I am talking at Thame Arts & Literature festival on Friday the 18th October. I will be at the Thame Museum talking about the 10 books that have influenced my career and life so far. Here is a sneak peek of the books:
D&AD
Penguin English Library got In Book Award for Branding in the 2013 Annual.
Check Out Viki
As you might already know, I worked with Viki Ottewill on The Penguin English Library series last year. She was a design rock star who helped me manage keep track of the 100 book covers that were scattered here, there and everywhere around the Penguin office. Well, she finally has a website and deserves a post here to promote her fab design skills. Below is her cover design and illustration for Tristram Shandy.
The Penguin Collection
The Penguin English Library series has become part of The Penguin Collection which is printed and made by Easy Art. Penguin have teamed up with Easy Art and released the first twenty Penguin English Library covers as framed prints or canvases.
Lisa Bu: How books can open your mind
Lisa is the first TED staffer ever to be invited to speak on the mainstage at the TED Conference. I was really moved when I listened to her talk about her love of books.
Bickford Smith & Johnson
And Finally...
We Are Fools For Ink
Cooked
Observed in the Wish List
I am so happy, thanks to the Observer Magazine for taking time to feature our William Blake print in their wish list of prints. Its made my weekend plus I remembered the joys of reading the Sunday paper - bonus.
Jane Austen Print
Bickford smith & Johnson now have a home on the web. Click through to have a look.
Plus our proofs are in for the next print. Available in dark blue ink and dark rose ink. I have taken a few snap shots so you can get a look at the print job. The pantone swatches might be more use for colour reference just incase anyone has a pantone book lying around. Dark rose: Pantone 694U and Dark blue: Pantone 540U.
Please have a look on our etsy shop: BSJ Prints
Malmo, Sweden
Photograph by Andreas Wilnerzon
Next Stop Sweden
Berlin
In Berlin I met some great people and visited some interesting bookshops. The super star Kristen Harrison from The Curved House was on hand to show us a local bookshop Shakespeare & Sons. It is run by two lovely people, Roman and Laurel, who bake fresh bagels and things and had a rather big supply of Penguin English Library titles. Its well worth a visit as you could while away hours sitting on the lovely chairs choosing which books to buy.
Then Matthias, who is an editor at Gestalten introduced us to Motto, a bookshop with all sorts of art books, limited editions and a very sweet cat that was dancing on top of all the books, I am unsure if this was allowed or if it was just breaking all the rules.
Obviously the Gestalten Space was a total book fest as well and the exhibition was a real treat as I got my hand on many books that I had only ever met on the internet. Plus they stock all sort of beautifully design goodies. Thanks so much to everyone at Gestalten for being so kind and giving me a brilliant opportunity, it was a real honour.
An evening with Me and Robert Klanten (Gestalten)
I am off to Berlin to meet the publishers Gestalten and speak along with Robert Klanten. Should be an interesting evening and I am excited to get to see all the books in the exhibition in the flesh, some of which I have only seen on blogs. So if it sounds like your cup of tea click the links to find out more.
This event will be held in English. Free entrance.
Book and Exhibition:
http://news.gestalten.com/new/all/25990
http://news.gestalten.com/event/fully-booked-ink-paper
Moby Dick En Route
Jabberwocky & Friends
It has been such a busy year and I have not got around to getting quite a few cloth classics photographed. As temporary fix I will paste my mock ups here just incase anyone fancies a peek. Jabberwocky was illustrated by me. Vanity Fair was illustrated by Tom Johnson, it is adapted from the Penguin English Library version. The Count of Monte Cristo and Les Miserables were illustrated by Despotica.
Coming later on in the year are some new titles: Robinson Crusoe, Moby Dick, Anna Karenina, The Canterbury Tales, Frankenstien, The Adventures of Huck Finn and Far From the Madding Crowd.
Fully Booked: Ink on Paper
To coincide with the release of the book, Fully Booked: Ink on Paper, Gestalten are putting on an exhibition at Gestalten Space in Berlin. As I was invited to be included in the book I also got to enter some books into the exhibition alongside lots of great book designers. See the list of contributors below. It sounds like a treat for the bookish. Lots more information is available on their website. click here to have a look.
'Featured designers and design studios include: Bruketa & Zinic, Coralie Bickford-Smith, Daniel Eatock, David Pearson, Double Standards, Erik Kessels, Heimann und Schwantes, Herburg Weiland, Isaac Tobin, Isabelle Vaverka, Jim Tierney, Johanna Fuchs, John Gall, Joost Grootens, Jung & Wenig, L2M3, Leftloft, Made Thought, Nicholas Felton, onestar press, Peter Mendelsund, Prill Vieceli Cremers, Ritator, Sam Ita, Stefan Sagmeister, Studio Laucke Siebein, Three Star Books, Visual Editions, and Zumtobel.'
Foiled Again
Some amazing pieces in this new book published by Victionary. For a designer like myself who is into all things shiny it sure is a gathering of beautiful work. Creative review give it a nice review on their blog.
My Ideal Bookshelf
This was definitely a moment in my career. I was contacted by the supremely talented Jane Mount to take part in a book about books. Jane started the Ideal Bookshelf project in 2007. She paints portraits of people through the spines of their favourite books. Books that changed their lives, books that defined them and books that they read again and again. Jane teamed up with the writer Thessaly La Force to interview all the contributors about their selection. I obliged, the outcome was pretty amazing and unexpected, I ended up hanging out among the pages with a heroine of mine Patti Smith, probably the closest I will ever get to saying hi. It is strange to be in such high company and even though I feel like it was a bit of a coup, now I am there I am quite happy to quietly stay put. Check out the book here, and below the image of the cover is my shelf very lovingly painted by Jane.
