Strawberryluna

AIR Super-Summer-Beach-Fun-Time-Party Saturday 6/27

It’s time! Tiki torches, sand to sink your feet into, small pools of cool water, the occasional head band and YOU!

Yinz Got posters, show at AIR October, 2007. Photo courtesy of gollygoshgees Nick Fredland.

The "Yinz Got Posters", show at AIR October, 2007. Photo courtesy of gollygoshgee's Nick Fredland.

This is the Artists Image Resource’s (aka AIR) summer benefit party, to raise funds for the city’s amazing, one of a kind resource for printmaking arts,  non-profit community print studio AIR. Which, happens to be where I print all of my work.

The Details:

Where: Artists Image Resource, at 518 Foreland Street, Pittsburgh, PA (on the city’s historic North Side), phone: 412-321-8664

When: This Saturday June 27th from 4 -11pm start your summer at AIR!!

Cost: $5 at the door (proceeds benefit this invaluable community print studio) getting you:

Large prints being hand pulled. Photo, courtesy of me.

Large prints being hand pulled. Photo, courtesy of me.

What – Music:

* Mike Budai is your DJ from 4:30-6pm – pulling from Air Supply to Slayer, Budai will eat you. And you thought Budai was just a great printmaker.

Dani & Margot from Alpaca Beretta at 7pm – Somewhere between the pickin’ strings and quaint country harmonies of the 1920’s and the mystical electronic wonderland of the 2020’s, you’ll find Alpaca Beretta. Their sometimes harmonious, sometimes dissonant dulcimer-uke-electro-rama tells stories of whiskey, barrooms, love, murder, farm living, paleontology, greek mythology, whiskey, bank robberies, springtime, and many other things that are essential to understanding our humanity.

Damara Rose Badila Moon at 8pm – Haunting awesomeness. Listen here.

DJ Thermos at 9pm – Currently working on translating his instrumental music into a live performance by banging on buttons, pads, levers, and knobs.
He’s also 1/2 of the rap group Therm&Soul, listen to more here.

Colin and the Shots at 9:45pm – They say swamp rock, we say the reason why you breathe. Always a good time!

Our Love Project at 10:45pm – “life from love, music from birth, death from love, music from ashes” hear a peep here.

What Food (!) :

Grilling by Craig ‘Dr. Grillenstein’ Seder working up veggies, hamburgers, hot dogs (vegetarian friendly versions available) for everyone from 5 – 9pm. there’s talk of a mountain of cole slaw too – think double dare minus the flag.

Drinks: Water, soda, lemonade = liquid summer PLUS the finest East End Brewery varieties on tap!

Proofs of the Seeing Red print porfolio hanging on the walls during production at AIR. Photo courtesy of gollysoshgees Nicholas Fredland.

Proofs of the Seeing Red print porfolio hanging on the walls during production at AIR. Photo courtesy of gollysoshgee's Nicholas Fredland.

What to DO:

Hands on screen printing of beach summer fun!! Bring your beach towels! bring your shirts! we’re printing big and small on paper and fabric from 4 to 8pm. We’ll also be screening early beach cinema classics big projection style.

On view in the galleries:

* ‘A Visual History of the George W. Bush Presidency’ – a traveling print portfolio of 15 different artists critical take on 15 different moments of the Bush Administration’s tenure.

* ‘ Seeing Red ‘– Selections from the ‘Seeing Red’ portfolio printed at Artists Image Resource in 2006.

* The AIR, artist submitted t-shirt raffle!! – View and win one of a kind transformed threads on display throughout the AIR gallery. raffle tickets for $1. Winners pulled at 10:45pm that night!

Hope to see you there!

Inks for screenprinting, mixed and ready to go. Photo, courtesy of me.

Inks for screenprinting, mixed and ready to go. Photo, courtesy of me.

WYEP Summer Music Festival!

4-color, hand screenprinted poster for WYEP's Summer Music Festival

4-color, hand screenprinted poster for WYEP's Summer Music Festival

It’s full on summer time friends! And Pittsburgh’s fantastic independent radio station, WYEP 91.3 FM is hosting their 12th annual, amazing Summer Music Festival to help celebrate summer with 4 great bands. Kind of made a natural fit then for hand screenprinted posters right? When Brian of WYEP asked me if I would be interested, I was definitely excited to design and print a poster for them.

