About Our Barn
The barn seen on our label is the work of artist Maria Zaikina. The minimal depiction of a barn setting with dozens, if not hundreds, of variations has received global critical acclaim. The piece, titled 'Landschaft mit Haus' has been exhibited and published in books and magazines about art, design and architecture in Germany, Hong Kong and Japan. Learn more about Maria and her work here.
We love supporting young artists like Maria, as our founder, Brian Miller, is a designer with a fine arts degree from the Hartford Art School.
What Maria didn't know is that she had created a work of art that bears a striking resemblance to the actual barn on Seir Hill where Seir Hill was founded. We are honored that Maria agreed to let us use her beautiful work as the face of our brand and we look forward to using many variations of her work in the future as our brand expands.
As for the actual barn on Seir Hill, it was built in 1744 and is known as the Stephen James Barn. Its post-and-beam construction is made primarily of Chestnut wood, which has been extinct in America for 200 years. It's truly a magical place and it inspired us to create America's most preferred non-alcoholic spirit, Seir Hill.
And speaking of our logo, the interlocking S, H monogram is designed to be evocative of classic cattle branding irons from the American cattle farmers. Cattle ranchers would often combine two or three letters, also known as glyphs, into a single monogram to create their brand. Brian drew on this idea to create the logo for Seir Hill to further remind us that it is a distinctly American brand — no pun intended! (No cows were harmed in the creation of this logo.)
Even the typography choices on the label are meant to exude Americana. The font used for Mashville is called Texas Hero™. It is the first font to replicate genuine old penmanship—specifically the hand of Thomas J. Rusk. Designed by Brian Willson, who grew up in Austin, Texas, in the 1950s and ’60s. And "Seir Hill" is designed using the font Colt Soft designed by Mattox Shuler, an American type designer. Like a muscle car from decades ago, Colt aims to balance unbridled power and finesse. The wide letterforms arose out of a love for type found on motor vehicles made in the sixties. As the typeface took shape, the characters utilized the Clarendon style with attention to its ball terminals to anchor the design.
