Studio Notes #57

Hello, Compadres. Here's issue #57 of Studio Notes™—quick bits delivered to you each Friday.

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For their 70th anniversary, The Jim Henson Company is auctioning off hundreds of amazing puppets and props from various Muppet shows and movies. Prices are, of course, insane already—but it's fun to browse through. A genuine puppet from Emmet Otter's Jugband?! Uncle Matt from Fraggle Rock?! If you have deep pockets, let us know if you end up with the Goblin Helmet from Labyrinth or the literal crystal from The Dark Crystal. (Hat tip to Jan-Paul from Secret Club)

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Prixel looks to be a cool way of creating lo-fi, DIY stamp art. The magnetic baseplate and clear acrylic so you can see where you're stamping looks pretty ingenious. Pixel art vibes.

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Mega photography YouTuber, Peter McKinnon on how handwriting letters can change your life. Nothing beats tactile in-hand communication. I wish my handwriting was better than it is. All-caps scrawler over here that needs some practice and a broad nib fountain pen.

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Visited Chicago last weekend and tried something new this time. I'm already a fan of Portillo's hot dogs, and Giordano's deep dish from previous trips (I'm sure there are others that locals would recommend) but this time had Al's Italian Beef. I ordered it sweet (green peppers) and dipped (whole sandwich briefly submerged in the thin gravy the beef stews in). It was outrageously good. Here on the North Shore of Massachusetts we have dozens of “famous” roast beef sandwich shops, but I never really got into them, as the meat is always essentially raw. Or it at least appears that way. If you order “well done”, they'll grill it a little and make it edible. However, none of that matters as Chicago beef is far superior in my humble opinion.

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What are you working on?

Tomorrow is the 2 year anniversary of the release of Wilco Loft Sans. Still one of my favorite projects. In a serendipitous coincidence Mel and I did a quick trip to Chicago last weekend and—after deep dish and the aforementioned Italian beef—we were grateful to visit The Loft (Wilco's recording studio and HQ) to see the infamous GUITAR sign in person. Seeing the letters up close that inspired the typeface that we made was an amazing experience. Thank you Mark and Crystal for letting us peek into where the magic happens.

I love that G even more after seeing it up close.

Have a great weekend, and see you back here next Friday.

Cheers,