Studio Notes #95

☕️

At first, I was admiring the retro branding and site for Orange Handle Coffee, and then realized it was a company devoted entirely to decaf (diners often used orange handles on decaf pots so as not to mix them up with the high-test stuff). And that's okay! Because I drink (mostly) decaf. Too much caffeine fuels my anxiety and messes with my heart rhythm, etc. Anyway, I'm a dedicated coffee drinker, even making my own espresso drinks at home—just in (mostly) decaffeinated form. I'd like to try Orange Handle to see if the beans live up to the branding.

🎒

The unfortunately-named FattyPack is a micro wallet that folds up around thin straps like on the back of a baseball hat. I can't decide if this is genius or really really tacky.

🏄‍♂️

I love thoughtfully-designed, one-use, single-page websites. The latest? Dollar Slice by Scott Jehl. It does one thing extremely well: Tells you the surf report in New York City with some unique style (yes, surfing in NYC is a real thing!). I would love a site like this for North Shore Massachusetts fishing reports.

🦌

I stumbled on (algorithm actually worked?!) the brand new Instagram account of a 16 year old kid from England who is seemingly conjuring all the incredible folk greats we've ever heard. All in a few fragmented videos of unfinished original songs. There's something really magical about it all. And it's unsurprising to see famous names sprinkled in the comments who agree. Keep an ear on Todd Crozier.

This Week’s Poll

Last week, I asked what the most historically-accurate movie set in Egypt is, and I was pleased y'all understood the assignment, voting Abbot & Costello Meets the Mummy and Stargate as the winners.

Danmade This Week

I'm making progress on the additional weights for Hubano, now working on numbers and special characters. It's been nice to take something old, making it better, fixing little things along the way.

In other unimportant news, I threw in the towel on my beloved sparkle icon as the subtle branding touch for Secret Club™. It's still a favorite emoji ✨ but alas, AI has completely taken over its meaning. So, I've replaced it with...the venerable and powerful bolt of electricity ⚡️which you'll now see tucked in here and there around the site/emails/etc. Let no one take it from us! Plus it looks like an S. May all your work be electric.

Have a great week, folks, and see you next Friday ✌️

Cheers,