We love a bit of Nigel Peake in the studio. I think he's mates with one of the architects next door and we know his printer pretty well. But of course, it's his strange and wonderful work that's most interesting. Self-published Bridges is just out and captures the man's special take on "XXXIV Crossings of the Thames".
I didn't go to Build this year. Mainly because I'm an idiot and can't plan ahead. According to reports, it was the best one so far and rumour has it Wilson Minor stole the show. Us non-attendidiots will have to wait for the video releases to see just how good he was. I got to a couple of peripheral events: the Film night was good (as I've already mentioned) and so was Spiekermann who talked about type and swore. He's always good.
After Spiekermann, it was the First Ever Build Conference Beer Festival, complete with locally brewed guest beers and mats beautifully printed by top letterpressers Typoretum. For those that don't know, the Eff Eye ligature is the logo/motif of Build organiser Andygoodonpaperandeverything's company Fiction.
Yesterday David reminded us all (how on earth had I forgotten?) about Display, Kind Company's impressively curated archive of mid-20th Century graphic design, well yes, awesomeness. A word so easily over used nowadays but wholly appropriate when applied here. This is stuff to, literally, quicken the pulse and send your heart into palpitations.
The limited edition 2012 Typotheque diary and sketchbook by Peter Bil'ak is out. Last year's was excellent. The new one is "new and improved". The perfet stocking filler (if your stocking is full, except for a diary sized gap).
Merrick Angle is an English designer, illustrator and print-maker. He lives near some cows in Northern France with his family and other stuff. Every now and then he emails me about his latest print. That's his new one there. The one with the molecular thingy. Good Science. I really like it. And his other prints. Especially the three down there: La Lune, La Terre and Le Soleil.
I'm not sure exactly why, but he operates under the title of "Double Merrick". There's a short film about him here that goes a little way to explain where the name came from. His online shop is here. And you can see more things he's made here.
Help build the largest active collection of hot metal type in the world. The Intenational Printing Museum in Los Angeles have a new Kickstarter project: To rescue around 100 full fonts of antique Ludlow Typecasting matrices and bring them into their working collection. Find out more and support the project on its Kickstarter site.
Designer/printer John Boilard, under the name of JP Boneyard, has just completed his latest project: redrawing then screen printing 27 found letters from his collection of around 1,000. You can see them, read more about them and take a look at his other print work here.
Oh well done GF Smith. And SEA of course. Yet again, an annoyingly magnificent, audacious, paper selector that basically blows every other paper merchant out of the design studio. There's probably loads of bloggage about it; the September Industry post, for example.
Astronomically-obsessed, Montréal-based, designer Stephen Di Donato has a new Kickstarter project. Beyond Earth is a self-initiated poster (and postcard) series designed from a 1965 perspective, the year of the first space walk. A planet per silk-screened poster, each will detail what was known of the heavenly bodies at the time. You can find out more, including how to support the project, on the Kickstarter site.
Masters of the minor map location Herb Lester have extended their tip top product range with a set of complementary notebooks for "birders, fishermen, foragers and ramblers". With cover illustrations by super-talented Jez Burrows. Stock up here.
Delighted to get Mike Perry's Pulled through the post the other day. I've had my beady eye on it for some time. It's an uncharacteristic aquisition really, it's not often I'd be so interested in a "showcase" book. But Pulled is a fabulous celebration of the screen print. Contributions are diverse, from the retro-cartoon luxury of Jim Datz to the messed up surrealism of Montreal's Seripop. It's a joyous collection of inks on papers.
Incidentally, there's an interview with Perry over on Grain Edit.
I've said it before, apologies for repeating myself, but the Princeton Architectural Press publish ace books. Season after season, their catalogue arrives listing so many titles I'd like I'm just glad I'm not on anyone else's mailing list. PA Press titles are just so damned interesting. Putting aside their many actual architectural publications, the ones that really interest me are conceptually rich. OK, sometimes, there's also the showcases (like Pulled which I'll be showing more of later) that are visual treats but then there's the more challenging artist's books and theorisms.
I used to be a member of the Association of Illustrators. It was probably my last year at college, I was studying Illustration and that's what I thought I wanted to do. Illustration was, perhaps, on the wane at the time, not that I had my finger on its pulse but one thing lead to another and my career took a different fork.
