(part of an ongoing series about the creation of Sun King Brewing Co.)

Clay Robinson didn’t know Matty Bennett when he began planning his brewery but the interior designer was destined to have a hand in it. Bennett was born on the Summer Solstice, the centerpiece of the Mayan calendar, which coincidentally inspired Sun King Brewing Co.’s name and logo.

The designer behind Taste’s expansion and renovation as well as the interiors of Salon Orange Moon, Posh Petals, and SoBe Fit was ready for Robinson’s call when it came. “I’ve been dyin’ to do some Mayan architecture for years and I’ve got decorative painters and guys who do some faux stone work who have files ready to go,” Bennett said.

Taking inspiration from the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza as well as more contemporary sites like Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, Calif., Bennett and Robinson have created a palette of colors and materials that run from blood red paper lighting treatments to distressed copper to rusted and reclaimed corrugated steel. At his Sequences Design studio at the intersection of 52nd St. and College Ave., Bennett scrolled through images on his laptop and described his ideas for a water feature on one wall, tubular steel shelving and boulders built into benches. The two discussed flat stones that will be wrapped around pillars in the brewery that are visible through the tasting room window to carry the design into the workspace.

Robinson laughed at the thought of cramming all these design elements into a brewery tasting room not much bigger than the storefront space Sequences occupies. “We’re in the idealistic visionary stage and we’re starting to get into the budgetary constraints,” he said. “We do have a finite budget that we’re working on and we do have to make beer first and foremost.”

Bennett smiled and nodded. “A lot of times I get in trouble for bringing in too many options and then we whittle it down to two or three options,” the designer said.
“You have to get used to not having your full vision” at first, but that doesn’t mean that more elements can’t be introduced later. To wit, Taste’s renovation occurred over a two-and-a-half year period during which they never stopped serving food.

Robinson envisions a similar process for his brewery. “Over the course of a year we’ll be continually adding new things,” he said.

The designer is comfortable with evolving processes; after all, he traveled a long and winding road to get where he is. A Pendleton Heights High School graduate, Bennett dropped out of Herron School of Art in 1995 because his interests ranged far beyond furniture and 3D design. “I wanted to learn about polypropylene injection systems and high density foam cutting,” he said, and his curiosity led him to enroll in Fire Technology classes at Ivy Tech. “I went through OSHA safety training and hazardous materials training,” Bennett said, and he was even offered a job with the Carmel Fire Department but “I just didn’t see my life goin’ that way.”

Instead he enrolled at The Finishing School in New York City where he learned the craft of decorative painting. Bennett returned to Indianapolis in 1996 and began working, gradually building his skill set until he went into business as a designer in 2000.

Sun King Brewery is only one of several commercial projects Bennett is juggling, including a new counter-service pizza joint on Broad Ripple Ave. called Za, as well as a high-end, downtown nightclub and a south side Mexican eatery, both of which have been temporarily put on hold. Bennett also has a hand in updating the Milano Inn with an edgy take on Tuscan style with outdoor seating and bocce ball courts. “The old Italian families are stoked,” he said. “They’re settin’ up tournaments and we don’t have the courts set up yet.”

Bennett has a distinctive style but doesn’t let his particular preferences dominate any of these projects. “It’s not about me, it’s about what we do,” he said.