Put a pin in it: focus on Meg Moorhouse
Meg Moorhouse of Love & Victory, based in Brooklyn, NY, designs goods based on delicious food, stiff drinks, soulful tunes and socially relevant causes. She caught my eye for her beautifully crafted enamel cocktail-themed pins.
My interview with Meg
Hi Meg, How do you define yourself?
I try not to too often. I don’t want to be relegated to making one thing and have done many things over the course of my working life.
In the past, you have worked in papermaking, designed handbags, accessories… even hand painted ballet slippers. When did you first realize you had an artistic streak?
I came out of the womb making things! I sold terrible painted rocks by the side of the road as a kid in suburban New Jersey. Commerce is in my blood and shopping was a sport growing up in mall culture so creating product has always been really comfortable. I was artistic, but I was also very mathematically oriented, but I think it’s the blend that works for what I do now.
You started Love & Victory in 2008 while you were managing No. 7 Restaurant in Fort Greene Brooklyn. Describe that time in your life.
It was one of the best jobs I’ve ever had! I was working designing handbags and had taken a job where I was being sexually harassed by the owner (fun!). An opportunity presented itself, so I jumped ship and learned the restaurant biz as friends were opening No. 7. I learned a TON about the industry, made the best of friends, and partied WAY too hard.
Do you think you will ever get back into the hospitality business?
Never say never? I think about it often. I care deeply about food and beverage, but I also love the hustle. Every day you get another chance to do the same job but better.
Why the name Love & Victory?
I cribbed it from an antique Spencerian calligraphy sample. Someone practiced their script writing it. It’s vaguely religious, which I was NOT aware of when I chose it.
How did you get your first break making enamel cocktail themed pins?
Oh, I just decided they’d be cool and made them! Actually I wasn’t sure if anyone would want them! The first was a Negroni pin. I piggybacked on Negroni Week (a yearly event organized by Campari for charity), sold them on my site, and I donated a big portion of sales to charity. They were a hit, so I made different cocktails, and then brands came knocking.
Are the pins made in your studio?
No! I design each one, but they’re made in a factory.
You have done some custom pins for Campari and for other brands, can you drop some names?
Oh, sure. We’ve done pins for hundreds of folks: Maker’s Mark, Knob Creek, Basil Hayden’s… Hendrick’s, Seedlip, Bacardi, Barr Hill, Cooper’s Craft, Fever-Tree…
What is the weirdest brief you’ve received for a pin?
I made one of a vodka bottle that is shaped like an alien head for a brand. Their bottle actually looks like that, but it’s a pretty weird one.
You do a really cool Negroni sweatshirt, is there a story behind that design?
It’s a riff on collegiate looking apparel but with a twist. Cause you know… I follow cocktails, not sports.
You work with a number of causes, can you tell us about them?
Yes, an important part of the work is giving back. I like designing with a point of view when I can and encouraging the community to not only advocate for their beliefs but to support them monetarily. With politically loaded apparel purchases where we donate a portion of the sale to charity, they can do both. We donate 25-50% of the sale – it’s not a hollow gesture. And we’ve hosted events to raise money for organizations funding abortion, feeding the needy, and folks like Planned Parenthood.
You are a mother, has your daughter inherited your creative streak?
Ha! Yes, she has. She started her own craft business in the pandemic. She’s both creative and business minded. She was selling things that were better than my painted rocks.
What is the next creative endeavor up your sleeve?
I’m working on illustrations for packaging for a collaboration between two of my favorite brands: Uncle Nearest whiskey and Bitters Lab right now for International Women’s Day. I’m super stoked on how that’s coming, and they gave me a lot of creative freedom.
Five questions for Meg
Your last drink on Death row?
Mezcal Marg.
If you could live the prime of your life in any decade, what would it be?
Staying here.
If you had to design a pin that describes you, what would it be?
Already did: Negroni, Defend Roe…
The perfect song to accompany your sip of Negroni?
Hopeton Lewis “Take it Easy”.
Your last tattoo?
Tiger.