Studio Notes
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Apr 25, 2025
Studio Notes #29
Hey there, Creative Creatures. Here's issue #29 of Studio Notes—quick bits delivered to you each Friday.
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I watch a lot of YouTube boating and sailing channels, and long ago had asked Brian of the famed SV Delos what brand of wide brim hat he was wearing while sailing around the world. They had been out of stock for quite a while, but are finally back and I can confirm the WindSun™ Hat by Tahoe Blue Gear is the ultimate summer hat. UV protection, water-friendly, packable, crushable, floats, etc. Plus it has that stretchy band that keeps it on your head in a super-comfortable way. Like those surfer straw hats but way more versatile, durable, and made by hand on Lake Tahoe by a small company.
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It's baseball season, and I stumbled on this little company that makes neat baseball scoring tools. The THIRTY81 Scorekeeper Survival Kit is a stealthy little system with tiny scorecards for multiple games and pencils—everything you need in your pocket. I haven't scored a game from the stands since I was a kid, but maybe it's time to give a whirl again.
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Unfortunately it's currently sold out, but Shift Happens by Marcin Wichary looks to be an incredibly detailed book that, "...tells the story of keyboards like no book ever before, covering 150 years from the early typewriters to the pixellated keyboards in our pockets." Let's hope it gets a reprint soon! The website has a lot of fun touches as well for letter/typing/keyboard nerds.
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Clearly a sign I'm getting older, I now pay attention to...birds. Their sounds, colors, flight patterns. The Merlin Bird ID app makes identifying them magical. It's like Shazam for birds: Just hit record and it'll almost-instantly let you know what bird it hears. Yay birds.
What are you working on?
Finishing up the photography and shop admin for the new merch goods coming next week! I hope to send an announcement (with a discount!) next week. I'm particularly excited about these new items because the quality bar has been raised quite a bit. Can't wait to share them.
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Apr 18, 2025
Studio Notes #28
Greetings, Wonderful Folks. Here's issue #28 of Studio Notes—quick bits delivered to you each Friday.
🖼️
To celebrate their 10th anniversary, The Letterform Archive is putting together a special 10 × 10 for 10 exhibition where they're curating 100 of their "most beloved" graphic art artifacts. Iconic type specimens and ancient examples—I need to get back to San Francisco between the end of the month and October to see this in person.
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An oddly calming yet sad collection of photos of abandoned theaters across America. I don't recall where I saw this linked recently, but thank you to that person.
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Drew Struzan: The Man Behind Your Favorite Childhood Movie Posters. The Goonies, Blade Runner, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, etc. Drew's illustrative, painting style defined the way movies were advertised. Iconic! And still copied to this day. (via kottke.org)
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This little video of Hollywood actors, Deborah Ann Woll and Jon Bernthal, is maybe the best example of how Dungeons & Dragons works. I haven't played in a very long time, but if Deb is Dungeon Master—count me in.
What are you working on?
I've been working with a local printer on some new tees and hats because...healthy distraction. And they're almost ready! Watch this space for a tariff-free collection dropping soon.
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Apr 11, 2025
Studio Notes #27
Hello, Creative Amigos. Here's issue #27 of Studio Notes—quick bits delivered to you each Friday.
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Last month on the Women Designers You Should Know podcast, host Amber Asay talks to Amy & Jen Hood about the legendary Susan Kare. Susan's pioneering design work at Apple for the original Macintosh has always been such a massive inspiration to me. A big bonus is getting the Hoodzpah origin story as well, who continue to crank out amazing branding and type work.
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One of my top favorite movies is Interstellar. "Emotional sci-fi" is a genre I tend to gravitate to (pun intended). If you're also a fan, you might dig this faithful recreation of the watch that appeared in the movie on the wrist of main character Murph. With the word ‘Eureka’ printed in Morse code in lacquer on the seconds hand. It'd be neat if they intentionally made the seconds hand jump around randomly to make you think Cooper was trying to communicate you from the future.
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Crossover is a fun app from Robb Knight that lets you answer, "Where else have I seen that actor?" Pick two TV shows and it'll show you the actors that crossover both. There's even a version for medical shows, specifically.
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This explanation of why we have ocean tides from Neil deGrasse Tyson kind of blew my mind. The tides don't actually come in or go out, but rather the Earth rotates into a fixed "bulge" between it and the moon.
What are you working on?
After finishing the Cartridge update, I'm now back chipping away at Scorekard. I dug up some old art and gave it new life to take a few of the letters for a spin. The knot, for those wondering, if the mighty Bowline Knot (pronounced boh-lynn). It's a classic sailing knot good for creating a super-strong loop.
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Apr 4, 2025
Studio Notes #26
Hello, Design Pals. Here's issue #26 of Studio Notes—quick bits delivered to you each Friday. This one is particularly media-heavy, which could be due to US news distraction efforts. Hold Fast, friends.
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I'm somewhat of a hypochondriac, so it's puzzling why I would watch a hospital drama. I suppose I did enjoy ER and Grey's Anatomy. But those are feather-light in comparison to HBO's The Pitt, which covers a 15-hour shift at a fictional emergency room in Pittsburgh. It's pretty riveting television. Great writing, great acting—in particular Noah Wyle (who also starred in ER and could probably just be a real doctor at this point) and Taylor Deardon. What's remarkable about this show is how realistic and accurate it is in portraying how an emergency room feels. And it's relentless pace and the weaving of storylines into the cadence of patients coming and going. The realism goes into every part of the episodes. So, it can be a bit graphic. And the themes are tough. But if you can stomach it, these characters are worth it.
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Growing up, I always wanted to be a “comic book person”. It never really stuck though, except for a brief stint in the late 80s/early 90s when I got really into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Not the colorful, kids cartoony version, but the original, black + white, gritty, messily-drawn one. I loved the art style and line work, and the writing was smart and funny. Anyhow, fast forward to last week, when I finally popped in the 4K Blu-Ray of Mutant Mayhem I had bought a couple of years ago. What refreshing animation! Somehow connecting it more to the original comic than previous efforts. And the story is good, and genuinely funny. It's even rated PG. More of this style, please. ★★★★½
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Several issues back I mentioned one of my favorite 80s films, North Shore. I threatened to mention another gem from that era, Rad. Replace surfboards with BMX bikes and you're part of the way there. Just as satisfying to watch, great training montages, and quite possibly the best movie character name of all time: Cru Jones. Not to mention some of the best and most cringiest 80s soundtrack songs we've ever heard. I mention this legendary movie today because I was just made aware of the forthcoming, A Rad Documentary. I'll admit the trailer looks iffy. But they did manage to get most of the cast interviewed which might be worth the watch if you're a fan.
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And finally for this week, something that's not a movie or TV show: Puppets. Specifically a shout out to Blank Puppets, a company that makes high-quality puppets for professional productions, but also occasionally offers collections for sale (Puppet Drops?) when they have time to make them. My partner, Mel, was able to buy me a green one as an early birthday gift and we're now trying to come up with a name for him. The current frontrunner is "Gravy". Healing through puppets.
What are you working on?
I'm unexpectedly knee-deep into a major upgrade of our typeface, Cartridge. Cartridge 3 will be coming soon in a total of 5 weights! With some additional glyphs added, improved kerning, etc. Have a character you'd like to see added to the fonts? Let me know :)
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