.

About The Hoxton

The Hoxton is a series of open house hotels, rooted in culture and community, located in key cities across the UK, Europe and North America. Each hotel is a reflection and extension of its neighbourhood, inspired by the diversity and originality of the streets that surround them. Vibrant, welcoming public spaces and exciting dining concepts mean every Hoxton is as much a destination for the local community as it is for guests.

The Hoxton, Shoreditch opened in 2006, followed by Holborn (2014), Amsterdam (2015), and Paris (2017). Global expansion saw the arrival of The Hoxton, Williamsburg (2018), Portland (2018), Chicago (2019), Downtown LA (2019), Southwark (2019), Rome (2021), Poblenou and Shepherd’s Bush (2022), and Charlottenburg and Brussels (2023). The Hoxton is part of Ennismore, a creative hospitality company rooted in culture and community, with a global collective of entrepreneurial and founder-built brands with purpose at their heart.

thehoxton.com | ennismore.com | @thehoxtonhotel

About BOMBAY SAPPHIRE®

Based on a 1761 recipe, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin is created by perfectly balancing a unique combination of 10 hand-selected exotic botanicals from around the world. Every drop of our gin is distilled at Laverstoke Mill in the south of England and is 100% vapour-infused, a process where the natural flavours of the botanicals are skilfully captured, resulting in the fresh and vibrant taste with which BOMBAY SAPPHIRE is synonymous. BOMBAY SAPPHIRE is pioneering a more sustainable future – all 10 botanicals are sourced sustainably, while the design of the BOMBAY SAPPHIRE distillery was awarded ‘outstanding’ by BREEAM; the world’s leading environmental assessment for buildings. Best known for the iconic blue bottle of BOMBAY SAPPHIRE, the brand has expanded its family to create a portfolio of premium and super-premium gins including Bombay Citron Pressé and BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Premier Cru Murcian Lemon. The BOMBAY SAPPHIRE brand has been part of the portfolio of Bacardi Limited, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda for more than 25 years. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited.

bombaysapphire.com | @bombaysapphire

Source: BOMBAY SAPPHIRE