Adorable Cotton Tape

Stoked! I had recently been to Anthropologie in Austin and bought a brass P to hang my bookmarks and stuff on. They wrapped up my package with some cotton tape with their name printed on top, and I just had to find it... Got some ordered today along with a decorative Japanese Washi tape via Cute Tape and can’t wait for it to get here (hope it doesn’t get stuck in customs).

Rob Roy Kelly /// All American

ATX is where I spent my Christmas holiday with old&new friends and family. Another important point to my visit was to listen to some fine live music, which Austin and Gruene are popular for, and get in touch with some of Austin’s letterpress community. Wow, I think I hit the jack pot! One of the great visits I made was to the Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection. Thanks Laura for that:)

It’s pretty amazing to think that only in Texas can you find a trove of comprehensive all American wood type manufactured in the 19th c. The coolest part of this visit, I think, was the private tour given by David Shields associate prof. of the design devision at University of Texas. Another clever endeavor done by the department was to even classify different modes of planing wood by the different early manufactures of wood type like J G Cooley, American Wood Type Co. and Hamilton Holly Wood Type Co.

New American Wood Type_Virgin Wood Type

I also learnt of two gentleman who are keeping the craft alive by producing new American wood type. At Moore Wood Type specialized equipment has been produced to be able to use the finest of maple wood for cutting. Then there’s Virgin Wood Type out of the New York area who purchased crates full of goodies when American Wood Type Co. went out of business in 2001. They are on the exciting pursuit to sort and put names to type bought with the help of the American Wood Type catalog put together by none other Rob Roy Kelly.

Nutrire l’anima.

Nutrire l’anima: A4 Debossed Print

This has been a common theme of mine this holiday season: Feed Your Soul. The trick is to find the right words in Italian. In this case, the translation is practically verbatim. This limited ed. print was created for Christopher+Columbus latest event at “La Meridiana Tempo” local bookstore & cultural arts center in Mondovì.

Christopher+Columbus: ‘Grammatica Cromatica’ at La Meridiana Tempo

I’ve lately been tapping back into my Adobe skills designing posters for Christopher+Columbus, local art shows my photographer friend Kate Trafeli and I have been doing. Mind boggling how fast things are on my Mac compared to my manual press. The satisfaction is comparably good I must say though.

For this show, I’m introducing more stationery products. Art prints are fun, and I think I’ll continue to do ‘one-offs’, but I have a heart of a designer and function is just super sexy to me.

(formula) Guzzi + Burrata mozzarella = Happiness

I am coming up on a year of my adventure in letterpress which meant finding a press, materials, a guru and tons of hours (giving up my summer holiday) to learn how to PRINT (not talking the digital kind either). I think inspiration came twofold when my home printer just wouldn’t (couldn’t) render my designs to their full capacity, and when I couldn’t (but tried) to get a short offset run of my thesis from a local printer. In the end a kind service bureau printed it up on a laser printer with a cloth cover.

In Italy, the best design is pushed to its full and sensory extremes. Let’s take for example the designs of Moto Guzzi and Ducati motorbikes or, (needless to mention) a Ferrari at once in the rear view mirror on the costal highway zoom by or the vintage Fiat 500 creeping up along side you from the opposite direction at 50 kph is a delight. And of course food...cut into a mozzarella burrata is just as good as biting into it. It is design thought through at every point of intersection. The best experiences I think are ones that cultivate happiness and strive to engage all life affirming senses.

So, fast forward one year and I’m having my first photopolymer experience: a wedding invitation which is essentially a two color image of bride and groom embracing, id est registration heaven. This design only revealed its full capacity after all the components had been put together i.e. setting up my form, mixing up paint, pressing into that lovely Magnani paper and set to dry. The design experience made whole...

metal plates: bride&groom and sage wreath

photos of finished product. paper is ivory in fact.

Christopher+Columbus: Sensory Treats

Christopher+Columbus “Grammatica Cromatica” featuring letterpress & art photography.

All Photography by Kate Trafeli

Print in all its varying forms, I think, will be designated as sort of an esoteric art form one day, and so, one will have to find a mentor or teacher to learn its power of expression. This power of expression being the dynamism and impact ones mark on a piece of paper can extend. Could it actually make us closer after all? Does it close the gap in a way the internet can’t do? As objects and technologies become relics (or things forgotten) over time, human contact shouldn’t.

7th October I participated in a collaborative art project/event with the very talented artist and friend Kate Christopher Trafeli. And print did, what print does: extend itself physically. The aim was a sensory event for the community, friends and family and included amazing tastings by chef Marc Lanteri of Baluardo and music by memebers of the local group The Clips.

members Mark Trafeli on guitar & Jack Hard on contrabass from "The Clips”