Mad Days

 

I have been working on a Mad Men themed invite this week. The wonderful Mo, a friend of Mount Street Printers, lent me these great original Lucky Strike adverts to scan in. I am waiting for my order of Mad Men series 4 to arrive from Amazon at the end of the month, and I am so looking forward to it! I might take up drinking scotch, but I think I'll leave the cigarettes.

Happy St Patrick's Day!

I designed this snake to wrap around the existing Zuma logo a few months ago. The client came in with the idea after being inspired by Google's themed logos on their home page. It was die-stamped in green, gold and red at the top of an invitation to a jungle themed party. Very fitting for St Patrick's Day too!

St. Patrick’s Day Greetings from Ryantown

“You can do a lot with a small brain” is a sentiment that simultaneously makes me smile and gives me solace. Wise words make a healthy appearance in prolific artist, Rob Ryan’s work; who is known for his intricate paper-cut art. It is an art famed for it’s intense skill and patience; hours of painstaking cutting, hunched over a table, scalpel blades aplenty. And yet, Rob’s work is still infused with a wonderful sense of spontaneity, and playfulness. Rob’s hand-holding, ladder-climbing lovers remind me of the scene in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, when Holly Go Lightly suggests they spend the day “doing things they have never done before!”. Which culminates with Holly and her young gigolo friend having a rare old time, running down the street wearing cat masks stolen from the five & dime store.

I have long been a fan of Rob’s and nearly fell off my seat when he called me at work one day to enquire about bespoke envelopes with printed lining paper for one of his VIP clients. With a few of these envelope orders now under our belts I am very pleased to have made it onto Rob’s St. Patrick’s Day list! Above is this years offering and below is last years. I am planning on putting my small brain to work and framing them - but the problem is they are so lovely inside and out! What is a girl to do!? but, add them to box 59 in a series of 200, containing beautiful printed ephemera...

Follow this link to Rob’s blog where you can read an eloquent account of his love for the paper-cut art form. And, there really is nothing better than hanging out on Columbia Road of a Sunday and having a peek inside Rob’s shop, Ryantown.

"The sea oh the sea, Gradh Geal Mo Croide*. Long my it flow between England and me.

Pity the Scotsman, he'll never be free. But we're surrounded entirely by water"

*"Great Joy of My Heart"

Blood, Sweat and Golden Ink

As well as designing and typesetting, I spend part of my day advising clients on the technicalities and limitations of printing. Which, depending on the client or project, can sometimes get quite complex. Calligrapher, Paul Antonio’s projects usually gravitate towards the feat-of-engineering-spectrum of print. He never fails to surprise me with the crazy things he wants to get on paper.

The execution of the above invite was a collaborative effort between three companies. Paul Antonio (design and calligraphy), Cutture (intricate laser cutting) and Mount Street Printers (gold die-stamped text). Read more about the creative and technical processes from Paul’s perspective here.

Like all good invites, the party, hosted by Javier and Tony at By Appointment Only Design, lived up to everyone's expectations!


Read all about the party at Annabel Beeforth's wedding blog Love My Dress.

A Belated Post in Honour of International Women's Day

I love these regal statues I found in a park in Ville-Franche-sur-Mer last year. I admire their poise, strength and defiant stance. The pictures were taken with the Hipstamatic app on my iphone.

I like the free, fresh wind in my hair, life without care...

I love living in London. I like the hustle and bustle; the Dickensian grime; the cacophony of noises; the barrage of smells; I love London, warts and all.

But the one thing I really miss, is the sea.

And while the sea in Dublin is alright, give me the sea in the South of France any day! When looking wistfully at the latest Stella Artois poster on a tube platform, I was reminded of these photos I had taken on my last trip. Just imagine the sound of waves lapping against the shore, the clinking of boats and tucking into some huge, fresh gambas! with a glass of pale pink Rosé ...Heaven!!

Tidy Up Time

Much to her chagrin, I used to coerce my sister into playing a childhood game of my own invention entitled "Tidy-Up-Time". I still have a tidying fetish, not so much the act of tidying, but the end result of basking in the neatness. A tendency which, in part, compelled me to pursue a career in graphic design; a profession hinged on the art of arranging images and words to convey a message. More often than not, in a neat manner.

Simply entitled Things Organized Neatly, this website is a haven for neat freaks everywhere. If you like neatness you will have hours of fun here. As my eye rests on each image I feel a lovely wave of calm wash over me...