EMILY ARDEN WELLS is a partner with the Colorado based architecture firm, Move Matter / Architects. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania where she graduated Magna Cum Laude and did a year of study at the Architectural Association of London. She holds a Master of Architecture from the Yale School of Architecture where she won the coveted H.I. Feldman Prize for a sustainable multi-family housing proposal in Houston, Texas. Wells’ thesis project was selected for the Archiprix 2011, an exhibition of the “World’s Greatest Graduation projects”. Wells was selected for Wallpaper* magazine’s 2010 Graduate Directory as part of the “next wave of creative talents who are shaking up the world around you”. She has worked for the New York City design group AvroKO, where she was the design lead on Gotham West Market - named “America’s Best new Food Court” by Food & Wine magazine. She also worked for Adjaye Associates New York, where she was part of the core design team for the Smithsonian African American Museum in Washington D.C. .
In 2009 she co-founded the award-winning cocktail and spirits website, Gastronomista.com. Gastronomista has been featured in many publications in print and online including Elle Magazine, Glamour Magazine, Company Magazine, Saveur Magazine, Coolhunting, The Heritage Radio Network, and was featured in a national Blackberry Commercial with the food lover’s app, UrbanSpoon. Gastronomista won the award for the Saveur Best Cocktail Blog category in 2015. In 2017 Gastronomista was named one of the “Drinkstagrammers Transforming Cocktail Culture Without Stepping Behind the Bar” by Vine Pair. Her writing has been published in Vanity Fair, Town & Country, Bloomberg Pursuits, and Departures Magazine, among others.
She is the founding partner of Five O’Clock Creative, an agency that specializes in new media for spirits companies. She has worked on creative re-pack projects for the prestigious Scotch whisky brand Aberlour Single Malt Scotch Whisky, and currently creates content and manages the social media channels for Trä-kál, the innovative new brand from Patagonia, the Campari America Academy, and the Campari Community channels. She also does commercial photography for the Campari America portfolio and other prominent spirits brands.
Emily is currently working on a forthcoming novel, to be published by an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers.