The Bullring

NASCAR rolls into Bristol this week, in what is one of the most entertaining tracks on the circuit. The high-banked, 1/2 mile oval always makes for tight racing and hot tempers.

This week Denny Hamlin will be running his FedEx Express paint scheme, one of four schemes he normally runs for FedEx. Given my penchant for orange, I'd say it's the baddest ass one of them all. Since Denny joined Gibbs racing, the one constant has been FedEx on his hood. But the paint schemes have changed throughout the years. Here's a run down of the "Express" schemes:

2011:


2010:
2008:

Have a favorite one? Put it in the comments below.


And now, for bonus paint scheme coverage from 2006:


This last one has got to be one of the most original paint schemes of the modern era. It ran at Atlanta to promote FedEx's sponsorship of the PGA Tour Fed-Ex Cup. Though it looks like they took a mallet to body work to give it its dimpled look, it's all an illusion done with paint and vinyl. NASCAR, meet trompe l'oeil. (I'm pretty sure this is the first time those two words have appeared in the same sentence.) Just imagine what they could do if a breast implant doctor ever sponsored a car...

Enjoy the race!

Rock Star

We revived an old linoleum block we cut last year for a new curling poster this year. Combined with (mostly) 16-line Clarendon wood type and lead stars, this 6-color concoction was printed in an edition of about eight. Maybe ten.

ED. NOTE: The type in upper right -- a nickname for curling -- was originally going to read "hurry hard", but I didn't have enough Rs in the proper size. I figured this out only after cutting the lino for the blue splat which the type sits on. While "hurry hard" fits neatly inside the splat, "the roaring game" is a bit snug for my tastes.

Various color papers are from the French Paper Company; assorted wood type; handcut lino blocks; lead ornaments; hand inked in 5 passes on the cylinder press. 12.5" x 19".

Type Nerd App

Unless you're obsessed with type—or like to chide those who are—stop reading now.

Now you can think about type 24-7 via the iPhone app "KERN". The idea is to score points by inserting missing letters into design-related words while maintaining optimal letterspacing and avoiding unnecessary ligatures. (If you have no idea wtf this means, remember, you were warned.)

Since I haven't actually downloaded the app, below is a mix of user reviews and my own snarky commentary. Guess which is which:

A. "This app should come with its own black mock turtleneck!"

B. "What may be the first and only video game in history with the potential to get typographers all hot and bothered.”

C. "The iPhone's first design-nerd game."

D. "Better than a girlfriend."

Lego My Letterpress!

Perhaps you eagerly peeked in your stocking this year hoping for a brand new toy or two. Nothing beats the excitement of unwrapping a package and finding in it a toy that you know you'll want to play with forever and ever. In reality, "forever" lasts a few months, and by next year you're eagerly peeking in your stocking once again.

Via the wonderful NPR Picture Show blog comes a well-timed story about what to do with some of those abandoned toys. The Legos that have been gathering dust in your closet for years? Perfect for letterpress artists Sam Cox and Justin LaRosa. They've been using Legos to make some wonderful pieces, including The Fox (pictured above). Check out much more of their pixely work at Physical Fiction.

Art Nouveau Posters

Just in time for stocking-stuffer season comes Swann Galleries' latest poster auction: Rare & Important Art Nouveau Posters. The auction includes nearly 200 items from such noted artists as Alphonse Mucha and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. But don't feel like you need to buy us a poster from one of those elite poster icons — we're not too picky.

Mobile Printing

In the depths of steamy DC summers, Duckpin's basement print shop is a cool respite from the spiking heat outdoors. Its cave-like qualities (cool, dank, musty, full of bat guano) aren't ideal, but they do provide some comfort, and I relish the opportunity to hide out down there.

But what if you could avoid the summer heat -- and humid basements -- all together by taking a print shop on the road? Well, Kyle Durrie from Power and Light Press would like to find out. She's planning a cross-country tour in a tricked-out bread van outfitted with a complete print shop. With a modest donation you can follow her adventures by collecting her letterpressed postcards dispatched along the journey. Even better, for a little more, you can get her to stop the van at your house for a personal letterpress demo! (Guano not included.)

See her pitch and read more about her adventure here.

Above: Kyle in action

Letterpressed Folk

Designer and illustrator Scotty Reifsnyder is offering a beautiful collection of letterpressed cards. His "Heroes of Folk" series features six different American icons including Annie Oakley, Johnny Appleseed, and Paul Bunyan (pictured). The 2-sided, 3-color, 6"x8" cards are $30 each; the set of six fetches $150.

Kayser Smackdown

Attention both readers!

I've been tasked with creating an announcement for the 2011 Kayser bonspiel for new curlers. In honor of the host club's 50th anniversary, the Potomac Curling Club is invoking the theme "back to the '60s". The design brief clarifies this as "not the hippy '60s, more like Camelot or Mad Men." Pretty clear, right?

I decided to take two design paths. On the left, the martini design, toasting the Rat Pack spirit of the '60s. On the right, the Mod design, inspired by the movie and music advertising of the era.

Since we can only use one, do you have a preference—martini or mod?

Click on image for larger view.

Beans are Bullets

Starting today, the USDA headquarters in DC will be displaying an impressive exhibit of War-Era food posters from the collection of the National Agricultural Library. The exhibit spans the World Wars and touches on the emotional, practical, and patriotic sensibilities of consumers and producers.