Show information:

What: The WYEP Summer Music Festival with Sam Roberts Band. Also appearing are Dar Williams, The Duhks, and Meeting of Important People.

Where: Schenely Plaza, in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. Grab a blanket and enjoy live music on the lawn at Schenley Plaza as WYEP kicks off the summer.

When: June 26, 2009 from 6pm-11pm

Cost: FREE! And open to the public.

Line-Up

6pm – Meeting of Important People
7:15pm – The Duhks
8:30pm – Dar Williams
9:40pm – Sam Roberts Band

The poster above will be available for purchase as a hand screenprinted, 4-color poster in an limited edition of only 100 posters. Proceeds to benefit WYEP. I will be there selling posters and chatting with fellow-summer-loving Pittsburghers and enjoying the line up of great bands on a pretty Friday night. Come say hi!

Below are a few process shots of me printing this poster at AIR print studios here in Pittsburgh, with more on my Flickr page too.

First color printed for WYEPs Summer Music Festival poster

First color printed for WYEP's Summer Music Festival poster

4th & final color printed, all done!

4th & final color printed, all done!

“Naïve: Modernism and Folklore in Contemporary Graphic Design”, aka I can’t believe I’m in this book (!)

This year is rich with books celebrating and exploring current graphic design, screenprinting and the vibrant hands-on design processes. The newest book that I’m beyond in love with is Naive:  Modernism and Folklore in Contemporary Graphic Design. And I am thrilled and honored to have a selection of my posters in this book with an amazing collection of ridiculously talented artists from around the globe.

Published by the German art & design publishing & curration house Gestalten, they describe this beautiful book best:

“Naïve documents the extraordinary renaissance of Classic Modernism, from the 1940s to 1960s, in contemporary graphic design. This compilation introduces a new wave of young designers who are rediscovering the stylistic elements reminiscent of classic graphic design such as silkscreen printing, classical typography, hand lettering, woodcutting and folk art and integrating them into their work. Inspired by 20th Century American legends such as Saul Bass, Charley Harper and Alexander Girard, the burgeoning designers and their work showcased this in this book are inspiring, ranging from illustrations, poster art, editorials, book covers and record sleeves to stationary and textiles.”

Naïve is a seriously stunning book filled with jaw-dropping illustration and design work at every turn of the page. No foolin’. Naïve is available at Gestalten’s website, or Amazon, and book sellers near you.

Posters in the wild at the girlscantell office!

The super pretty girlscantell home offices, with posters.

The super pretty girlscantell home offices, with posters. Photo, courtesy of girlscantell.

One of my favorite people and one of my favorite blogs collided.

My friend Sarah, of girlscantell, the screenprinted housewares genius from my hometown of Philadelphia was featured this Thursday on the superblog Apartment Therapy for her beautifully appointed office space. Rocking color, warmth style, organization and personal touches, Sarah’s office looks amazing doesn’t it? I’m beyond flattered that she has chosen to add in not one, not two, but three of my posters into her already rad scheme. :blushes: I really love the vintage looking planter on her desk with the the aloe plant, it looks like a peaceful sea creature just hanging out on the desk, being awesome.

Not uh! 3 of my posters hanging out with Sarah at the girlscantell office.

Not uh! 3 of my posters hanging out with Sarah at the girlscantell office

Since I don’t hang and frame my own work at home, I never really get to see my prints and posters “in the wild” as it were. Sarah did a great job with these posters, I’m so honored. Thanks ladybug! And congratulations on the Apartment Therapy blog post too, extra cool.

Check out girlscantell’s Etsy shop, peruse girlscantell’s Flickr photos of her studio and her awesome work, and stop by the informative and super fun girlscantell blog here.

Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn, this weekend!

So go darn it!! RCF is in McCarren Park (but not in the pool this year) in lovely Brooklyn, NY.

