In celebration of Women’s History Month, Mailchimp developed a social campaign to celebrate three women-owned businesses: The Boxing House, YOLA Mezcal, and ITA Leisure. These female founders had previously been featured in Mailchimp’s Courier magazine, but the articles hadn’t received the level of traction their stories really deserved. Our goal was simple: utilize our platform to uplift these incredible woman and tell their stories in a fresh, social-friendly way.
Visually, we wanted to try something completely different than the photography used in the original articles. We partnered up with 3D artist Samantha Vassar to create a new kind of portrait that communicated what these women and their businesses were about. Beyond creating 3 portraits, we also asked Samantha capture her process along the way which we later shared out via TikTok and Instagram Reels.
For Maya, owner of Bermondsey Boxing Club, the mission of this business is to create an inclusive space for all kinds of people to try boxing. The boxing club is more polished than the typical old-school gym, but it still feels authentic to the boxing community. So we asked Samantha to help us communicate that nuance within the illustration as well. We wanted the tone of the illustration to feel harmonious, connected and empowering. Samantha did a beautiful job interpreting this by illustrating a punch breaking the chain of the boxing bag, much like powerful women everywhere breaking glass ceilings.
YOLA Mezcal is a pioneering lifestyle brand with a product that preserves a 400 year tradition of making mezcal. Women run this business from hand bottling the mezcal all the way up to the 3 female founders. Not just employing, but empowering women is a core part of their business model, so Samantha included a female hand grasping the mezcal bottle to symbolize the many female hands behind the brand.
ITA Leisure is a Black-owned outdoor furniture and goods brand, and for founder Jade Akintola, her mission is to normalize leisure within the Black community. We asked Samantha to create a scene of outdoor serenity, a space of calm and leisure that Jade craves for herself and her community. Samantha built us an oasis for relaxation with hyper realistic elements mixed in that give it an utopian vibe.
Creative Team:
Anna Ladson, Art Direction
Zemoria Mathis, Art Direction and Design
Barbara Tushbant, Senior Writer
Samantha Vassar, 3D Illustration
Becca Cunningham, Producer