As one Asia’s top 50 bars, Shady Acres became a nightlife fixture in Hong Kong. Especially so in 2019-2021.

They had an ongoing tradition of taking established brands, films, and band logos and re-mixing them in their own style. They had previously made a simple T-shirt for their staff and friends with their name on that used the Metallica font.

I suggested we go one further and recreate a Metallica Album cover that they could use for merch.
I shot the image rather than illustrating it because I wanted it to be as close or as true to the original album cover as possible. I shaped the negative space in the left corner into a dog to reinforce their brand motif.

The much coveted merch sold out quickly. So much so, the venue had a tote framed and mounted on the wall.

The totes helped drive branding recognition, awareness of brand name as well as reinforcing Shady Acres as an alternative and edgy cocktail and wine bar that bucked the trend of sleek high end, high priced mixology venues.

Peel Street (where the bar was located) would become one of the hottest spots in Hong Kong, often jam packed from end to end with patrons visiting Shady Acres, opting to drink outside due to lack of space in the venue.