A lushly illustrated electronic version of the exhibit can be found here. The physical show ends November 10.

Printer's Devil

How did Shorpy get this image of Duckpin Press' first apprentice? Well, they didn't. It's a 1917 photo of Riverside Press in New York City. But you can understand how we confused the two, as we still try to dress as nattily as these chaps.

Click on image for wicked big view.

Alphabet Soup: Ten Qs

Sixteen-line wood type and transparent ink

Anatomy of a Letterpress Project

Lame-o us.

Our very first print from our press reads "No. 1 / Duckpin's first impression" and the date. If we had any sense of humor, we'd have done something like this.

Now that's a first impression.

Poop Rainbows, Part Five

Our latest jaunt to the thrift store tapped that fertile color vein we call the Poop Rainbow™. On the left, Marco displays a dinner plate, while our own print devil models an afghan blanket on the right. Who needs Barker's Beauties when we have these two?

The Origin of the Poop Rainbow

While the phenomenon of the poop rainbow™ occupies waaaaay too much of our time, we never really paused to consider its origins. That is, until we saw this obituary in yesterday's Washington Post.

Fans of DC's Metro subway system owe a debt of gratitude to the recently deceased Cleatus Barnett. According to the obit, he was a staunch advocate for Metro's unique aesthetic, as embodied by its original design. Let's hear it from the Post:

Mr. Barnett was a staunch defender of Metro's original orange, gold and brown interior hues. He had helped choose the color-combination and resisted efforts to change it, even when popular opinion deemed it an ugly throwback to bygone times.

Eventually, train chairs were upholstered in burgundy and blue. But in deference to Mr. Barnett, seats at the front and back of each car retained the old palette. The chairs are known as "Cleatuses."

Some think that finding the origin of a rainbow leads to a pot of gold. In this case, it leads to the late Mr. Barnett. Thank you, sir, for introducing the poop rainbow™ to the Nation's Capital. You can rest easy knowing that others appreciate your legacy. And, thanks to you, we can rest easy in one of Metro's "Cleatuses."

The First Blog?

Duckpin Press' west coast correspondent brought to our attention a terrific collection of early 20th century photography. What's so special about it? It includes some of the only color photos of small-town, Depression-era America, courtesy of the Library of Congress' collection.

The photo above is from the collection. It features a commercial print shop housed above the offices of the town's newspaper, the Brockton (Mass.) Enterprise. Pasted in the windows are handwritten bills which tell the news of the day, including one with the headline, "Billy Hill is Dead, Aged 41." These posters are updated as news comes in, keeping the locals apprised of current events. Some 70 years later, the Enterprise is still doing exactly the same thing.

And wouldn't you know it, that print shop is still around, too.

Click on photo for larger view.


Headlines posted in street-corner window of newspaper office (Brockton Enterprise). Brockton, Massachusetts, December 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Summer Vacation

It's summer -- time to get yourself a tankful of gas and a cooler full of sandwiches and hit the road. If you're not the chain hotel type, you might enjoy Motel Americana. You'll find a great trove of vintage postcards, including those above (click for larger view). Neon enthusiasts will love the dozens and dozens of motel sign photos as well. For those who can't resist the lure of the road, this should be your first rest stop.

Hang Tags

Recently we did a fun little project for Ilana Kohn, illustrator and clothing designer extraordinaire. The tag measures 1" x 2.5" (we weren't kidding when we said "little") and is blind embossed. We used Airport typeface set in 36pt lead on pearl white Lettra paper. Want your very own tag? You'll just have to buy a dress!

Digital Wood Type Catalog

The city of Austin has always been good to letterpress, and this holds true even in the digital age. The University of Texas at Austin has digitized its Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection. Besides images of the specimens, the site includes a great history of American type, profiles of different font families, and plenty of resources for further study. This is a true gem of an introduction to wood type.

Samples above are from the collection

Worst Paint Scheme Ever?

When Tony Stewart's crew pulls into Chicagoland Speedway this weekend, they'll be rolling off what has to be the ugliest car so far this year. Office Depot's "back to school" paint scheme looks like a kid who slipped on the way to school and accidentally emptied her backpack's contents all over the sidewalk. This technicolor hodge-podge of shapes and logos has no rhyme or reason, and will look even more ugly at 180 mph than it does standing still. I'd put it up against any of these other ugly schemes any day.

Is this the kind of design we want to be teaching our kids? Yeesh.

Dingbats and Diners

Two years ago, Duckpin spent the Fourth of July hopping around Southeast Arizona. One of the highlights of our stay at the Shady Dell RV park in Bisbee was our morning breakfast at Dot's Diner, the tiny greasy spoon pictured above.

Few things are more joyful than finding the perfect diner when you're on a road trip. But what if you didn't have to hit the road, and instead just leave the front door of your workplace? Well, that's how the first diner was born. In 1872, a small wagon packed with food pulled up in front of the offices of the Providence Journal, ready to feed the newspapermen who, by the time they finished their shifts, found the doors of the town's restaurants locked for the night. According to an article in Mental_Floss magazine, a nickel could buy you a ham sandwich or half a cranberry pie. The wagon proved so popular that imitators soon followed, and eventually the typology of the modern diner was born: round stools fronting a running counter. Just like Dot's.

So who was the wagon owner who first fed the ink-stained wretches at the Journal? It was Walter Scott, an enterprising printing pressman. Seems it took one to know one.