Sadly, I won’t be attending or vending this year 🙁 due to other travel plans in June. And I’m so bummed because this year’s Renegade Craft Fair is the biggest and best looking offering of amazing handmade crafts, art to date. The offering of incredible work from the DIY and Handmade culture is just fantastic, and the Renegade Craft Fairs are the premiere shows loaded with international talent.

Seriously. I feel like a ghost and watching all of my crafty, arty friends are hanging out together. BooooOOOOoooo :rattleschanins:

So, since I can’t go, you go for me! Say hello to my friends below and spread the word. See you next year Brooklyn!

Some of my favorite artists and crafters whom you should check out & totally say HI! to for me:

Berkely Illustration – amazing animal and other illustrations.

Bossa Nova Baby – super fun hand screenprinted skirts, sewn embellishment and retro-cool accessories. (And one of the funniest people I know.)

Giant Dwarf – beautiful embellishments for your head, hair and heart.

Hero Design Studio – these guys are my stone cold BFFs. Amazing every which way, including loose.

Isle of Printing – quite possibly the best that there is out there. Ever.

Mat Daly – amazing printmaker and poster artist

Mogo – modern goods from scratch, and two of the coolest chicks ever.

Nina Dinoff – fantastic fresh modern jewelry

Orangyporangy – maker of the cutest skirts EVER.

Ragtrader Vintage – retro-awesome jewelry, and a Pittsburgher! This is her 2nd show ever, so be NICE damnit. 🙂

Seattle Show Posters – great prints and posters

Seibei – super fun shirts and a hoot of fella.

Tugboat – Huzzaah! Another fantastic Pittsburgh printshop. We’re loaded with ’em.

Twigs & Heather – incredible solid silver cast natural work. Unreal.

We Are Campfire – great dudes who make great threads.

The Who, What, Wheres:

This year’s event is taking place June 6 + 7 from 11am – 7pm, at McCarren Park. The full Artist list is up, so check it out and get a sneak peak at who will be there!

Phoenix – Super new releases of May, part three.

Part three, the final installment. Finally!! Parce que c’est trés bon!

Oui, the new Phoenix record is out.

Oui, the new Phoenix record is out.

Ahh, really, I feel like I shouldn’t even write and prattle on about this record. Instead, I just really urge you to listen. I mean, if mostly all that you dig is Black Metal, well, you might want to move along to something like Big Business’ new record. (And yes, I know that Big Business isn’t Black Metal, don’t be rude.)

But, if you’ve been on board with the previous two new releases of May here, get on the bag son. Wolfgang Amdeus Phoenix might be my favorite Phoenix record. Scratch that, it is my favorite.

Again, like the previous two records discussed (The Wooden Birds, Magnolia and Jason Lytle’s Yours Truly, The Commuter), Phoenix not only have continued the reincarnation theme that seems so prevalent this May, but more, they have done something super special, complete and lovely with their new record Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Sprite, multi-layered, poppy and webby like a giant tight rubber band, I think that you just need to listen. And, you can do so here on Myspace for free, of course. Or, you can purchase the record here on iTunes and support the band, or (gasp!) leave the house and find this record at your local indie music store.

I don’t know why this superbe French band sings in English, but I’m glad that they do. Though even if they sung en Français comme Stereolab, I’d still be singing along to every word phonetically. Phoenix is on tour in the US now (dates here), so give it a go if you’re lucky enough to live someplace where this quartet of awesome is landing for a night.

Some fun things always crop up on the Phoenix blog here, such as a few process photos from a screenprinted run of vinyl LP covers here (!) Don’t know who printed them, but I’d love to. Anyone out there know?

Close-up of screenprinted LP covers (yay!)

Close-up of screenprinted LP covers (yay!)

Jason Lytle – Super new music releases of May, part two.

And now, for part two of a probably just 3-part series of posts. Unless of course, you have a recommendation, then feel free to let me know of anything else released in May.

Yours Truly, The Commuter

Part two, and certainly not in any order at all, is Jason Lytle and his first solo record, Yours Truly, The Commuter, released by the fiercly rad ANTI. It’s a bit of a head-scratcher, really, as it feels like he’s released a solo record before. But he hasn’t. And this one is worth the wait. Ooooh yes.

