Seth Brammer

The Wild Detectives
Dallas, April 26–28, 2019

SkinContact

Dallas’s first natural wine bar.
One weekend, out in the open.

Come on in

Seth Brammer · April 26, 2019

For three days in April 2019, we turned the courtyard at The Wild Detectives into a natural wine bar. Jeffrey Gregory and I created the concept. I developed the identity and campaign and produced the weekend; Jeffrey and Julie Buckner Lane selected and sourced the wines, and Josh Sutcliff provided the food.

Scope
Co-creation of concept, identity, campaign materials, and event production
With
Josh Sutcliff — food; Jeffrey Gregory — concept co-creator, wine selection and sourcing; Julie Buckner Lane — wine selection and sourcing with Bar & Garden; The Wild Detectives — venue; Lisa Nguyen — event photographs and video
Project
April 26–28, 2019 · Dallas

Making the invitation

The invitation reached the sidewalk, too. A chalk stencil carried the name, weekend dates, and web address right to the doorstep.

Close view of the Skin Contact chalk stencil.
Skin Contact event announcement

Give the press a taste.

I arranged a media tasting ahead of the public weekend, inviting writers to try the wines and giving them a reason to cover Skin Contact.

The media tasting I arranged ahead of Skin Contact. Instagram post, April 23, 2019.

Press · Dallas Wine Chick · May 16, 2019

The resulting feature covered the trade and media tasting, the panel led by Jeffrey Gregory, and the public weekend at The Wild Detectives.

Natural Wine: Unfiltered, Untamed and Unphotoshopped … And Completely Fabulous ↗

Before the doors opened.

“We found the lettuce. Come get some this weekend.”
Seth Brammer · Instagram, April 25, 2019

Harvesting before the weekend. From my original invitation post.

From the farm to the courtyard.

Ingredients, final touches, and getting ready to pour.

A wine bar in the courtyard.

Natural wine by the glass, food by Josh Sutcliff, and an afternoon that could become an evening.

The courtyard during Skin Contact. From my April 30, 2019 Instagram post.
Natural wine in the courtyard. Photograph: Lisa Nguyen, April 27, 2019.
Wine and food at the table. Food by Josh Sutcliff. Photograph: Lisa Nguyen, April 27, 2019.
An afternoon in the courtyard. Photograph: Lisa Nguyen, April 27, 2019.
Opening-night wine service. April 26, 2019. Video: Lisa Nguyen.
Josh Sutcliff at the cooking station. April 27, 2019. Video: Lisa Nguyen.

Pass the porrón.

From artwork to chalk

Same invitation.
Now pull up a chair.

The lettering and spilling glass moved from the layouts onto the boards at The Wild Detectives. The day’s wines filled in the space between.

Wine selection and sourcing: Jeffrey Gregory and Julie Buckner Lane.
Event photographs: Lisa Nguyen.

The design
Natural wine board artwork.
At The Wild Detectives
The wine boards in use. Photograph: Lisa Nguyen.
The design
Weekend announcement artwork.
At the event
The invitation at the event. Photograph: Lisa Nguyen.
The design
Food from the Farm board artwork.
At the event
The Food from the Farm chalkboard at Skin Contact.

The boards, from paint to courtyard

The invitation and food message carried through the hand-painted boards and the courtyard setup.

Jessica making a chalkboard sign for Skin Contact.

The weekend, as shared.

Guests and farm partners shared the weekend as it happened.

April 24, 2019. Shared story from @cartermerefarms.
April 28, 2019. Cooking at Skin Contact.

Press · The Dallas Morning News · April 10, 2019

Can natural wine go mainstream in Dallas? Pop-up shop in Oak Cliff gives it a swirl ↗

Press · D Magazine · Eve Hill-Agnus · April 24, 2019

“What you can expect is a three-day backyard party, 3 p.m. until midnight.”
Head to The Wild Detectives This Weekend for a Natural Wine Pop-Up Bar ↗
Next projectThe Food Talk