Coming up with the idea for Wasted Wine Club was easy and pragmatic, but then we faced the colossal task of having to bring that idea to life. We wanted the brand to be fun, youthful and approachable, and speak to a wine drinker that was both discerning about what was in the bottle, but also concerned about the impact that drinking that bottle might cause. Easier said than done. Through some slick match making via AUFI (go check them out here) we met the very talented Mr. Andrew Wren, the creative brains behind Wasted Wine Club as you see it. He spoke to our founder Angelo van Dyk to discuss design and wine for our next interview.

Angelo van Dyk: Can you tell us where you’re currently based and what it is you do?

Andrew Wren: I’m based in Los Angeles and act as an independent creative of sorts.

AVD: When you aren’t leading design projects, where can we most likely to find you?

AW: You’ll find me surfing a handful of surf spots in California, racing my road bike through the hills of East Los Angeles, star gazing in my roof top tent or whizzing around on my electric bike with my two kids on the back.

AVD: You’re originally from the U.K., but you’re now based in California. How would you say the design scene in the US differs from that in the U.K.?

AW: There are so many great designers and studios in both countries, all with very unique styles, that it’s hard to distinguish between the two. What’s even more interesting now is we’re looking at incredible design / creativity coming out of every corner of the world. Exciting times!

AVD: Mr Wren and Friends draws on your network of creatives to pull together and execute a project. Is the idea of creating a community important to you?

AW: Actually I recently rebranded myself as Mr. Wren (& Friends) because I’m really a one man band who calls upon a few trusted friends to help me out with their expertise on projects. I would say I’m more interested in a close network of partners rather than some sort of larger community.

AVD: We loved working with you on this (and thank you for your patience with us). Having now completed it, could you share some thoughts that have stuck with you with regards to wine or sustainability in general?

AW: Helping shape WWC from the offset with you guys was a true pleasure, especially ideating on the name. I feel like we struck a really good balance between the name, identity, tone of voice and Ty Williams' brilliant illustrations.

In regards to the topic of sustainability, it is of course a huge one, and it’s great that people like yourself are reevaluating their business and coming up with inventive ways to produce things more efficiently and being less wasteful. But as more and more dire reports on climate change arise I think the simple message overall is to simply consume less and be very thoughtful about the actions and purchases we’re making on the whole.

AVD: How do you think design can contribute to and impact how we approach the idea of sustainability?

AW: Design can of course make a huge impact in terms of creating change and cultivating new ideas around sustainability that can be spread to the masses. But this only works if both the client and creative are completely aligned in terms of messaging.

Using ‘sustainability' as a marketing tactic doesn’t make for positive change. A company needs to be transparent and prove they’re acting responsibly and constantly committed to helping the environment.

Andrew Wren is a Los Angeles based designer and founder of Mr Wren (& Friends), a multidisciplinary creative studio. He describes it as a company of one, with a network of hundreds and a community of thousands. You can find him on Instagram here.