In October of 2013 the Breckenridge Town Council passed an ordinance requiring a ten cent fee on most disposable plastic and paper bags at retail stores throughout Town. As part of the public education and outreach effort associated with the disposable bag fee, the Town had a reusable “Breckenridge Bag” designed and distributed to retail stores, lodging companies, and the general public. The iconic “four-season” Breckenridge Bag became extremely popular with locals and visitors. The second edition showcased the history of Breckenridge’s open space program. To date, over 250,000 of the bags have been distributed. The bag has been a vehicle for the Town to promote sustainable living and has also served as a marketing piece for the Town. The reusable Breckenridge Bag was always envisioned to include a series of bag designs. The Town is now initiating design of a third bag and is soliciting proposals and bids from local artists and design professionals to assist in the design.
Design Focus
The Breckenridge Bag is intended to be an attractive bag that captures the essence of Breckenridge. For the third edition, the Town is seeking an artist who will showcase or demonstrate the sustainability values and initiatives of the Town’s SustainableBreck program. The name “Breckenridge” should be prominently displayed on the bag (a logo has already been designed and will be provided), along with messaging that describes the Town’s sustainability efforts (this message will be developed by Town staff and is not the responsibility of the design professional). More on the sustainability programs and branding can be found at www.sustainablebreck.com. There may be other specifications for the bag that the Town identifies after a design professional has been chosen.
Selection Process
The Town is currently seeking letters of interest (along with other information outlined below) from design professionals that would like to be considered to be selected as one of the finalists to design the bag. The Town intends to select three finalists. The finalists will work in conjunction with a graphic designer (already selected by the Town) to develop mock bag designs. Each selected finalist will receive a stipend of $500 to assist in the preparation of the mock bag design. One of the three finalists’ works will be selected to be used as the new reusable Breckenridge Bag design. The selected artist will receive an additional stipend of $1,500 and will be expected to work with the graphic designer to finalize the bag design.
Timeline and Submittal Requirements
Interested design professionals must submit a letter of interest to the Town by March 5, 2021. The Town intends to select three finalists by March 12. As part of the letter of interest, the following should be provided:
· Qualifications and references
· Examples of other relevant work
· An explanation of the artist/design professional’s conceptual ideas regarding the type of bag design that they would pursue.
· Passion for Breckenridge – what draws you to the Town?
The selected three finalists will be expected to provide their mock bag designs to the Town by April 23, 2021. The Town expects to select a final preferred design by April 30.
The above information should be submitted to Jessie Burley, Town of Breckenridge Community Development, jessieb@townofbreckenridge.com. For questions or to obtain samples of previous bag editions, contact Jessie Burley at the above email address or at 970-547-3110.