A brush and a bottle are all you need to succeed at Bottle & Bottega, Evanston’s newest art-and-wine event store. The concept is simple: Guests do no more than bring a bottle of wine, then are taken from amateur to artiste in three hours. Bottle & Bottega offers public classes as well as corporate and private events, which feature anything from the kid-friendly “Juice Bottle & Bottega” to the less-than-PG bachelorette parties with nude models. This week, The Current sat in the lounge of the Davis Street shop with Lynette Martin, Bottle & Bottega’s enviable entrepreneur, to get the story painted on its canvas.
The Current: Tell me about the founding of Bottle & Bottega.
Lynette Martin: The first Bottle & Bottega was created by the owners in 2009. We’re a franchise here in Evanston. The whole concept is that we throw wine and art parties. The wine part is BYOB, and we throw the art party. We (offer) step-by-step art instruction for people to unwind and do something really creative. I think it’s a chance for people to step away from the daily grind. … At the end of the night they leave with their own painting, their own masterpiece.
The Current: Can you tell us about the public events you throw at Bottle & Bottega?
LM: We run public and private parties, as well as corporate and kid’s parties. We have a calendar (for public events), and you can look on the calendar, see the image we’ll be painting that night, register online and show up. All you need to do is bring a friend and a bottle. The classes are three hours long. The first half hour is a cocktail social, which gives everyone time to arrive and check in … They open their bottles, have a glass, chat with friends and get to meet new people. Then we paint for two-and-a-half hours.
The Current: Does the wine sometimes influence the painting?
LM: I think the wine helps with decreasing anxiety and (helps people) let loose a little bit. People definitely come in and don’t drink, and that’s great too. I think with painting you can lose track of what else is going on in your mind and really focus on the event and what’s happening right there at the party.
The Current: What made you decide to bring Bottle & Bottega to Evanston?
LM: I really love the Evanston area and hadn’t been back in a while. It seems to be such an extension of the city to me … Evanston in particular has an amazing arts/culture community. They really embrace the arts. We have a lot going on … involving theater and music as well as art.
The Current: What experience did you have in the art world prior to opening this location?
LM: I have a wealth of business experience. I worked for 21 years in financial services. It was a life-changing thing for me when I participated in an art party … When I did, I lost track of time. I couldn’t believe that I could paint something like this and leave at the end of the night. I was impressed with myself. And I thought, ‘Gosh, if I can do this, then other people can too.’
The Current: You clearly are well-marketed for the more residential Evanston community, but a large part of the Evanston community is Northwestern. How do you intend to market Bottle & Bottega to the students?
LM: I am really trying to learn my way around Northwestern … Every time I meet a student I ask them, ‘What would bring you in?’ I would hope it would be that they would want to hang art in their dorms or apartments, and that this is a somewhat inexpensive way to do that. We’re not currently offering discounts to students, but I think that’s somewhere we’re looking to go.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @lizzeyj
