Designing A Tomato Can
At the beginning of 2025 a client asked me to design a label for imported Italian tomatoes. I was thrilled, and immediately transported back to my first trip to Tuscany in 2006 — or should I say the moment I first time I fell in love with Italy! I remember seeing rows and ross of beautiful roses lining fields. I pictured the can on a customer’s counter — I love when pantry items are beautiful enough to display — and imagined them lining their store walls. This started the design process, and we sketched a label with roses running along the side, it was beautiful.
But after digging into archives for an article I wrote after that trip, I discovered the roses are actually planted protect grapes, not tomatoes — I was so disappointed! The design evolved from roses into a hand‑sketched tomato illustration. We used the client’s brand colour salmon and moss green. The client loved the concept, and today the cans line walls of grocery store displays. I’m thrilled with the final result.
This whole process is an emotional one for me. When I see the products in store for the first time, I’m actually walking through the store in tears.
I am also the lucky to work with Tomi, a talented graphic designer, who takes my vision to another level. I always tell clients we’re like a singer and songwriter. Equally lucky to work with an incredible client, in this case the wonderful Summerhill Market.
Excerpt from 2006 — My first trip to Tuscany.
I awaken to a soft purring sound. I have arrived. I can feel it. There is a breathtaking calm. It seems even the aircraft knows the magnificence of what lies beneath as it descends ever so gently through a mass of billowy clouds. It is peaceful and beautiful, with lush, emerald-green rolling hills as far as the eye can see. “Welcome to Tuscany,” they seem to say.
After an hour-long drive, we make our final turn onto a long, winding drive of giant, towering trees. At the end of it, I see our enchanting Villa del Monte, with a magnificent wrought-iron gate and 18th-century walls, with perfectly manicured gardens and a breathtaking view. I knew Tuscany would change my life forever.
Our week begins with a day tour of Siena, a magical medieval town in the heart of Tuscany, with narrow, winding streets and magnificent buildings, beautiful churches, and a bustling piazza with glamorous shops and fabulous food. We enjoy casual lunches and beautiful dinners with so many courses I forget the count. We travel to world-famous vineyards, where rose bushes line the fields and vines have been planted like a patchwork quilt, vertically and horizontally, to attract the sun to the grape at just the right place. Where grapes are selected by hand to ensure a most favourable crop. We taste wine after wine and on the way home, “I’ve made reservations at Latini,” I hear someone say. Oh well, wining and dining — it’s what we came here for after all.
Graphic Design Tomislava, Prop Styling Mari Loewen, Photography Carol Dudar