Of course, fast forward a bag full of years and it feels like the art of the illustration has exploded in a barrage of creativity and styles. For the art directors that commission illustration nowadays their minds must be boggled by the options. A couple of week's ago Evgenia from the AOL sent me the latest edition of their journal Varoom!. I didn't know it existed and while a bundle of years ago I might not have taken much notice, right now, a magazine that represents the organisation makes too much sense.
Yes, OK, there's probable a pile of magazines, fanzines and journals packed full of drawings; I'm not saying this stands alone in any way. It's just that, for me personally, Varoom! is a welcome blast from the past, partly because it's the AOL and partly because it feels like an industry journal "like they used to make". I'm obviously getting old.
Edwina at Trestle dropped me a line recently to tell me about their new wallpaper squares, you might have seen them. It's a bit of an odd one really, I mean: squares? But then it occurred to me that it's basically paper tilling and is kind of reminiscent of the repetitive pattern traditions found in a variety of applications: ceramics, textiles, typography. So Trestle, potentially, turns your walls into decorative end papers; like the Judd Street papers. Currently, Trestle offers one beautifully printed pattern/motif in a small number of colours. The underlying idea is really interesting I think.
The name's great too. Definitely one to watch.
Wednesday 1st June sees the opening of this year's Ulster Festival of Art and Design. Most locals reading this will know what's what. If you don't fall into that camp, you can see what's on here. The programme design this year has been put together by Leonard Reid and Peter Strain, who I don't actually know but actually think they've done a great job.
I imagine it must have been a slog; almost every detail, text and all, appears to have been rendered by hand with only sponsors logos reproduced from digital artwork. Some of the stuff inside is a bit bonkers (in a good way) and it's quite a sensory maelstrom but if it's a vibrant and diverse calendar they meant to depict, well I think they've done it with flare.
Spent a bit of time in my Dad's shed when we were in England at Easter. I've mentioned before that my Dad was a carpenter by trade (as they say). Not really a craftsman, more a jobbing carpenter who made things that would survive a bomb attack. He'd have done a roaring trade over here "Back in The Day" (as they also say). When he wasn't actually employed as a carpenter he was in architectural ironmongery. Knobs and knockers to you and I. He loved that. And who can blame him. Surrounded by bits and bobs all day long. Manning the trade counter. Awesome (which is something else they say).
A perk of the job was the legitimate take-homers. Nothing dodgy, my Dad's a good Christian chap, wouldn't tolerate inappropriate nastiness or pilferings. No way. We're talking end-of-the-line, surplus stock. If it was any good, if there was even the slightest chance it would "come in handy", back it came. To be filed away in a clearly labelled draw.
Now he's not as sprightly as he once was, not so good on his feet and not so handy nowadays. So my Mom suggested he passed on some of his treasures, what with me getting handier by the day (I can move radiators you know).
Off I trotted for a snoop about. And after a significant consultation period, certain tools were passed into my care. While peeking through the many compartments in Dad's shed I unearthed many vintage screw boxes. I feel like these boxes have always been in my life. I can remember loving them when I was as young as my kids are now. Especially the green and cream diamond design.
It's obviously a bit sad really, a clear sign of my Dad's decline, but his hands shake too much now for him to handle fiddly screws. So I think he was happy, actually very happy, to see them coming my way. He's got some great stuff in that shed. And while I hope and pray it's many years before I have to clear it out there's a part of me that is warmed by the idea of inheriting my Dad's ancient tools.
It's the classic, 60s, old favourite: The Colour Overlay, again. My single, all-time-favourite graphic technique. And if it was good enough for BR, time and time again, it's good enough for the job I'm working on right now.
The Bespoke Editions project has been moving ahead, slowly but steadily. In amongst it all, the Judd Street Papers came up and I remembered I had some stashed away. I don't know much about them; the Judd Street Gallery website says this:
Judd Street Gallery Pattern Papers began in 1987, inspired by the Curwen Pattern Papers of the 1920s, a range of simple repeat patterns by contemporary artists such as Paul Nash and Eric Ravilious, intended primarily for bookbinding, but also attractive as wrapping paper.
I bought these at Falkiner's in Bloomsbury, many years ago. Falkiner's is now Shepherds but you can still get these and many more decorative papers there. Along with all sorts of other interesting bookbinary sundries.
Look what dropped through the door over the weekend: A beautiful piece of work from Rachael and Stephen at One Point Oh. Screen printed in two colours onto mighty 1250 micron board, the Stop, Look, Listen totem pole comes (rather cleverly if you ask me) complete with a strut-card attached to the back so it can stand all on it's own.
