Sam at BLAG · @blag
218 followers · 364 posts · Server typo.social
Sam at BLAG · @blag
209 followers · 349 posts · Server typo.social

'Brazil's Letter Openers' is the next free, online BLAG Chat with designers and typography researchers Fátima Finizola and Fernanda Martins: bl.ag/brazils-letter-openers-w

They will share their respective projects documenting and celebrating the work of Brazil's abridores de letras (letter openers, or sign painters).

This will include an exclusive screening of the documentary film, Marajó das Letras.

#signpainting #signwriting #letteropeners #brazil #signpainter #signwriter #typography #lettering

Last updated 1 year ago

Sam at BLAG · @blag
199 followers · 296 posts · Server typo.social

Does anyone know the full text, and context, for this sign being painted/signed by Salvador Dalí?

It is from a photo in the room detailing his development of what is now the Dali Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain. This would date it to the early 1970s.

The last line is likely "ministerio de la vivienda" (ministry of housing).

#salvadordali #dali #signpainting #signwriting #dalitheatremuseum #rotulo #rotulista

Last updated 1 year ago

Shaun Cuff · @shauncuff
107 followers · 184 posts · Server mastodon.iow.social

I ❤️ a . Spotted this one on holiday — probably decades of signs, painted and overpainted and painted again.

#ghostsign #typography #signwriting #Shrewsbury

Last updated 1 year ago

Sam at BLAG · @blag
178 followers · 190 posts · Server typo.social

Sign painting class in progress at the Manchester School of Art, c1931.

I love this type of archival photo, and am always impressed by the relatively smart attire of those that feature.

This particular scene is somewhat rare, with women present in what is historically a male-dominated trade.

The photo is from the Manchester School of Art Archive, part of the Manchester Metropolitan University special collections: mmu.ac.uk/special-collections-

#signpainting #signwriting #manchester #1930s

Last updated 1 year ago

Sam at BLAG · @blag
177 followers · 181 posts · Server typo.social

In a little test of / wisdom, does anyone know anything about the origins/process of taking one's own life "by means of a tongue"?

Here is the end of a piece of 1907 British advertising for a book that contains the following line:

"Therefore did Jakke in his despair Take his Life by means of a Tinned Tongue."

Any leads/references much appreciated.

#Mastodon #fediverse #signwriting #english #language #etymology #phrase #linguistics #signpainting

Last updated 1 year ago

Sam at BLAG · @blag
177 followers · 181 posts · Server typo.social

@scotcampbell Mark Oatis is a true legend, and a wonderful person with it.

This is the that he and his wife Rose produced for the meet in London 2018 (bl.ag/londoncalling/), pictured here in Tokyo, 2019 (bl.ag/tokyo-letterheads-now-bi).

It reads:

"Letterheads, Keepers of Our Craft, 1975.
Through practise might mastery each student gain.
Every master through life will a student remain."

#banner #letterheads #wisewords #craft #signpainting #signwriting #ioafs

Last updated 1 year ago

Sam at BLAG · @blag
177 followers · 181 posts · Server typo.social

While working on the Mr Masking book, Pupila got him to paint a full character set in his distinctive style.

If anyone is interested in turning this into a functional for the benefit of his surviving family then please let me know.

Alternatively, you can contact Alfredo at Pupila directly via the email address given on today's post about Mr Masking and his work: bl.ag/the-magic-of-mr-masking-

#typeface #mrmasking #type #typography #font #signpainting #signwriting #lettering #typedesign

Last updated 1 year ago

Sam at BLAG · @blag
169 followers · 116 posts · Server typo.social

Nice to see a bunch of hand-painted work in the August issue of Signs of the Times, available to read online here: editions.mydigitalpublication.

PS. There's a video about the featured project on the Morton Salk shed in Chicago here: bl.ag/the-skys-the-limit-a-cha

#signpainting #signsofthetimes #signwriting

Last updated 1 year ago

Sam at BLAG · @blag
169 followers · 111 posts · Server typo.social

Little taster of what's coming later to BLAG email subscribers. It's free to sign up via bl.ag/free.

#signpainting #signwriting #sanjose #CostaRica #vernacular #lettering #type

Last updated 1 year ago

Sam at BLAG · @blag
167 followers · 100 posts · Server typo.social

Today, I received this new book from Bryan Yonki at Well Done Signs. I'll be featuring it in the next issue of the magazine, but for now, here's a rapid flick through.

Hand-Painted in LA: Some Los Angeles Signs can be ordered directly from Bryan here,

forevervacationshop.com/

#signpainting #signwriting #paintedsign #la #losangeles

Last updated 1 year ago

Sam at BLAG · @blag
167 followers · 100 posts · Server typo.social

Today I'm sending out my periodic email with a digest of global and events. These are free to receive via bl.ag/free.

