Wednesday, October 29

GUEST BLOGGER: Hijiri from Heart Fish

Hi again sfgirlbybay readers! It's Hijiri from Heart Fish. Victoria will be back soon with lots of inspirations from Thailand, I'm sure, and although I'm having so much fun guest blogging here, I can't wait for her to come back, and I'm sure you guys feel the same :) But please enjoy one more post from me today!

I have been working with types everyday, all day for a long time (well, that's what graphic designers do) and I just love it. I never get bored by it, I'm always playing around with it, always looking for it, it is the most important element on graphic design, I think. Lately, my love and passion for types went up 100 times more after I started taking letterpress classes, especially, wood types! So I wanted to share a little bit about my love on wood types today.

It definitely started with the Hatch Show Print (I know Victoria is a big fan also!) – this book was always around in my old agency where Victoria and I worked together, our boss Steve Stone had it around all the time and I always loved looking this book and when I moved to NY, I had to have my own copy so I can have it around all the time again.

The cover:



Beautiful Wood Types:



Hand carved woodblocks!



Here are some from the book – every page is amazing!



It took me a while to actually sign up with letterpress class, I was always interested, I knew I would sooner or later, and the time had finally come and I started my classes about a month ago, and oh my god, I love it so much! It's so fun to actually set types by my hand and print by my hand (after sitting in front of computer for more than 12 hours a day everyday) Each piece is different and it has nice texture and of course the impression – makes each print very special. Coming up with ideas is also so much fun!

I never got to see this many actual wood types before so this is very exciting for me and here are some beautiful wood type blocks.

My school's (Cooper Union) wood type drawer:





h-a-p-p-y:



Beautiful wood type blocks from The Arm via Flickr (Dan teaches my class and they also have letterpress workshops and letterpress studio in Brooklyn)






Wood Types I found at Etsy.

Letterpress blocks



Wood type full number set



HELLO



Some of the wood type prints I made:




I have been reporting my each class and prints I made on my blog on Mondays so please stop by for my class experience if you are interested. You can see my previous classes here, here, here and here. – and I have 6 more classes!

Thank you guys again for reading my post. Hope to see you guys here again in the future or over at Heart Fish. Thank you so much, Victoria, for having me!!

11 comments:

alston said...

what a great post - love seeing all that type!

Leciawp said...

These are beautiful and inspiring!

Rona Chang said...

I took typography when I was an undergrad at Cooper and I have to admit that setting type in a tray was sooo addictive. I churned out so much work in that little room.

beachy in the burbs said...

I love those wood blocks! I also love the color combos in the prints - amazing!

Kristi said...

What a great post with excellent photos! Hatch is awesome... I have that book and live in Nashville, and any one who visits needs to go to Hatch. It even smells cool! They are the best...

Eva / Sycamore Street Press said...

i love your print! and i love hatch show print. i want to visit their studio!

Anonymous said...

alston >

Thank you!! So glad to hear that!

a day that is dessert >

Aren't they beautiful?? Thank you for your comment!

rona chang >

ohh, you've been there!! Yes, it is addictive, can't get enough of it!

jersery girl in dc >

Yes, the colors on those prints are amazing! Really, every page is great.

kristi >

oh wow, I would loooove to visit there someday. I'm sure it smells cool, too!!! Thank you for your comment!

eva >

Thank you!!! I love your work, too, I posted about you guys before on my blog!

Anonymous said...

Great post & tour. I checked out your site & will be adding it to my weekly blog list. I have your same interests.

Peet said...

If you're into wood type, check this film out. Request that it be shown in your city!

Sneak Preview is Thursday, November 6th at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.

http://typeface.kartemquin.com/

c*liz said...

Hijiri! You have totally inspired me to take some classes myself. I so miss art school! Why not take some classes for fun. :)

Anonymous said...

Leslie >>

Thank you so much!! Makes me happy that we have same interests!! :)

Peet >>

wow, this film looks great! Thank you so much for sharing - I didn't know! I hope to get to see it soon...

c*liz >>

I know, I never really missed my art school before (because it was tough), but once I stepped in art school, I remember the feeling and I missed it so much – creating something is always fun! :)