Lucite
Doug Schwartz, Creative Director at DetroitWick
For most of us, when a bottle slips from your firm grip and falls (in what feels like slow motion) to the floor, shattering with a loud crack, a hot flush of panic ensues. For Doug Schwartz, it was the beginning a new career. The Detroit native had been working in retail, selling and buying local goods, when he took a broken vodka bottle from an event and transformed it into a candle. Doug began exploring ‘scent-branding,’ creating customized scents for companies and brands as a unique element of sensory marketing for their platforms. Now, as the founder and Creative Director of DetroitWick, Doug and his team create one of a kind pieces that introduce consumers to companies through the five senses.
With their newfound success, Doug opened the DetroitWick headquarters. The interactive gallery experience allows visitors to view artwork, purchase original pieces and watch as they create on-site. Doug began encapsulating items in Lucite acrylic, a dense, plastic material he used imaginatively to visually suspend a moment in time. The stirring interest in his work quickly grew into a tidal wave of attention and, before long, people from all over the world were submitting goods and mementos they wished to ‘freeze’ forever.
“I love that we give people the chance to pull out a keepsake from a forgotten box or something that was sitting in the back of a drawer for years, and now display it on their mantle,” Doug says. “We can transform it into something they will cherish forever and can continue to share the story.”
A few years later, Doug bumped into Dave Phinney while hosting an Orin Swift event at his Detroit gallery. Dave was immediately captivated by his work and commissioned Doug to create more Lucite pieces using Orin Swift bottles, labels and artwork. “Hearing the stories behind each label – especially from Dave himself – was inspiring,” says Doug. “I am excited to have a part in creating pieces for Orin Swift to tell those stories and share with their fans, as well as help capture their favorite memories and connections to the wines.”
For more information on DetroitWick and their galley, visit detroitwick.com or follow them on Instagram @detroitwick.
With their newfound success, Doug opened the DetroitWick headquarters. The interactive gallery experience allows visitors to view artwork, purchase original pieces and watch as they create on-site. Doug began encapsulating items in Lucite acrylic, a dense, plastic material he used imaginatively to visually suspend a moment in time. The stirring interest in his work quickly grew into a tidal wave of attention and, before long, people from all over the world were submitting goods and mementos they wished to ‘freeze’ forever.
“I love that we give people the chance to pull out a keepsake from a forgotten box or something that was sitting in the back of a drawer for years, and now display it on their mantle,” Doug says. “We can transform it into something they will cherish forever and can continue to share the story.”
A few years later, Doug bumped into Dave Phinney while hosting an Orin Swift event at his Detroit gallery. Dave was immediately captivated by his work and commissioned Doug to create more Lucite pieces using Orin Swift bottles, labels and artwork. “Hearing the stories behind each label – especially from Dave himself – was inspiring,” says Doug. “I am excited to have a part in creating pieces for Orin Swift to tell those stories and share with their fans, as well as help capture their favorite memories and connections to the wines.”
For more information on DetroitWick and their galley, visit detroitwick.com or follow them on Instagram @detroitwick.
