~ Note: I want you all to know that I am making this newsletter instead of working on my octopus costume. You’re welcome. ~
And Now!!… Fun stuff for your Friday…
Zombie typefaces are pretty Halloween, right? The story of Doves typeface is a tale of creative collaboration gone horribly horribly wrong.
Two men at the peak of the Arts & Crafts movement hand carve a gorgeous typeface. One wants to keep traditional analogue craftsmanship alive while the other embraces the technological innovation of mechanized printing. In secret, the jealous, technophobic partner flings the metal typeface plates from London’s Hammersmith bridge. A century later, the metal plates are painstakingly recovered by divers and the legendarily beautiful typeface is now available online. A perfect resurrection story for this wyrd weekend.
http://www.typespec.co.uk/recovering-the-doves-type/
Back when I was a so-called artisan, I was pretty bad at sticking to one medium. Polymorphous interests and a dash of ADHD might be great qualities in a digital communications/new media-maker. But, in retail, the lag between ‘aha!’ and ‘ka-ching’ was an agonizingly long a wait for a speed queen like me. I made a lot of ‘extreme limited editions’ —aka groovy prototypes— that never made it to the production stage. For instance I spent one winter in Lesotho making a series of one-of-a-kind handbags out of silkscreened retro African textiles. This week, the ultra chic and super creative Pixie Johnson turned me on to this site, featuring the stories contained within fabrics that originated in Holland and were naturalized by African fashionistas. Viva, remix culture.
Unsung hero of conservation Ian McTaggart Cowan is the mother of many a pipeline-fighting, First Nations-allying, absurdly large beard-wearing activist. Not only did McTaggart Cowan produce a wildly popular, pioneering nature TV series that spawned David Suzuki’s the ‘Nature of Things’, he inspired the author Briony Penn to pursue her passion for conservation. Now Penn brings us the authorized biography of McTaggart Cowan with “The Real Thing: A Natural History of Ian McTaggart Cowan“. Don’t miss book launches in Vancouver (November 7th) and on Salt Spring (Nov 3rd), among other locations in BC. Find an event near you!
Congratulations winners of Salt Spring’s first SS National Art Prize. I voted for “The Death of Mr. Wolf” by Eric Button. See more of his work here: http://artstore.wssf.com/products/eric-button-wolf.
Finally, my friends, can we celebrate the wreck of the government that was Stephen Harper’s? Though it’s not directly about the Canadian election, this great piece in the Guardian was caustically charming enough to prevent me from posting a dismal lament similar to what many progressives were sharing on social media: “but isn’t Justin just Capitalism with a pretty face?!” Read it. Then don’t weep: go get yourself some damn candy, it’s been a tough month!!!!
“every four years we are asked if we want to have our foot trod upon or sawed off at the ankle without anaesthetic. The usual reply on the left is that there’s no difference between the two experiences and they prefer that Che Guevara give them a spa pedicure.” — the great Rebecca Solnit
R.I.P. Harperman. Have a fun weekend and remember: use a rake. Leaf blowers are the yardwork equivalent of idling your SUV.