Search

'Support Local Farmers' Bottle: Artist Interview

September 19th, 2024

As Vermonters, we’re lucky to have an abundance of local, delicious veggies all around us. Throughout the summer, farmers markets overflow with pyramids of bright tomatoes, bins piled deep with carrots, and shelves packed with earthy mushrooms. We are so grateful that we get to meet the farmers who grow our food and enjoy their delicious fruits and veggies.

Our love of local produce is why we’re so excited about our brand new artist collab bottle: 'Support Local Farmers', featuring dancing veggies! This is a collaboration with the Atlanta, GA based graphic designer and bike lover Anna Christian. Anna recently graduated from SCAD Atlanta, where she studied graphic design and raced for their cycling team. She now works as a designer at Inspire Brands and enjoys exploring the city on her cross-bike and camping in the North Georgia Mountains. 

We wanted to highlight Anna and her inspiration for the 'Support Local Farmers'bottle with an artist interview below.

As Vermonters, we’re lucky to have an abundance of local, delicious veggies all around us. Throughout the summer, farmers markets overflow with pyramids of bright tomatoes, bins piled deep with carrots, and shelves packed with earthy mushrooms. We are so grateful that we get to meet the farmers who grow our food and enjoy their delicious fruits and veggies.

Our love of local produce is why we’re so excited about our brand new artist collab bottle: 'Support Local Farmers', featuring dancing veggies! This is a collaboration with the Atlanta, GA based graphic designer and bike lover Anna Christian. Anna recently graduated from SCAD Atlanta, where she studied graphic design and raced for their cycling team. She now works as a designer at Inspire Brands and enjoys exploring the city on her cross-bike and camping in the North Georgia Mountains. 

We wanted to highlight Anna and her inspiration for the 'Support Local Farmers'bottle with an artist interview below.

What first sparked your connection to cycling and how it has become such an integral part of your life? 

Anna: I grew up in a bike family; my parents even met on a ride. So riding and racing were a big part of my life growing up, and, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve been able to make it my own. I can’t say that there was a specific moment that I fell in love with cycling, but I have had times when I’ve looked back and realized just how big of an impact it’s had on my life. 

What is the most exciting way that cycling and art have come together in your life? 

Anna: Bikes are the reason that I got to go to art school! I decided I wanted to be a graphic designer after my first semester of college. It wasn’t a major at my school, but I tried to make it happen, doing freelance jobs and teaching myself the software programs. Three years later, I got offered a spot on the SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) Atlanta cycling team, and so I moved from Colorado to Georgia and started over at a new school to race and study graphic design. 

What first sparked your connection to cycling and how it has become such an integral part of your life? 

Anna: I grew up in a bike family; my parents even met on a ride. So riding and racing were a big part of my life growing up, and, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve been able to make it my own. I can’t say that there was a specific moment that I fell in love with cycling, but I have had times when I’ve looked back and realized just how big of an impact it’s had on my life. 

What is the most exciting way that cycling and art have come together in your life? 

Anna: Bikes are the reason that I got to go to art school! I decided I wanted to be a graphic designer after my first semester of college. It wasn’t a major at my school, but I tried to make it happen, doing freelance jobs and teaching myself the software programs. Three years later, I got offered a spot on the SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) Atlanta cycling team, and so I moved from Colorado to Georgia and started over at a new school to race and study graphic design. 

How has art/design surprised you?

Anna: Learning the true meaning of design didn’t come with an aha moment, but I’d call it a surprise. The road from wanting to do graphic design to actually becoming a designer can be a bit of a reality check. Design is not just about self-expression or how things look. You’re creating for a specific reason, and the design has to revolve around that. Once you let the purpose of a project truly guide your work, you start to understand how design shapes our world.

What inspired your 'Support Local Farmers'bottle design? Being from Vermont, all of us at Bivo are all very excited about this one! 

Anna: My cousin and her husband, who are first-generation farmers in Wisconsin, inspired me. They are incredibly hard-working and have given up a lot for their lifestyle. Watching them gave me a strong appreciation for local farmers and those who work to produce sustainable and ethical food. It’s easy to blow off the price of local foods as overpriced or not worth it, but it’s important to consider the hard work that went into producing them and their positive impact on your community and the planet. Plus, who doesn’t love dancing veggies?! 

How has art/design surprised you?

Anna: Learning the true meaning of design didn’t come with an aha moment, but I’d call it a surprise. The road from wanting to do graphic design to actually becoming a designer can be a bit of a reality check. Design is not just about self-expression or how things look. You’re creating for a specific reason, and the design has to revolve around that. Once you let the purpose of a project truly guide your work, you start to understand how design shapes our world.

What inspired your 'Support Local Farmers'bottle design? Being from Vermont, all of us at Bivo are all very excited about this one! 

Anna: My cousin and her husband, who are first-generation farmers in Wisconsin, inspired me. They are incredibly hard-working and have given up a lot for their lifestyle. Watching them gave me a strong appreciation for local farmers and those who work to produce sustainable and ethical food. It’s easy to blow off the price of local foods as overpriced or not worth it, but it’s important to consider the hard work that went into producing them and their positive impact on your community and the planet. Plus, who doesn’t love dancing veggies?! 

Where are your bucket list rides and why? 

Anna: I’m not much of a planner, and I always stumble into what end up being my most epic rides. But I would really love to mountain bike in Patagonia.

Check out Anna's Support Local Farmers bottle right here!

Where are your bucket list rides and why? 

Anna: I’m not much of a planner, and I always stumble into what end up being my most epic rides. But I would really love to mountain bike in Patagonia.

Check out Anna's Support Local Farmers bottle right here!

Enter your kids drawings in our Kids' Bottle Design Competition for a chance to win the drawing engraved onto a Bivo! Eligible for kids in the US ages 12 and under. 

Alexa Coyle, co-founder of The Female Edge, a female athlete empowering program, shares the story behind leaving her professional soccer career and starting a mentorship company. 

Camel's Hump is an iconic mountain in Vermont, and we have a strong love affair with it. Caitlin grew up with Camel's Hump basically in her back yard and today, she shares some history of this mountain, plus her favorite memories climbing it.