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PERFECTION IS STANDARD, MISTAKES COST EXTRA
If you’re around the Chelsea area in the next few days, stop by the Joshua Liner Gallery to check out the ICY sign shop with work by Sean Barton, Lew Blum, Justin Green, Mike Lee, Dan Murphy, Steve Powers, Alexis Ross, and Matt Wright. In addition to the work along the walls and the tornado of grocery style signs, there are work tables and nooks set up in a carefully curated chaos (the flotsam and jetsam accumulated throughout the course of the show). The most interesting parts are the stray bits, the practice marks, doodles, and guidelines that are normally invisible or go unnoticed in a finished sign. ICY makes…
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TIPOGRAFIA ARNO
While wandering around in Florence (trying to avoid the Road World Championship) I walked by a printing studio on Via Guelfa. Raul, the printer inside, beckoned me in and showed me around as he set my name on a composing stick. We talked about Lou Reed and then I was on my way. Tipografia Arno Via Guelfa 38R Firenze 50129 Italia
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VINTAGE BASEBALL TEES
This cache of vintage tees was recently rediscovered at the bottom of a drawer upstate. In the 80s, my uncle (an incredible sports photographer and writer who has photographed for the USTA and Nike) frequented a custom shirt kiosk at the mall. These are some of the gems he made (note the fuzzy Cooper Black type and pre-photoshop hand cutting and pasting of images):
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VERNACULAR TYPOGRAPHY IN JAPAN
Vernacular Typography tees, stationery (and unsanctioned totes) are now available at Abahouse in Japan. Check out their posts with more pictures here and here. Retailers interested in carrying the tees and stationery line can contact hello (at) vernaculartypography (dot) com for more information or to request a lookbook.
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VERNACULAR TYPOGRAPHY x TWITTER
Vernacular Typography is now on Twitter (@VernacularType). It will be a daily (or daily-ish) look at found lettering and design from New York City and beyond.
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VERNACULAR TYPOGRAPHY TEES
The first line of Vernacular Typography t-shirts is now available through Homestead LTD in Japan. US ordering information and other inquiries can be sent to hello[at]vernaculartypography[dot]com. Hats, bags, and other things forthcoming. These shirts are soft. Like really soft.
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ISRAEL PREVIEW
A preview of the new Israel section soon to be added to the main archive. Typography and lettering from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Ein Gedi, Tzfat, Golan Heights, Negev Desert, random kibbutzim, and other places. If you’re interested in supporting Vernacular Typography, consider making a donation to the project through Artspire & New York Foundation for the Arts 501(c)3 HERE. All contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
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SUGAR HIGH
c. 1995. Pencil on lined paper with mysterious water stains, 7.5 in x 10.5 in. Private Collection
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GOODBYE CONEY ISLAND
Summer is gone and so is Coney Island as I remember it. Coney Island was once populated by an incredible landscape of signs and symbols. The few storefronts that retain their unique signage seem more and more endangered with every visit. In 2004, a Creative Time initiative attempted to revive the fading signscape. A group of 25 artists formed The Dreamland Artsits Club and hand painted murals in the area as well as signs for local businesses. Sadly, even many of those have since disappeared or have become isolated fragments. Despite neighborhood opposition, development corporations continue to homogenize and strip Coney Island of its personality, replacing beautiful and inventive lettering…
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WOODSIDE PRESS
I just picked up some letterpress invitations printed at the incredible Woodside Press in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The press originally opened in 1993 in Woodside, Queens after acquiring equipment from the American Type Founders Company liquidation. In 1998, they moved to their current space, which is filled to the brim with amazing type paraphernalia and not just one, but two Linotype machines. They were nice enough to let me look around at some of their amazing stuff. Click through for more
Letterforms in the Urban Environment