It's a stunning piece of illustration. You can get yours here.
Less mappery, perhaps a little more elegance: it's BOAC's masterful Route Map No.3.
After six years in my last post my desk drawers had accumulated all sorts of ephemeral bits and bobs: print samples, direct mail, promo pieces, clippings and whatnot. So, with an amount of enthusiasm, I set about clearing them out. Print samples were piled up for filing, leaflets and flyers were either dispatched to the bin or my bag for home. Some bin-bound stuff was trashed with enormous pleasure but with an equal amount of joy, unearthed loveliness was entrusted to an envelope, to come away with me.
I can't remember where I got this Incline Press printed celebratory keepsake. At first I thought it must have been way back in 1990 at Type90 in Oxford but although that year has relevance, this wasn't letterpressed until some years later. 2005 doesn't ring any bells, although I have a vague recollection of receiving a couple of things through the post from St Bride's. Anyway, none of that really matters. Needless to say, this came with me.
We're buzzing at Thought Collective right now.Wednesday saw us presenting first stage visuals for the user interface and print editions of The Zimbabwean. It's been an exciting process to date but there's still a whole pile of work to be done. You can read more about it on the TC blog and catch a glimpse of the print version too.
Romance is in the air. With Valentine's Day fast approaching one point oh have the answer to your prayers: and it's Screen-printed in two colours on 315gsm Acid Free Heritage White Stock. "You" measures 700x500mm and "& Me" 210x300mm. Better get over there fast, there's only 60 sets.
Details are sketchy (when I Google it, all I get is me!) but this dropped through the door last week. It's Pentagram's latest New Year keepsake. 12 antigrams to decipher with illustrations, cunningly printed dark grey and black, to act as clues. Pentagram have a tradition of producing these little books at this time of year but they're usually attributed to a partner. This time, I can't find anything that reveals who conceived the piece. Perhaps that's a tactic to perpetuate a spooky air of mystery.
Ace Jet goes through peaks and troughs. Lately, it's been in a bit of a dip for the usual reason, details of which will emerge in the new year. But it relates to me finishing off in my current post at hamillBosket. It's been six years with loads of great work under my belt, but all good whatsits etc (you know). 2011 sees me starting in a new roll in a new (and I mean brand new) agency. Exciting and challenging time.
Meanwhile, blog fodder has stacked up. Including this Aye-May-Zing poster from the Reverting to Type exhibition still running in the Standpoint Gallery. I have Alistair at We Made This to thank for picking this up for me, along with the exhibition's newspaper-style catalogue. It'll be framed over Christmas for our living room wall.
Thanks again (and again) Alistair!
To everyone else, I wish a stonking Christmas and New Year!
Typotheque's 2011 Pocket Diary and Sketchbook is available. Designed by Peter Bil'ak, with a week to view and a plethora of gridded sketch pages at the back.
Equipped with Stephen and Rachael's placards, the tin-brained activists did their best to support the campaign. But protestations were soon abandoned fearing the onset of rust.
If you're in London during December or January you'd be a damned fool to miss Reverting to Type, at the Standpoint Gallery, an exhibition of work by contemporary letterpress practitioners. You can even get to hand print a personalised card on the Adana in residence.
Loads more details in this pdf including the dates and directions.
Just in: Double Merrick prints. Lovely.
This is the other thing Alice got and I ran away with. Letterpressed at Glasgow Press, designed by Kerr Vernon. You probably saw it on the CR Blog but it's better in the flesh.
A parcel arrived last week. It contained the following items:
• 1 glass vial containing a real fake tooth, found near St Lucia
• 1 size comparison chart, illustrating the Beast's size relative to the Empire State Building
• 1 letter from expert hoax investigator, assuring us of the non-existent Beast's existence
• 1 DVD containing actual footage of made up footage
• 1 bottle of inky black rum
More evidence of The Kraken brand's mythical awesomeness.
Mark Ferguson's been remote-snooping. He sent questionnaires to various studios (including johnsonbanks, NB:Studio, Mother, The Case, 300million, Build and many more) quizzing them on their relationship to their immediate environments. Mark then compiled responses into an A0 layout which he had printed onto mighty-sized trace.
