Hard Work and Dumb Luck: 39 Years of Work and Play

Regular followers of the blog know that I often write about talks or lectures that I think might be an interest to readers of this blog and this is just one of those events happening next week...

Navigating – and surviving – a design career that’s heading into its 40th year can be a challenge. But it’s not without its rewards! Come and listen to the story of Gail Anderson, a type-loving designer who’s moved from book covers to magazines to Broadway theatre to education. Grab your popcorn (and dental floss) – it’s sure to be an interesting ride. 

Gail Anderson is an NYC-based designer, educator, and writer. She is Chair of BFA Design and BFA Advertising at the School of Visual Arts and creative director at Visual Arts Press. Anderson has served as senior art director at Rolling Stone, creative director of design at SpotCo, and as a designer at The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine and Vintage Books. She has taught at SVA for over 30 years and has co-authored 15 books on design, typography, and illustration with Steven Heller.Anderson serves on the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee for the US Postal Service and the advisory boards of Poster House and The One Club for Creativity. She is an AIGA Medalist, the 2018 recipient of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian National Design Award for Lifetime Achievement, and a 2022 Art Directors Club Manship Medallion honoree.

Her work is represented in the Library of Congress’ permanent collection, the Milton Glaser Design Archives, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. www.behance.net/gailycurl5504

Wednesday 3rd May 2023 Online via Zoom Online time (BST): 7:00-8:30pm Online tickets (BST): £4.50, £6.50

Book Tickets HERE 

Posted by Justin Hobson 30.04.2023

Letterpress Greeting Cards

 Bits and Bobs

This is a superb range of small greeting cards from greeting card designer, publisher ...and printer - Nineteen seventy three!

Based in Brighton, 1973 bought their first Heidelberg press a few years ago and now produce many of their ranges printed letterpress in house.

The 4pp cards are 120x85mm, portrait and they are printed on our Colorset 100% Recycled 270gsm in the Natural shade. Colorset is just perfect for letterpress as it's high bulk and compressibility allows the impression to sink into the board.

Here is a selection from the range, most are printed in two or three colours.

Above image shows reverse of cards, below shows detail:

The range all come with gummed ribbed kraft envelopes (90x125mm) in a cellophane bag and with a 'letterpressed with love' sticker

You can see the 'Bits and Bobs' whole range here:

https://nineteenseventythree.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 27.04.2023

Zollanvari International

Zollanvari carpets embody the spirit of carpet design and weaving – an extraordinary art form that has been treasured across the world for more than 2,000 years. The story of Zollanvari began in 1947, when Gholamreza Zollanvari joined his father’s carpet business, a legacy that had been handed down from his great grandfather. In 1985 Gholamreza’s son Reza established the company in Zurich to directly access the European market and established the Zollanvari name as a global trail-blazer in creating carpet art.

This wonderful catalogue tells the story, explains the types of carpet showing the range and possibilities.

Size of the catalogue is 274x173mm, portrait and is 'singer sewn'. There is a 4pp cover and a 36pp text. It is printed throughout on Omnia 280gsm and 150gsm which gives the publication a tactile uncoated feel but with a great print result.

The publication is digitally printed by Identity Print. It was printed on their Ricoh digital press (dry toner) and the result is exceptional. The great thing is the job just doesn't look and feel like a digital job, which is mainly down to the choice of substrate.

Click on images to enlarge

The images have reproduced superbly and are totally lush and even the flat solid grey/brown looks flat and even, which can sometimes be a problem printing digitally.

The colour is so vibrant and works brilliantly on the Omnia as you can see in the detail image below...

Click on images to enlarge

Above is the centre spread. This catalogue is singer sewn, so you can see the way the thread runs along the inside of the spine - see detail image below...

...and on the outside of the spine below.

Printing is by Identity Print with Paul Martin handling the project. Finishing and singer sewing is by Wayte Binding in Tunbridge Wells who are part of the Identity Print group, so they are are one of the few print companies with their own bindery.  

https://zollanvari.com/

http://www.identityprint.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 24.04.2023

Today is Earth Day

Earth Day is an annual event first held on April 22, 1970. It now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EARTHDAY.ORG including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries. Above all, Earth Day is the "people's day" for doing something to take care of the Earth. That "something" can be local, national or global. It can be a solo action or involve a crowd.

What better day for me to remind you of a material we launched to coincide with COP26.

PaperWise is an entirely new concept, a range of paper and board manufactured from agricultural waste - this is the stems and leaves left over the harvest and which is often left in the field or burnt. There are additional benefits: PaperWise is produced in factories in India and South America that make a big difference to local communities. Investments are made in education, infrastructure, and healthcare while the manufacturing process is geared toward safety, zero waste, and preserving local ecology.

Lifecycle analysis (LCA) conducted by the University of Amsterdam (IVAM) has concluded that the environmental impact is 47% lower than FSC-paper made from trees and 29% lower than recycled paper...

The natural shade, manufactured from 100% agri-waste is also completely unbleached and has lower Co2 emissions than virgin fibre or recycled papers.

The PaperWise range is held in stock by us at Fenner Paper in Tonbridge. European stocks are held in Rotterdam and include a wide range of packaging boards and lightweight papers with food approval, copier paper and even corrugated boards. 

You can read more about this new range HERE and about how this fits with the UN sustainable development goals...

The paper and boards are suitable for all print work and packaging, with a one side coated packaging board up to 465microns.

PaperWise founder Peter van Rosmalen features on this 1 minute video here:

If you would like samples, please drop me an email justin@fennerpaper.co.uk or have a look at our website.

https://www.worldenvironmentday.global/

https://paperwise.eu/en/

Posted by Justin Hobson 22.04.2023

The 2023 Wayzgoose at the St Bride Foundation

Here's a date for your diary...

The Annual St Bride Foundation Wayzgoose is taking place on Sunday 21st May. 

Wayzgoose is a term (unfamiliar to many people) that used to refer to an annual holiday in a printworks and was often an away-day to the coast or some other sort of day out, more often than not, paid for by the firm. However, in this instance the St Bride's Wayzgoose is a kind of letterpress 'bring and buy' sale. There are companies selling type, letterpress accessories, ink and lots of letterpress printed books and cards and the proceeds from the event go towards the St Bride Foundation. 

Why not come along... ? For interest, this is what the last Wayzgoose was like: https://justinsamazingworldatfennerpaper.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-annual-wayzgoose-at-st-bride.html

https://sbf.org.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 12.04.2023

Jobs from the past - Number 161

Regular followers of this blog will know that my first post of every month is a "job from the past" so that I can show some of the really good work from years gone by and this one is from 2013...

Guardian News & Media sustainability report 2013

This is the printed summary of the Guardian News & Media sustainability report. The whole report is available online http://www.theguardian.com/sustainability but this report is printed to give out to staff and partners.

The size of the report is 148mm square, saddle stitched and has a 4pp cover and 16pp text. The publication is printed on our Shiro Echo, White (200gsm and 120gsm) which is 100% recycled and also carries FSC certification.

  

 



Detail of illustration

The report is beautifully illustrated by Laurent Cilluffo, superbly evocative artworks make this a really special piece of literature.

http://www.laurentcilluffo.com/

The design, typography, illustrations and the paper choice combine to male this a truly engaging piece of literature.

Design is by the in-house design team at The Guardian. Production handled by Leon Abrahams.

Print is by Cantate, a division of the John Good Group and thanks to Jason Maclaren at Cantate for sending me file copies.

https://www.theguardian.com/sustainability
http://www.laurentcilluffo.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 05.04.2023