Following the apparent theme of reincarnation for music in May this year, once again, you may feel this record sounds familiar, and I honestly hope that you do. That would mean that you are already familiar with Grandaddy, one of Lytle’s previous and superb band projects. Furthermore, if that’s the case, then you really ought to listen to, and will likely also love this first solo record Yours Truly, The Commuter as well.

Written, recorded, and sung by Lytle from every angle, as he played each instrument and sang all of the vocal tracks, it’s about as complete a record as one can get without being self-indulgent in any way. Again, we’re into editing, choices and commitment to a vision around here, and again, we love it when music is made with those sorts of internal parameters too.

Do you like thoughts of floating, flying, dreaming and falling in love all over again with the beloved pets that have moved onto the fields near The Rainbow Bridge? Then this record and Jason Lytle in general, are you for you. Bub.

Yours Truly, The Commuter is available at yoru local independent record stores, and also on iTunes with a bonus track “Weather Girl”. You can also listen to a few tracks for free on Myspace. And better, Jason Lytle is embarking on a great big US tour this summer, dates here, hopefully some are near you. Mad stoked for the Pittsburgh show at motherfreaking SANDCASTLE water slide park, what?!

And now, for the greatest interview on good songwriting ever:

The Wooden Birds – Super new music releases of May, part one.

So, around these parts? We love music. Stunning revelation, I know.

Also, around these parts, we love melodic, perhaps occasionally quiet, intentional, well constructed and pretty stuff too. Kinda like design, we appreciate restraint and the product of many choices, edits and vision. With that leaning, let me tell you, it’s a lovely month for music with two fantastic new and newly-incarnated, say reincarnated even, releases.

The Wooden Birds first record, Magnolia

The Wooden Birds first record, Magnolia

The first is The Wooden Birds‘ first record, Magnolia, put out by Barsuk records. Give a listen, fall in love, feel the eerie sweet. Sound slightly familiar? Ahh yes, then you also were a fan of The American Analog Set. A band dear to my heart. Andrew Kenny, of AmAnSet has moved home to Austin, TX, regrouped and formed a new band in The Wooden Birds. And! They are out on tour right now, dates listed here, so if you’re approving and inclined, go see them. They’re pretty great, and we can’t wait until we get a chance to see them ourselves. Magnolia is available on through Barsuk Records in the US, Morr Music in Europe, and on iTunes as well as your local independent record store. You can always listen for free at Myspace, if you think I’m joshing. (Which, come on…)

And, here’s a great little video of The Wooden Birds performing “Never Know” Cafe De La Danse in Paris, France, on 5/4/09.

Tomorrow: Super new releases of May, part two.

Gig Posters Volume 1: Rock Show Art of the 21st Century, new book!

It has finally arrived!

Gig Posters Vol. I book, chock full of 101 poster artists

Gig Posters Vol. I book, chock full of 101 poster artists

Freshly published and totally incredible. I’m so proud to be a part of this rad book, as is taken from the imaginations of, and containing the work and words of 101 working, contemporary and kickass rock poster artists from around the globe. All compiled into a nifty book format. Just for you! Each poster artist talks about their work, influences and process as well as providing a full page format, perforated page tear-out poster. It’s a lot of awesome, and not just because I’m in it. In fact, I would venture to say despite the fact that I’m in this book.

Published just this May, you can now find this fantastic book at booksellers everywhere. Or, you can order a copy from the following websites:

Directly from me, at my website here, NOTE: personalized and autographed by me, just for you, with a bonus set of stickers, over 15 designs in all.

Directly from the author at Gigposters.com here. NOTE: BONUS ART PRINTS (While Supplies Last!!):
Order now from GigPosters.com and receive an exclusive limited edition screenprinted art print by Jay Ryan! Jay has created 3 different 10″x13″ art prints for the book release. The first 900 orders get free art prints! (300 of each) *Order the 3-pack to assure you get one of each art print!*

Directly from the publisher, at Quirk Books here.

Directly from the publisher, at Chronicle Books here.

