Studio Notes #50

Hello, Marvelous People. Here's issue #50 of Studio Notes™—quick bits delivered to you each Friday.

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Why are videos of people cleaning things up so satisfying? Rugs that go from solid brown to their original, jewel-toned art; mowing lawns, washing cars, etc...Maybe it's the feeling of accomplishment we get without having to actually do anything. Whatever it is, I thoroughly enjoyed watching this complete restoration of an original Spy Hunter arcade machine from 1983. I loved this game as a kid, and was pretty terrible at it. The level of care put into making one of these classics new again is inspiring.

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Artist, Leo Jones, creates stunning wood-carved ocean wave pieces. Realistically capturing the motion, light, and randomness of moving water from a block of wood is pretty darn impressive.

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You probably won't see this on many EDC lists, but if you're really into ketchup, Heinz made a keychain that cuts and squeezes ketchup packets for you so that no condiment is left behind. The bigger win is keeping your fingers free of ketchup. They made this back in 2021 and I have no idea if it's still available, but the fact that it was designed and manufactured for real is giving me a real boost this morning. And I only enjoy ketchup a normal, average amount.

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I knew it would be sad, but didn't anticipate the level of sadness it'd stir up. It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley is a proper documentary about Jeff's life (which was too brief) and his music (which was extraordinary). I didn't realize how fractured his relationship (or lack thereof) with his father was, and just how tormented he was toward the end (likely from untreated mental illness). But also how little that had to do with how he died, which sounds like just a horribly tragic accident. On top of all that, we hear glimpses of what that second album was shaping up to be—and man...that's tough. A highlight for me was the footage from his solo live shows at NYC's Sin-e club, shocking the audience with those early version of his songs. And hearing about his vocal inspirations that make so much sense after learning them (e.g. Nina Simone, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan). ★★★½

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What are you working on?

Secret Type Club members! We're going to do a little type walk in Boston on Sunday October 12th. The current plan is to meet and walk the Freedom Trail with cameras and hunt for interesting type. Then retire in a pub for a beverage. In the Boston area that weekend? Join us! Details will be shared in the STC Slack (which you can access as a Gold member—I know, sneaky :)

Hang in there, and hope you get to do something just for you this weekend.

Cheers,