FIVE minutes with FEW

When the seasons change, so do our shoes. So as we put away our flip-flops and retrieve our scarves, I thought it may be time to go behind the scenes of the Hush Puppies FIVE photoshoot. 

We shot this collection frantically last April on location at FEW Spirits—a beautiful gin and whiskey distillery down the street from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

FEW Spirits is the passion project of  Paul Hletko, a patent attorney who wanted to do something to honor his late grandfather—a home brewer for over two decades. 

Opening a distillery in Evanston, Illinois, was an interesting notion. A notoriously dry town—Evanston was the home of Frances Elizabeth Willard (for which FEW is named), the president of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in the 1800s. Alcohol wasn't even served in restaurants until the 1970s and in order to begin brewing, Hletko not only had to get the liquor laws changed, but also zoning laws and health department permits.
The law changes were received unanimously, and after a year spent dealing with the legal business, FEW started production in 2011. Today, in the tradition of craft quality spirits, FEW offers new takes on the timeless liquors of the past. Each batch is distilled from the best grains, bottled in-house, and handled with the utmost care. 


FEW is a beautiful product, from ingredients through to the presentation. The remarkable bottle designs  modeled after World's Fair imagery, and the rest of the FEW materials were done by local Evanston agency Wilburn Thomas.

Shooting at FEW was a fantastic experience. The staff was more than accommodating, and they were happy to share their entusiasm for their product with us. Here you can see me situated at my office for that day. 

You can see the results of our shoot in the FIVE Manifesto. The much anticipated FIVE collection will be available a little later this fall.