Studio Guild was honoured to be chosen as 1 or 12 studios, globally, to participate in the 2025 edition of the Make a Mark project. The project exists as a platform where the most visionary design studios explore, question and reimagine the role of packaging in our world.

This year’s theme explored sustainability, luxury, innovation and most of all, connectivity. Exploring how brands can make meaningful connections, beyond the vessel, with compelling storytelling to leave a lasting impression. 

Concept:

Our concept began with a glass cloche, a glass bell-shaped cover first used in the 1600s to shield delicate plants or vegetables from frost damage. By the early 1900s, cloches evolved into elegant displays, showcasing precious flora or preserved fauna within the home.

We’ve reimagined that idea into a story about environmental protection, not just of a single plant, but of an entire ecosystem. 

There are many Australian native plants that depend heavily on fire for regeneration. These species which retain seeds within woody capsules, remain closed until stimulated to open by heat from a bushfire to scatter and regenerate.

Most plants require a number of years following germination before they reach maturity and are able to flower and set seed. If fire occurs more frequently than the time that the plants take to mature, the plants may be eliminated from the particular area. 

Our concept bridges people and planet, blending beauty with purpose. It carries an environmental message, not alarming, but thoughtful, reflective, and ultimately hopeful.

Our direction was to tell a story that nature, in all its complexity, often regenerates through resilience and adversity.

Approach:

At the heart of this design lies a symbol of resilience: the punt, cloaked in endangered native Australian flora, plants that depend on fire not just to survive, but to thrive. Shaped like a traditional cloche, the punt becomes a guardian of renewal, sheltering both the earth and the life it holds.

As warmth rises from the earth, seeds embedded on the bottle’s surface begin to open, tiny vessels of hope, released into the air with the promise of regeneration. The textured glass mirrors nature’s raw, organic imperfections, echoing the unpredictable beauty of fire and growth.

Named EMBA, drawn from the word ember, the brand is a quiet spark that speaks of fire, transformation, and revival. Around the neck, the label is debossed with the scorched texture of charred wood, with flickering glowing embers.

The charred wood closure holds the brand’s message, also etched into the bottle’s base: recovery, reuse, regenerate, rethink, rebirth. A mantra of renewal whispered through every detail.

The main label glows with light: foils and embossing ripple like rising heat, a clear foil forming a mirage of movement, hinting at the power of transformation through fire.

Our message is simple: technology connects, but emotion endures. In that truth, EMBA finds its flame.

Credits: 

Creative Director: Trish Dunstone

Creative Team: Bella Goodwin Galea and Rose Williams

Glass Bottle: Estal WCR Brute CUSTOM 700ml

Label Material: Avery Dennison FASSON® Cotton White 

Transfer Foils: KURZ LUXOR® 398, LIGHT LINE® LP MAGMA TS

Closure: Tapi

Print Methods: Hot stamping, Embossing and Debossing with H+M Tools

Print Partner: MCC Melbourne, Australia

CGI Renders: Tricycle Studio