Publisher’s description: 11×14 inches, paperback, 208 pages.

Since 2001 Gigposters.com has been the Internet’s first and best resource for rock-show poster art; their massive online database showcases more than 90 000 posters from 7 000 different designers including all of today’s top poster studios. Gig Posters Volume I highlights the 700+ best examples in their collection including 101 perforated and ready-to-hang posters for bands such as Radiohead Wilco the Decemberists the Shins Arcade Fire Sleater-Kinney and TONS more. Packaged in an oversized 11-by-14-inch paperback, Gig Posters Volume I is a spectacular compilation of rock show art (and one hell of a cheap way to decorate a dorm room or apartment). Author Clay Hayes is the founder and proprietor of Gigposters.com. He lives in Alberta, Canada.

Designers included in Volume I:

3d Glasses, Adam Turman, Aesthetic Apparatus, Alan Forbes, Allen Jaeger, Amy Jo, Andrio Abero, Andy Vastagh, Beyond The Pale, Billy Perkins, Bobby Dixon, Bongout, Brad Klausen, Brian Ewing, Budai, Burlesque of North America, Casey Burns, Cricket Press, Crosshair, Dale Flattum, Dan Grzeca, Dan McCarthy, Dan Stiles, Daniel Danger, Delicious, Denny Schmickle, Diana Sudyka, Dirk Fowler, Drew Millward, Drowning Creek Studio, DWITT, Eleanor Grosch, Emek, Engine House 13, FarmBarn Art Co., Firehouse, Furturtle Printworks, Gary Houston, Gregg Gordon, Guy Burwell, Hero Design Studio, Invisible Creature, Ironforgepress, James Rheem Davis, Jamie Ward, Jared Connor, Jason Goad, Jay Ryan, Jay Vollmar, Jeph, Jermaine Rogers, Joanna Wecht, Johnny Crap, Jon Smith, Josh Rickun, Judge, Justin Hampton, Justin Kamerer, Largemammal Print, Leia Bell, Lil Tuffy, Little Jacket, Lonny Hurley, Lonny Unitus, Luke Drozd, Lure Design, Malleus, Mark Pedini, Mat Daly, Methane Studios, Micah Smith, Michael Michael Motorcycle, Mig Kokinda, Mike King, Nate Duval, Patent Pending, Powerhouse Factories, Powerslide Design Co., Print Mafia, Rob Jones, Ron Liberti, Ryan Nole, Sasha Barr, Scrojo, Seripop, Squad 19, Stainboy, Steve Walters, strawberryluna, Tanxxx, Tara McPherson, The Decoder Ring Design Concern, The Heads Of State, The Little Friends Of Printmaking, The Small Stakes, Thomas Scott, Tim Gough, Todd Slater, Vahalla Studios, Zach Hobbs, Zeloot

Thoughful oversized, yet lap-fitting dimensions of the new Gig Posters Vol. I book.

Thoughful oversized, yet conveniently lap-fitting dimensions of the new Gig Posters Vol. I book by Clay Hayes.

The Cat House On The Kings: kitty sanctuary from heaven

Absolute kitty-cat heaven exists!

And it’s called “The Cat House On The Kings” , located in Parlier, California, the  amazing Cat House On The Kings is a no-kill, and (more amazingly) no cage, fully free-roam cat rescue, shelter, sanctuary, and adoption facility.

Think that it sounds incredible? Check out this lovely short video below about the place and its owner Lynea Lattanzio made by Jack Perez. Since 1997, twelve acres of beautiful indoor and outdoor space has housed over 18,000 cats and over 5,00o dogs while helping to find as many of them forever homes as possible. For animals that cannot be placed, The Cat House On The Kings will become their permanent homes.

The Cat House On The Kings on donations of money and supplies, sponsors, and volunteers, and they are always looking for new ways to help raise the funds needed to keep this special and successful animal shelter, in the truest sense of the word, going strong. Spread the word!

To learn more about The Cat House On The Kings and to make a donation or contribution visit them here.

Doodle Time: Ginko edition

Sketch of upright green & yellow Ginko leaves and some unnaturally colored berries.

