The Unveiling of Annabel’s for the Amazon 2022 Façade

world-famous members club Annabel’s is unveiling this year’s spectacular façade, in partnership with The Lost Explorer Mezcal. Designed by Creative Director at The Birley Clubs, Tatiana Kharchylava, the immersive scene is part of The Caring Family Foundation’s annual month-long charity initiative, Annabel’s for the Amazon, where each year the Club raises funds to aid reforestation efforts in the Brazilian rainforest.

Annabel’s for The Amazon marks an extraordinary commitment by The Caring Family Foundation to make positive changes in the Amazon rainforest. Through the annual Amazon Month fundraising efforts, The Caring Family Foundation and SOS Amazonia aim to plant one million trees by March 2024.

The Caring Family Foundation, set up by Richard & Patricia Caring in 2019, designs and funds projects in the UK and in Patricia Caring’s birthplace, Brazil. The Foundation focuses on three areas of impact: environmental reforestation, child hunger and domestic abuse. This year, The Caring Family Foundation is working closely with SOS Amazonia to restore original forest areas and support more than 400 local families and indigenous communities with food and income, ensuring the protection of their livelihoods, while also slowing the effects of climate change. Together with the families, they decide on which trees to plant, choosing species that will produce fruits that can be used for food consumption or sold at local markets, as well as species that can support the local economy such as cocoa and rubber, enabling families to stay in the area and generate income and nourish future communities.

The yearly Annabel’s for the Amazon façade has become a staple moment in the London events calendar, drawing in visitors from across the world to see the magnificent display first-hand. In partnership with The Lost Explorer Mezcal, this year’s facade highlights the deforestation crisis by featuring five large-scale jaguars, an animal under threat as a direct consequence of destruction in the Amazon. As the main predators in the Amazon, they control other species’ populations, playing a crucial role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem in the rainforest. Amongst flora and fauna, the jaguars sit majestically on the display surrounding a stunning waterfall, created using water that has been stored in a tank and is continuously circulated around the facade (eventually will be utilised to water the plants in Annabel’s Garden at the end of the month-long campaign). The materials featured in all of Annabel’s displays are kept, recycled and reused by the creative team to re-imagine future facades.

In addition to the facade, Annabel’s and The Lost Explorer Mezcal have released 1000 stunning limited edition gift boxes, available to purchase from Selfridges, Hedonism Wines and The Whisky Shop for £120, with proceeds from each purchase planting 35 trees. Each bottle of Mezcal has been packaged in a deluxe keepsake case influenced by the Amazon rainforest inspired façade to take the purchaser on an adventure to the Amazon with every sip of the award-winning Espadín mezcal. Furthermore, throughout the month of September, three bespoke ‘Amazon Mezcal Cocktails’ created using The Lost Explorer Mezcal, will be sold at the club with every drink sold planting an additional 2.5 trees.

Annabel’s for the Amazon is an annual global charity event that brings together Annabel’s members, international guests of note and key environmentalists in a concerted philanthropic drive to help save the Amazon rainforest. The month-long activation was inspired by a rainforest fundraising dinner held at the Club in 2020, which saw significant funds raised by members and The Caring Family Foundation. After its success and seeing the continued need for action, in 2021 Annabel’s and The Caring Family Foundation pledged to plant one million trees by March 2023. Their vital fundraising thus far has helped the organisation to plant 500,000 of them, putting the charity 3-months ahead of schedule. By December 2022, TCFF and Annabel’s will have planted the pledged one million trees, making the foundation the UK’s largest donor to reforestation in the Amazon rainforest.

Patricia Caring, Co-Executive Chairwoman of The Birley Clubs and Co-Founder of The Caring Family Foundation comments: “This year’s incredible design is a stunning work of art, but it is also a symbol of our determination to draw attention to an ongoing environmental catastrophe. The destruction of the Amazon rainforest affects every single one of us. It is an ecosystem upon which we all rely which is why The Caring Family Foundation is proud to be working with SOS Amazonia to fight back through a tree planting programme that will provide sustainable support for local communities and their economies.I am extremely grateful to our Creative Director Tatiana, to our partners The Lost Explorer Mezcal and to everyone involved in creating this year’s facade. I hope it will entertain our members and guests in the coming weeks whilst also raising awareness of this desperate problem.”

Miguel Scarcello, CEO of SOS Amazônia comments, “The partnership with The Caring Family Foundation is an important institutional alliance for our work vision in the Amazon, especially for contributing towards reducing the effects of climate change. It is a huge combination of efforts to consolidate solidarity and nature conservancy”.

Tanya Clarke, CEO for The Lost Explorer Mezcal comments: “The Lost Explorer Mezcal is proud to partner with Annabel’s and The Caring Family Foundation to raise awareness on the deforestation crisis of the Amazon Rainforest. Being part of this partnership is incredibly rewarding because of the awareness it inspires for this critical issue, alongside the commitment to planting one million trees in the rainforest”