He explains, "This mailer presents the results of an in-depth investigation into the relationships between working environments and creativity within the design industry. The mailers were sent out nationally to the respondents who had completed questionnaires for the study. The design is printed on an A0 sheet of trace to represent the space and light which the investigation showed designers value in a workspace. The large sheet was folded down to A4 for mailing."
Mark now runs his Very Own Studio.
If you're quick, you might still be able to get 'old of a copy of Craig's all new* 12IN12 Super-Deluxe Extra Yellow Version at New Blood (with proceeds going to the worthy D&AD Education charity).
* Well, not exactly "all new"; more all, well…updated. And not necessarily "all". Updated.
And his all new* 10 Penneth can be bought for the princely sum of £3.50 (plus postage?) from the man himself, in all it's nasty dayglo majesty. Worth every penny and, especially if you're freshly qualified, both publications would be wise purchases. Even more so if you actually read them.
* Well, quite new.
I've really enjoyed getting Stack over the last, I-don't-know-how-many months. You get to see stuff you would otherwise, probably, never see. And now Steve's made it easier to try it out.
This is brilliant. I did a Stuff Exchange with Alistair at We Made This. Basically because I wanted to get my hands on one of their superb Twickenham Carnival posters. I did my best to offer a suitable trade but can't help feel that I came out of the deal a little on top.
Newspaper Club produced journal from culture/insight/trend experts Protein:
"Part magazine, part trend report, part marketing brochure".
I'm not a Lost fan. Watched a few of the early ones then zoned out. Ty Mattson, on the other hand, is a massive fan and has designed a series of superb screen prints in homage to the show. More here.
The latest Stack features beautiful whispering contemporary arts mag Under/Current plus big and bold magazine-that-thinks-it's-a-poster POSTR. More great magmatter and affirmation that, "Stack is good".
For anyone who wasn't able to make it last night, most of the exhibition can be seen here.
(This has been a public service blog post)
It looks like it's straight out of Corporate Diversity but is really straight out of my Dad's big box of drugs. Forgot to check actually, it probably is in the book.
The National Memorial Arboretum was just a stop-off on our way to eat with my folks at a place called Barton Marina. A canal marina it was barge central and also has a few nice boutique shops. A highlight for us was The Book Barge which is a superb floating book shop stocking beautiful new and interesting old stuff; a great selection of children's books, like Anne's favourites by Miroslav Sasek. The other highlight was the toy museum at the back of Toys of Yesteryear. More to see here.
We got back from a week in the land of my forefathers late last Wednesday. OK, "the land of my forefathers", is rather dramatising it (I mean, it's just across the water a bit) but we do kind of dramatise the journey by opting for the long-haul drive over the short-hop flight.
After a two hour ferry trip it's 6–7 hours of road, so we share the driving. And, when passenging this time, I read the latest copies of the excellent Gym Class Magazine. It's excellent! I've been a bit slow on the uptake to be honest which means I'm all the more grateful to Steven at Gym Class for getting in touch recently and for mailing the copies over. Can't wait for the next one.
I wasn't there but I know a man that was. Andy McGoodondigitalbuildrefresh kindly brought me a couple back from his travels.
Well I was going to tell you all about Stack Magazines. How they recently put me on their subscription list, and how I got my first package from them a few days ago.
How Stack is a subscription service which sends you out a different magazine each month - how you never know quite what you're going to get. How that means it works as a sort of taster menu, encouraging you to try out stuff you wouldn't necessarily choose for yourself. And how they've got a fairly varied and independent list of titles so far, including Eye Magazine, The Ride Journal, Little White Lies and IdN. (How if you already subscribe to any of the titles on the list, you can let them know, and they'll send you something else in its place.)
After that, I was going to tell you how there's a service for both the UK (and how you can choose from six, eight or twelve magazines, sent out one per month) and the US (six magazines per year, sent out bi-monthly over the year). And then I was going to say that each package comes with a magazine and a couple of extras - that this month the main magazine was music mag Sup. I was then going to mention that to go with that was James Bridle's 'Immanent in the Manifold City' newspaper, produced through the brilliant Newspaper Club service (which I was going to be writing more about sometime soon).
After I'd told you all that, I was to go on to say that to go with that was a beautiful one-off print from Jeremy Leslie's magCulture: a subscribers' reading list of 26 of his favourite mags from 2009.
Yes, I was going to say all that.
Then We Made This beat me to it. (Damn it).
Antonia, over at AisleOne, has designed a letterpress-printed 2010 calendar. With a limited edition of just 50, you better get over there now!