Art Boxes artist: Esperanza

Esperanza is a burgeoning Atlanta-based apparel and design company started in the mid 2000’s by Bart Sasso, Daniel Barbalho, and Eric Kelly. Through unrelenting passion, determination, and self-reliance Esperanza has quickly risen to prominence in an emerging scene of Atlanta creatives.

What began as hand-printed t-shirts and an uncanny knack for self-promotion eventually paved the way for more grand opportunities and contractual design work for some of the city’s most reputable establishments (Atlanta Spirit, Zoo Atlanta, Creative Loafing, etc…). As the company and its mission continue to evolve, and with successes like the ATL Hold it Down foam hand sweeping the city and garnering national attention, Esperanza’s momentum and reach have never been greater. Our goal is to become an iconic lifestyle brand synonymous with Southern culture through design, apparel, and exploration into an increasing number of creative mediums.

We have always thought that Creative Loafing Distribution Boxes act as “watering holes” where citizens of Atlanta who value independent thought converge on a weekly basis. As such, the box’s surface offers and an ideal platform for various self-promoters and vandals to broadcast their message through stickering and tagging. Since we’re no strangers to this practice, it served as inspiration for the box we designed.

Completely wrapped in over 400 hand-cut stickers of various symbols central to the Esperanza brand, our box is an ode to this guerilla style of promotion and a nod to Creative Loafing’s power of dissemination in an age where newspapers are increasingly less relevant.

On the web » esperanza-atl.com