Celebrate Pride Month in style this June with the newest cups and tumblers from Starbucks.
From the work of muralist and illustrator artist Sofie Birkin, the coffee chain's newest merchandise through its Starbucks Artist Collaboration brings "color and kitsch" to help celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. 18 Oz Plastic Water Bottle
“My house is filled with tiny, delightful things,” Birkin said in a news release by Starbucks. “I like to create something that someone can hold and enjoy every time they look at it. I hope the collection can bring a little bit of that to people.”
Birkin is known for creating meaningful moments with LGBTQIA2+ characters in her work, which includes an immersive installation at Denver’s Meow Wolf Convergence Station and the U.K. Royal Mail’s first collection of Pride stamps, according to the news release.
“I really like to illustrate human connection,” Birkin said. “The unifying theme is that I just really like to show the ways that people are with each other.”
The collection, which began selling May 28, is available throughout stores in the U.S. and Canada while supplies last.
Here is how Starbucks describes the new merch:
The first piece Birkin designed was the collection’s colorful 24-ounce stainless steel cold cup, depicting a Pride march with a waving rainbow flag and a swirling pink and red straw.
“It's a really important time to talk about our history and about protest and how far we've come but how far we still have to go,” Birkin said. “This is celebratory, but it’s celebratory in a way that is a conversation between friends.”
Birkin’s 16-ounce stainless steel tumbler offers a still-life moment, with sentimental little objects you might find tucked into a backpack or pocket over the decades — sunglasses, instant photos, lip balm, astrology pins, a sew-on patch and gummy bears.
“I really love to work with nostalgia,” Birkin said. “I like to create things where you’re not entirely sure what year it is.”
The 24-ounce studded plastic cold cup tumbler features a double rainbow — with both a vibrant spectrum of color on the cup’s exterior and a swirly rainbow straw on top. Birkin’s playful cupid on the back adds a touch of whimsy to the design. “I’m just such a romantic,” she said. “I love that kind of thing.”
A well-loved water bottle covered in stickers was the inspiration for this 16-ounce plastic tumbler (in U.S. stores only) with Pride flags, sunglasses, a rainbow, flowers and an adorable dog wearing a bandana.
15oz Sublimation Mug Blank “I had a lot of fun with this one, I was thinking about Pride season and that time of year,” Birkin said. “It feels really joyful and fun and exciting to me.”