One of the featured events is the meet in Brussels, which I'm attending (on my birthday!): tusseki.com/benelux-letterhead (earlybird tickets until 8 August)

If you've never attended a Letterheads event, then you can get a flavour for what happens via some of these reviews: bl.ag/tag/letterheads/

#signpainting #lettering #letterheads #ioafs #signwriting

Last updated 1 year ago

Sam at BLAG · @blag
167 followers · 100 posts · Server typo.social

@matratype @nicksherman I have some spreads in my book, Hand-Painted Signs of Kratie, that are very similar to those arrays.

(Kratie is a provincial capital in north-east Cambodia, located on the Mekong river.)

There is a free download of the ebook available here: ghostsigns.co.uk/kratie. That page also has a Khmer translation of the full text.

#kratie #cambodia #signs #signpainting #signwriting #pictorial #illustration

Last updated 1 year ago

Sam at BLAG · @blag
152 followers · 62 posts · Server typo.social

My motivation for starting Better Letters in 2012 was to raise awareness of hand-crafted, and specifically hand-painted, among those that commission .

This continues to be a factor in the work I do, championing / in various ways.

On my recent walks in London, this , about a year old, offered up excellent evidence of vinyl's weakness in the context of shopfronts.

Hand-painted signs often improve with age, versus this...

#lettering #signs #signpainting #signwriting #ghostsigns #sign

Last updated 1 year ago

Sam at BLAG · @blag
152 followers · 62 posts · Server typo.social

Valentina's restoration work on the 1967 Alpha Romeo GTV (👆) was informed by a variety of archival images.

Here's the car being raced by Dave Burns in 1972, with the livery lettering in situ.

The project profile at bl.ag/alfaromeo has more archival images, a video of the work being done, and some commentary from Valentina on how she went about the job.

#signpainting #signwriting #alfaromeo #vintagecar #TransAm #motoring #motorsport

Last updated 1 year ago

Sam at BLAG · @blag
147 followers · 42 posts · Server typo.social

New at bl.ag online: 'A Fresh Lick of Paint for a Vintage Alfa Romeo'

Visit bl.ag/alfaromeo/ for this account of how the livery of a 1967 Alfa Romeo GTV was restored to its original 1972 design by Valentina Trentini.

#signpainting #signwriting #racecar #vintagecar #alfaromeo

Last updated 1 year ago

Sam at BLAG · @blag
147 followers · 38 posts · Server typo.social

Blagging it at Melrose Diner, Philadelphia 😂

"In 1935, Kubach took over a 19-stool diner at 1610 W. Passyunk Ave., naming it after a can of Mel’s tomatoes, which had a picture of a rose on the label. The story goes that Kubach asked a sign painter to start with the word Mel and to add a rose. The painter, though, lacked artistic skills and simply wrote the word."

Full article: inquirer.com/food/restaurants/

#signpainting #signwriting #philly #philadelphia

Last updated 1 year ago

Sam at BLAG · @blag
147 followers · 38 posts · Server typo.social

Lovely moment yesterday leading my tour was one of my guests remarking that someone was painting a sign on the other side of the road.

And, sure enough, there was John of Alpha Signwriting (alphasignwriting.co.uk/about_u) up a ladder, restoring a rare Borough of Stoke Newington street sign.

We stopped and chatted for a while, I passed him the latest issue of the magazine, and the sun came out.

All in all a magical end to my London trip.

#ghostsigns #signpainting #signwriting #serendipity

Last updated 1 year ago

Sam at BLAG · @blag
10 followers · 9 posts · Server typo.social

Over the years I have also helped numerous agencies and their clients to find and collaborate with and artists around the world.

This is a sampling of some of the projects that I worked on as producer, and I'm always open to new briefs where my skills and network could be beneficial.

I don't really plug this page of my site, but it has a load more images of projects I've worked on: bl.ag/portfolio/

9/

#signpainters #lettering #signpainting #signwriting #signwriters

Last updated 1 year ago

Sam at BLAG · @blag
10 followers · 9 posts · Server typo.social

Over the years I have also helped numerous agencies and their clients to find and collaborate with and artists around the world.

This is a sampling of some of the projects that I worked on as producer, and I'm always open to new briefs where my skills and network could be beneficial.

I don't really plug this page of my site, but it has a load more images of projects I've worked on: bl.ag/portfolio/

9/

#signpainters #lettering #signpainting #signwriting #signwriters

Last updated 1 year ago