Hello, Good People. Here's issue #16 of Studio Notes—quick bits delivered to you each Friday. This is a weekly newsletter that I'm publishing here on the blog as well. You should subscribe if haven't already :)


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I've long been a fan of surf music and had a brief stint playing drums in a local band in the mid-90s. I love reverb. Every once in a while I'll go down a rabbit hole into that world and recently that led me to a few cool things worth mentioning. I stumbled on The Surfrajettes from Toronto, who play original surf instrumentals. They are fantastic, and have great branding and gear collabs as well. Which led me to Creston Electric in Vermont, where Creston Lea makes incredible, original guitars that have a foothold in vintage. He's made custom instruments for scores of famous musicians. Love his work, and that led to me grabbing a Tele-style guitar of his that has a lap steel pickup at the bridge. Anyway, for the non-music-nerds out there: The important takeaway bit is that great branding + great craftsmanship = something special. I love finding independent folks making niche things they love with utility and purpose.


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My latest go-to music to work to: Khruangbin. I'll never pronounce it correctly. I'm late to the game, but the minimal, laid-back groove and heavy use of reverb is a perfect companion to work mode. Sometimes instrumental, or with sparse vocals. This band nails a very specific vibe with elements of soul, funk, jazz, even surf. Today's theme is apparently reverb.


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I'm a big fan of the show Severance, and now that Season 2 is out, it's reignited my appreciation for Lumon's design. The logo, the office. I want all the branded office products they show in drawers and the supply closet. Those sweet blue Lumon pens and erasers. The aesthetic reminds me of all the great Braun designs from 20th century. I hope working at Braun wasn't at all like working at Lumon, however.

What are you working on?

We launched our latest typeface, Spagetty, earlier this week. I hope it's obvious the name is intentionally misspelled :) Naming fonts something unique is a challenge, and an intentional misspell is funny solution. Anyway, I also put up some genuine, custom Dunlop guitar picks in the shop featuring the new typeface.

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