Category Archives: Typography

Buttoned snouts and pauper pugs

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Last year I spent a day at St Bride’s Library setting type to make a letterpress poster of some of my favourite British moth names…and now a real moth has visited to have a look.

Some of the traditional moth names from the UK are pure poetry: Brighton Wainscot, Scarce Burnished Brass, Uncertain, Splendid Brocade, Chamomile Shark, Slender Scotch Burnet, Clifden Nonpareil, Drab Looper, Nut Tree Tussock …and many more. I’ve been collecting the names from the bi-monthly reports in the British Wildlife Journal.

I’d love to know the name of the one which visited – I think it’s one of the Carpets, but I’m not sure which. If you’re a moth-fan, let me know.

A Wandle alphabet

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It’s taken five years of wading, rummaging, sifting and heaving but my Wandle alphabet is finally complete – a complete A-Z made with objects found during clean-ups of the river Wandle with the Wandle Trust. I think my favourite has to be the false teeth ‘U’, though I am also very fond of ‘R’ and ‘O’. The ‘F’ is from a fish and chips sign.

It’s now available as an A1 sized, limited edition poster – it costs £20 with all proceeds going to future Wandle Trust work. Do email me if you are interested in buying one.

Letterpress details

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I realised I never showed the finished letterpress poster that I made with Ross and Jon from JMG Studio for the London Voices families at Morden Hall Park – so here are some details, above, including the bees made from Bs, buns and lemonade from Ds and Os, and the ice bridge and boat. And below is the poster in full, showing all the poems the families created in the workshops earlier in the year inspired by the park and the river Wandle.

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Letterpress weekend

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I’ve been printing with Ross and Jon from JMG Studio this weekend – using letterpress we created a set of prints illustrating the poems created by the Liberty School families at the London Voices workshops earlier in the year. Above are the prints before the text went on, with different letters making pictures showing the ice bridge, tiddler trout special party, and hat lemonade buns amongst others. The finished work looks great and will be presented to everyone who took part in the workshops at the celebration event at the park in July. Thanks Ross and Jon, I had a lot of fun and your design was brilliant!

A Wandle Alphabet

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For the last couple of years I have been trying to collect a whole alphabet from objects found in the river Wandle at the monthly cleanups organised by the Wandle Trust. Some letters emerge fully formed while others require a bit of imagination. What I like about them is the rich patterns and surfaces created by years spent sitting in the mud of the river bed, particularly the rich red rust of the letter R. I’m still searching for the rest of the set.