Sketch of upright green & yellow Ginko leaves and some unnaturally colored berries.

I’ve been obsessed with the shapes of Ginko leaves for about as long as I can remember, having grown up around them. The tree species was one of a great handful introduced to the United States via my hometown of Philadelphia by avid botanist and horticulturist named William Hamilton in 1784. Other than the admittedly terrible smell of the berries dropped by the female trees, they are simply incredible and beautiful.

Falling Ginko leaves and berries gathering on the ground.

Falling Ginko leaves and berries gathering on the ground.

Last week I started sketching and doodling with some variations on Ginko leaves, berries and textures. Here are a few of those doodles, designs, sketches, what have you, and I also put them all up on both my Flickr account and over in my Spoonflower portfolio as well. Feel free to comment and let me know which you like best, or, conversely, if you think they stink like a Ginko berry.

The further I went, the more it not only felt nice to be sketching, but it felt as though I was working on a textile pattern, perhaps bedding. Which, is extra nice. Sleeping is nice, and I’ve always been very interested in textiles, fabric, bed inens and their design. Odd, maybe. But true nonetheless. Still, it’s clear that I need to learn a good deal more about how to make repeating patterns. Even so, I figured sharing the designs might be fun.

Sort of a free-for-all in color, texture, and overprinty-ness.

Sort of a free-for-all in color, texture, and overprinty-ness.

The Ginko is an incredibily ancient species, with fossils dating back to the Permian period, some 270 million years ago. Amazingly, the Ginko’s loveliness  almost died out, only to persist in such small numbers that the species is listed as a living fossil. There is something very comforting and assuring to me about the lovely fact that something so beautiful could last for so long and throughout so many massive changes.

Yes, I am corny like that.

New poster released: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin! (yay!)

Hand screenprinted poster for the neato Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

Hand screenprinted spring tour poster for the neato Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

Good grief, we loved Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin‘s music before they ever played Pittsburgh. And now, we like ’em even more. Smart sweethearts, every one of ’em. They might be the best band that not enough people have heard. For realsies, so go listen. Don’t fret, they will be out on tour again soon.

This hand screenprinted and emotional poster is my 2-color fella with sad blue and black inks. Edition of 150, with 100 copies going to the band. Size: 16w x 22h inches. Paper: acid-free & archival Cougar 100 lb White, cover weight. Available at my website here, and soon, at the SSLYBY’s Super Store, once they’re home from tour and it’s back up & running. And, as per my usual dweebyness, here are some process photos I took while printing their poster at AIR here for you on my Flickr page.

And here’s a photo of 2 SSLYBYs and 2 Drew Danburrys in the King’s Monroeville parking lot on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Horsing around.

Horsing around.

Fresh Del The Funky Homosapien & Sigur Ros coolness

Two cool and fresh things musically that you should be aware of this week:

Sigur Ros, performing in the small Parisian restuarant, la Closerie des Lilas

Sigur Ros, performing in the small Parisian restuarant, la Closerie des Lilas

1. The hauntingly excellent Sigur Ros‘ appearance on the Paris-based fantastic music + performance blog La Blogotheque‘s super dupes Les Concerts A Emporter, aka in English Takeaway Shows. If you are not familiar with the Takeaway Shows, well, here is your chance to get cozy with one of the most fun, creative and intimate things going on with current music. Filmmaker Vincent Moon shoots bands performing acoustically in an ever-changing array of impromptu and unexpected places from small Parisian alleys (Of Montreal vs Axe Riverboy), to hotel rooms (Tom Jones), to an abandoned turn-of-the-century exhibition hall (The Fleet Foxes) and in this case Sigur Ros sitting in booths and playing at the very small, very old, and exceptionally traditional Paris restaurant la Closerie des Lilas. Check out Sigur Ros’ Takeaway Show here.

Del The Funky Homosapiens stimulus package, Funk Man

Del The Funky Homosapien's stimulus package, Funk Man

2. Hell yes! Del The Funky Homosapien is making his new bag of tricks, Funk Man available for a free download. I’m listening to it now, and it is awesome. Click download, enter your email address and zippy little link for you to get your own free copy of funky stimulus is yours. Thanks Del! Get your Funk Man on here.

