daily drop cap poster by jessica hische

A stunning letter-pressed poster by Jessica Hische, featuring the daily drop cap stars. Jessica is an artist that keeps inspiring me with every one of her creations. As well as her prolific work ethic. Impressive.

gauge nyc: custom words

I am amazed by the fluidity of the words created by Gauge NYC out of simple wire. I love their idea of typography on a wall, easily installed by puncturing two small holes. Are you a poet, a writer, a lyricist? Contact Gauge through their etsy shop, and have your words transformed into sculpture.

typography by angelique

Lovely lovely typography from Angelique, an etsy shop owner. To view more of Angi’s creations, click here.

mmmm...europe...

This Cities of Europe bus scroll from TransitDesign reminds me that I have not traveled in Europe for a very long time. I’ve been to eight of these cities, I think Barcelona is next on the agenda. Soon.

on press

It’s been years since I have been “on press” to see a print job run. Back in my small design studio days, if the job was a book, for example, going on press was torturous. It entailed a lot of waiting around for the press to get up to speed, for all the dust to be removed, for the color to be balanced. It’s really an art running the offset presses, and it is fascinating to watch. Today’s press run was simple, one color, small business card, a breeze. Big thank you to Richard at Colonial Printing for making it all super easy. Here are the results:

Karen’s card is so bright, it pops out in the midst of all this machinery.

We spent a bit of time getting the color saturated (a juicy raspberry pink), and the ink coverage as even as possible on an uncoated paper stock.

I love press proofs, with all the bleed and crop and registration marks. A good way to start out the day.

cascades of type: an exhibit by bruno maag

“I wanted the viewer to have childlike fun when standing in the middle of the approximately 5,500 suspended letter forms.” – Bruno Maag on his Shape My Language exhibit in Vienna.

photographs courtesy of fontfeed.com

signage

I have been experimenting with labeling my serving pieces. The inspiration came from my customers, who, when picking up a piece, asked what to use it for. Being a big fan of type, I am happy to put it on just about everything.

Though I couldn’t bring myself to apply “pits” to the smaller bowl of this olives serving set. I guess I do draw a typographical line somewhere.

The “sugar and salt” set happened after my friend put a spoonful of salt into his morning tea, though funny for me, not so for him.

true blue

Created on an antique Vandercook printing press, this lovely numbers print is available on etsy in inkywinke’s shop.

chocolate type

From Green Chair Press, available on etsy.

soap type

I love the way letter forms look stamped into these hand-made French blocks of soap. Soap reminds me of clay, I have been wanting to stamp "gleena" into my pieces in a similar way. To do that I need to find thin type that will easily press into the clay without altering the form. Perhaps a laser-cut plastic stamp will do it?

Photographs courtesy of Savon de Marseille

alphabet bags

canvas totes from AlphabetBags.com

twelve twelve

Another wonderful wedding gift commission for a couple married on 12.12.2009. My client suggested the date to be written out on the inside of the bowls, to echo the couple's invitation. I loved that idea. On the bottom of the larger bowl, we decided on the couple's names set in a circle with the full date. After a few technical setbacks, like the kiln breaking down and the typography coming out too light at first, the bowls were re-fired, gift-wrapped and shipped out this morning. It has been an eventful couple of weeks.

I'm thinking of making a T-shirt with the above "fragile" label.

12 cups for Christmas

The custom order of twelve wee tea cups is off to Calgary for Christmas. Each family member’s initial is stamped into porcelain with vintage lead type (Caslon 540). Click here to see the cups loaded into the kiln.

A beautiful bit of calligraphy, from The Universal Penman.

custom wedding gift

My client chose the organic bowls set and the butterfly platter for special occasions, and the roomy cups for every day cups of tea and coffee. She wanted the pieces personalized, and decided on the couple’s names and date of their wedding on the serving pieces, and their initials on the cups.

This wonderful commission combined my two loves, graphic design and ceramics. I so enjoyed collaborating with my client, and designing the round mark for the couple. I used Mrs. Eaves typeface for the names and date. Applying it to porcelain instead of paper was very satisfying.

When the pieces fire in the kiln, part of the type and image fade by melting into the glaze and porcelain, creating a slightly antique feel. A lovely combination of old and new.

ceramics 101: k is for kaolin, p is for porcelain

Kaolin, also called "china clay", is a soft white clay that is an essential ingredient in the manufacture of porcelain. It is named after the hill in China (Kao-ling) from which it was mined for centuries. Samples of kaolin were first sent to Europe by a French Jesuit missionary around 1700 as examples of the materials used by the Chinese in the manufacture of porcelain.

Porcelain, also called "china" due its origins in that country, differentiates itself from earthenware and stoneware by its white color, its nonporous surface, its strength and, when very thin, its translucency. Porcelain is a mix of kaolin and feldspar, which vitrifies (becomes glass-like and water proof) at a high temperature, around 2280_F to 2640_F. Depending on the type of kaolin used, the color of the porcelain will vary from a creamy-white, to a cool-white, and the final piece will have a bell-like ring when struck.

I prefer using porcelain because of its soft and sensual feel when fired to a high temperature. On many of my pieces, I leave the outside unglazed, so the material's smooth surface can be appreciated with each use.

The above letters K and P are created by Jessica Hische and posted on her Daily Drop Cap blog.

a is for autumn

Created by the talented Jessica Hische on her Daily Drop Cap blog.

unglazed porcelain and handwriting...

Decided to experiment more with typography on unglazed porcelain. I am liking the results. Bowls and handwriting go so well together, don't you think?

a big thank you

I was so excited about Uppercase, that I wrote to let them know how much they have enriched my day. I quickly heard back from Janine Vangool, the mastermind behind the publication (and gallery and blog and shop), and she has honored me by posting my work on the Uppercase Blog, under Type Tuesday (my favorite). Thank you, Janine!

favorite moments from uppercase

the magazine comes chuck full of extra goodies


reader participation is encouraged


scissors are glorified


Pantone chips are loved and usage is analyzed


cool printed stuff picked up from the sidewalk...


...and collected


beautiful typography by Jessica Hische


fun old postcards that they encourage you to alter and send back to them


they love etsy (and origami)


even the ads are beautiful


the back cover has an ant on it

Subscribe for your own copy of typographical beauty at uppercasemagazine.com.