PSFK Conference Speaker Interview: Steve Grasse

Steve Grasse will be one of the speakers at our upcoming PSFK Conference 2010, taking place on April 9th. Steve is the revolutionary behind Art In The Age Of Mechanical Reproduction, who has at one time or another, worked in advertising, clothing design, retail and liquor production.

PSFK talked with Steve recently to see what he’s been up to.

What are you working on right now?

We sold Sailor Jerry to William Grant and Sons two years ago. We did really well with that deal. It really changed my life. And my business. We are still paid to manage it for them. It continues to be the fastest growing rum brand in America. And we are now launching all over the world. Nothing much has changed since the sale. We still run the show as we did before. We also continue to run Hendricks Gin, which we created 10 years ago. Hendricks is now in 74 countries around the world. Both these brands are great because the worlds we created for them are so complete. It’s fun to keep expanding on these worlds visually and conceptually.

The biggest change that has happened since selling Sailor Jerry is that after 17 years, we finally had the financial freedom to stop doing tobacco work.

The day we sold Sailor Jerry we also started on our new brand ART IN THE AGE OF MECHANCIAL REPRODUCTION. We basically took everything we learned from Hendricks and Sailor Jerry and put it into this new concept. It’s my favorite thing I have done to date.

What has been the most interesting response or reaction to your project?

I set out to create the most arcane, complex and difficult to categorize spirit ever. With a sprawling, insanely intricate back story. I really just wanted to see if it could be done. Everyone said I was nuts and that we wouldn’t sell any. But, I really liked it. And I thought…I bet there are people out there like me who will like it too. I guess there are, cuz the shit is blowing up! ROOT is doing really well….we are going to 11 states in 2011. And we already have the next Art in the Age spirit ready to come out in June 2010.  What I learned is, do cool shit, don’t compromise and it will find an audience.

What projects, people or ideas are currently inspiring your thinking these days?

Age of Wonder….How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science” by Richard Holmes. I read this book and it got me thinking about American Transcendentalist movement in the early 1800s. How it was a reaction against the first wave of the Industrial Revolution. I want to revive the philosophies of Emerson and Thoreau. I bought the general store in the town where my farm is in New Hampshire. I am creating a Lyceum…a garden of ideas. And across the street I am building a distillery that will use only stuff grown on my farm and my neighbors farms. I am in a totally “back to the future” mode right now. I want to make things using ancient techniques, but then use modern social networking to spread the word.

What developing trend, idea or technology makes you most excited or hopeful for the future?

I don’t really pay much attention to what other people are doing. I think that is why my projects tend to work out. I am a hermit. The things that tend to excite me, happened 200 years ago. I am excited, however, how social media has broken the stranglehold that mass media use to have over us all. It has definitely allowed more esoteric products to find their markets. To be honest, I was excited by the world financial collapse. It finally made all the bling go away…at least for a while. Hopefully Wall Street will continue to be unfashionable, but that might be wishful thinking.

Thanks Steve!

Steve will be speaking at the PSFK Conference 2010 – a Gathering for our Future. Come listen to likeminds as they share their ideas to make things better on stage and off. Find out more about the full line of of speakers at the PSFK Conference 2010 here.