Do you know that certain uplifting, life-enhancing shade of pure turquoise? And what about that particular shade of red-orange that’s so incredibly cheerful, warming and restorative? Also, don’t you just love brilliant, witty typography? And the wonderful depth, texture and character of letterpress prints? So what would happen if you put all those together …? Holy moly, just take a look at this:
I can’t stop smiling whenever I look at this wonderfully coloured poster, the work of Lesley and Pea – letterpress enthusiasts, manifesto writers and tea and cake lovers – who run Aardvark-on-Sea studio in Hastings Old Town, East Sussex.
They design and create letterpress and linocut prints in both limited and open editions, and are probably best known for their annual “manifestos”:
The 2012 manifesto on the left is currently half-price at £12.50 and, in case you’re wondering, the phone number is the direct line to the Houses of Parliament.
There’s also a great selection of other funny, inspiring and thought-provoking prints and posters, all hand-printed on their antique letterpress machinery, and new designs are continually being added.
In addition to their politically aware and life-affirming slogans, Aardvark also have impeccable green credentials; they use paper that is either recycled or FSC/ PEFC certified, linseed oil based inks that don’t contain heavy metals and environmentally friendly solvents wherever possible.
Lesley and Pea also run one-day letterpress poster workshops where you can design and print your own text poster and go home with a set of unique letterpress prints. They say “This is the ideal gift for anyone with a love of typography, old school technology, printmaking and cake” but also add “this is not a traditional, technical typesetting course, it’s more about DIY and creativity with type”. As the courses run of Saturdays, I’m thinking this could be a fabulous reason for a weekend trip to a part of the English coast that we’ve never visited before. Ron can take his bike and work on his fitness on those coastal hills, while I’m creating my own colour and beauty themed manifesto.
I think with Christmas on the way, these original and beautifully produced prints are perfect gifts. You can buy directly from Aardvark online or look at their list of UK stockists to see if there’s one near you.
Coming full circle back to where we started, “O Happy Day” is a glorious pairing of colours that are as warming and cheering as the sentiment expressed, and just perfect to brighten the dark, cold winter months ahead.
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