Thursday, 29 September 2011

Anthony Burrill Poster

I've written before about the "DO" lectures - an organisation started by David Hieatt, one of the founders of Howies - see previous post: http://justinsamazingworldatfennerpaper.blogspot.com/2009/07/do-lectures.html
Below is a lovely promo poster designed by Anthony Burrill which is being sold to raise funds for the organisation, which held it's first US gathering, this year.

The poster has been printed using woodblock type in a limited edition of 150 copies. Size is 510x760mm - that's 20 x 30 inches or Double Crown in "old money"! Printed letterpress in two colours on our Colorset Solar 120gsm (100% recycled).
The posters are printed by Adams of Rye, which is one of the few places that prints letterpress using woodblock and cast metal type. The company has been used by Anthony Burrill and other artists extensively, they've even recently printed for Turner Prize winning Artist Fiona Banner

Adams of Rye is run by Ian and Derek and as they have no website, here are their details:

Adams of Rye Ltd.
8 High Street
Rye, East Sussex, TN31 7JH

Tel 01797 223136 Fax 01797 223380

...but I did find this on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/-phraser-/5025567731/

You can order a poster from the site below:
http://www.dolectures.com/
Posted by Justin Hobson 29.09.2011

Tuesday, 27 September 2011

Treasures of Heaven

This is the invitation literature for a current exhibition at the British Museum, called Treasures of Heaven. For the first time some of the
finest sacred treasures of the medieval age have been brought together and this exhibition features objects from more than 40 institutions around the world, including the Vatican.

The invitations are A5 in size. There were two criteria for this project: Firstly, the board had to print a really good black and secondly a nice heavy board was required. Our Matrisse in 450gsm (620microns thick) was used and the result is superb. Printed CMYK plus a dense black and a double hit of Gloss UV (silkscreened) varnish.

Design is by Constanza Gaggero. Print is by Fulmar Colour.

....and thank you to Paul at Fulmar Colour for sending me some samples and a note.

...you'll have to hurry as the exhibition ends on 9th October.

Posted by Justin Hobson 27.09.2011

Monday, 26 September 2011

Graphic Design Walk

On Friday, the very first "graphic design walk", hosted by GraphicBirdWatching took place. The walk round East London involved 15 studios of acclaimed female designers working in the fields of typography, print-making, illustration, photography and film-making. By opening their doors, the studios allowed a unique insight into their working environments and practices.
...and over 300 maps (tickets) were sold, so the event was an amazing success. Good weather, meant that people could actually walk as well as cycle to make their way around the studios. It was a lovely day which ended up with a celebration at the base camp venue which had many installations and exhibits. I enjoyed being there and it was great to be involved.
This was a particularly amazing piece on display - made out of paper, by visual designer Alida Rosie Sayer:

It was a great day and congratulations to all those involved, especially Catherine Nippe, Lisa Sjukur and Joana Niemeyer.

Posted by Justin Hobson 26.09.2011

Thursday, 22 September 2011

Ultrabold No.10

I have just received my copy of the Summer edition of Ultrabold magazine, which is the Journal of the St Bride Library - if you don't know about St. Brides - see http://www.stbride.org/
Fenner Paper is pleased to support this publication, by supplying discounted material - hopefully doing our bit to preserve the history of our industry for future generations. This edition has some really interesting articles, worth a mention.
In this issue, there is a very interesting article by David Preston, titled "Corporate Trailblazers" charting the path of a number of post war designers (as opposed to ad agencies). Designers such as FHK Henrion, Design Research Unit and Hans Schleger all come under the spotlight (spread below)
Given the "Riotous" summer that we had in the UK, there is a fascinating article about the posters and artworks that appeared during the student protests in Paris in 1968: 
...and a fab article about the Stempel Schriftenservice letterpress museum and workshop in Darmstadt.
The publication is designed by Simon Loxley and is published by the Friends of St Brides.Printing is sponsored by Principal Colour. The journal is a 40pp self cover, 190x265mm Portrait, saddle stitched and is printed on Brand X FSC 135gsm.