Huge letterpress wood type collection for sale

I adore, love, and go weak at the knees for letterpress prints. It’s just a lovely printmaking process and produces gorgeous results. This massive set of wood type for sale caught my eye. This is an outstanding collection of antique and modern letterpress wood type, and to the best of my knowledge, still available. The below is copied and reposted from Steven Heller’s blog The Daily Heller.

Malcolm Dean spent many years assembling his incredible wood type collection, and it’s still a work in progress–or it can be, for some appreciative soul or institution.  “What I learned is that a collection, like any work of art, is alive, and grows and changes according to the attention you give it,” he says. “If I had the time, I’d cull some sections of the collection, and build others up, especially the strong simple faces I like best–the antiques, the gothics, the early Page fonts, and especially those of Vanderburgh & Wells. I’d gradually move the collection toward the goal I once had in mind: a thousand fonts that represent the designs I most love.” But he no longer has the time. Now, he’d like to find a good home for the collection with someone “who will appreciate it, and care for it, and carry it forward.”

He is looking for a buyer.

The collection as it stands now is about one third historic and fancy fonts, one third modern 20th century fonts, and one third gothics. It fills eleven cabinets, including three large Hamilton wood type cabinets, seven regular Hamilton cabinets, and one roll-top cabinet. Also included are two smaller collections, one of borders, catchwords, and ornaments, and one of sorts, as well as several wood type catalogs and books and a 36-inch wood type composing stick from the old print shop at St. Meinrad’s Abbey Press.

To obtain a PDF prospectus offering of his massive and impressive holdings contact Mr. Dean at malcolmdean@mac.com

Some friends  and cool places whose contemporary letterpress work & contributions that we adore here at strawberryluna:

Dirk Fowler

Anne Benjamin

Hatch Show Print

Hamilton Wood Type Printing Museum

Thank you Austin Texas!

Man, whew! I’m beyond tired. We had such a great time at this year’s SXSW Music Festival and Flatstock Poster Convention in good ol’ Austin, Texas.

Lots and lots to tell, but overall the show was really successful. I feel like we all got to talk to a lot of new folks, see some happily familiar faces and once again get people jazzed about posters and music and the art in between them. Such a great feeling. Especially since the Flatstock show was 4 days long this year, up from the former 3-day event.

Dan, from Crosshair Press, photo by Mary Sledd

Dan, cool cat from Crosshair, photo by Mary Sledd

The Austin Chronicle’s Audra Schroeder wrote up a very nice piece about Flatstock and it’s tradition with SXSW here with some super photographs accompanying the article by Mary Sledd, above and below.

Me, strawberryluna, doin my thing. Photo by Mary Sledd.

Me, strawberryluna, doin' my thing. Photo by Mary Sledd.

Dave Witt, being awesome. Photo by Mary Sledd.

Dave Witt, being awesome. Photo by Mary Sledd.

Flatstock is a really crazy mix of super hard work and high-energy talking, particularly the SXSW version and then…so much fun. We bunked up with our best pals from Hero Design Studio, as per usual, and the laughs seriously never stop. Just when you think it’s bedtime and you can’t take any more? BOOM. The North American Free Trade Agreement becomes the funniest thing to happen all week.

Studios we adored hanging out with afterhours and that you should check out: Mike Budai, Delicious Design League, Design Medicine, Doublenaut, DWITT, Hero Design Studio, Largemammal, Brian MercerMiss Amy Jo, Popfuel, and good ol’ Dan Stiles,

Places we ate, and so should you when in the Austin area: Juan in A Million, The Salt Lick, Rudy’s BBQ, Mama Fu’s (they delivered to us in the Convention Center, thank you forever!)

We loved Austin so much that we made a very special stop at Cavender’s Boot City in Austin (with the world’s loudest women’s rest room EVER) on the way to taking our good friends, the Doublenauts to the airport on our last full day in town. Check out the boots that I could not pass up.

Takin a little bit of Texas home with me.

Takin' a little bit of Texas home with me.

Hope to see you all next year!