As I've mentioned before, it's worth mentioning that this publication is free to friends of St Bride - so why not look into joining - might be cheaper than just buying the books!

http://www.stbride.org/
http://www.principalcolour.co.uk/
Posted by Justin Hobson 22.09.2011

Wednesday, 21 September 2011

The Way We Live Now - Terence Conran Part2

Photographer Neil Wilder
[John Parkinson Agency]
Yesterday evening I was pleased to have been invited to a talk/presentation /celebration for Sir Terence Conran. See previous post:
http://justinsamazingworldatfennerpaper.blogspot.com/2011/09/way-we-live-now-terence-conran.html

Deyan Sudjic, Fiona MacCarthy, Christopher Frayling and Stephen Bayley gave talks about Conran's life, inspiration and achievements. It was interesting, historical and inspirational - when you review someone's achievements in this way, it can leave one feeling a little lacking!

He has influenced virtually every area of design – furniture, textiles, retailing home furnishings, interiors, commercial environments, airport interiors, designing and running restaurants cafés, bars and hotels.
 
Conran says he has a fundamental aim – to produce useful things at a price that most people can afford. This maybe so, but what I found most interesting was Stephen Bayley's comment that whether it concerned food or design (and he explained the interconnection) that Conran cared for these three principles:
  • Materials
  • Execution
  • Details 
...maybe this is genuinely the route to intelligent design (and no, I don't think that sounds too pompous). It was fascinating too, that his interest in natural products mainly manifested itself in the use of wood - so I'm sure he has an appreciation of quality paper!
I also found interesting parallels with the piece I wrote recently about Robert Welch:
...and it was interesting that the piece I wrote about the late Rowley Atterbury, listed three past recipients of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA)  Bicentenary Medal: Terence Conran, Deyan Sudjic and Christopher Frayling, all people involved in this very evening...
http://justinsamazingworldatfennerpaper.blogspot.com/2011/03/rowley-atterbury-printer.html
sadly not a medal that I'll be receiving, but an interesting link between the past and the present.

I think talks/lectures/presentations like this are essential to go to. To hear dynamic people, to be inspired by recent history can surely only serve to enhance our daily working lives. I hope that the Design Museum and the Tate will do more of these events.
Thanks to Rose Dahlsen at The Tate for inviting me to come along.
Posted by Justin Hobson 21.09.2011

Thick cards for a bright printer!

Opal Print have just produced their new business cards and chosen Colorset (over the more obvious competitor product!). The production included triplexing 3 lots of 270gsm Colorset Lime Green, Dark Grey and White, making 810gsm (plus glue!). The cards are printed two colour offset litho, and hot foiled on the reverse in a clear foil and a metallic silver. It's great to see a printer using methods at their disposal for their own uses and this is certainly a business card which is a brilliant first impression.

Chris Pollard has recently joined Bath based Opal Print and has started an excellent blog, have a look:
http://creativeprinting.wordpress.com/
...and a little reminder that Colorset is made from 100% Recycled post industrial waste fibres.

http://www.opalprint.co.uk/
Posted by Justin Hobson 21.09.2011

Tuesday, 20 September 2011

What are you doing this Friday? ...go for a walk!

During the London Design Festival, GraphicBirdWatching is hosting an exclusive graphic design walk through East London’s graphic design studios, celebrating the work and practices of London’s female designers and I'm pleased, in our small way, to be one of the sponors.

This Friday, 23rd September, 15 studios of acclaimed designers working in the fields of typography, print-making, illustration, photography and film-making are opening their doors, allowing a unique insight into their working environments and practices. The ‘base camp’ will host special installations, exhibitions and workshops and will also be the starting and finishing point for the walk.

Visitors can buy tickets in form of a map for £5 at the ‘base camp’ on the day of the event. This detailed map allows visitors access to all the open studios as well as visiting the stalls at the ‘base camp’. In the evening all contributors and visitors are invited to celebrate with music and drinks at the base camp venue, giving everyone a chance to meet and share their experience of the day.

Base camp's location and address:
[SPACE] Gallery
19 Warburton Road
London E8 3RT

More details are available on:
http://www.graphicdesignwalk.com/#1765696/Graphic-Design-Walk
http://www.londondesignfestival.com/
Posted by Justin Hobson 20.09.2011