Sometimes the grandest of efforts have somewhat deflated outcomes. Take, for example, my grandly conceived, labor intensive, engineering miracle of a holiday ornament project this year. I decided I wanted to make something interactive, something that had a kinetic three-dimensional quality, something that could involve letterpress.

Thus, after twenty or thirty hours of slicing and hemming and swearing and starting over, I had what I thought was slightly genius: do-it-yourself holiday orreries! A kit for everyone! Packaged up and tied with a bow! Flat pack! As efficient as Ikea.

But what I didn’t count on was just how careful one had to be to put these together. And how distracted groups of people can be. And how not everyone wants to spend forty minutes on Christmas day flexing fine motor skills. And tiny brads embedding themselves in rugs.

My goal was to create something entirely self-designed that didn’t use adhesives and could be packaged and mailed, if need be (it wasn’t needed, of course).

Wrapped up and Ribboned; Text is 18pt Caslon Old Style

The Contents of the kit: two large strips for the outer rings, three inner orbits, a comet, a star, four brads, a hanging frame for a solar body and a hook

The concept was a framed orrery that had three interior orbits. Those orbits can all rotate independently so they can each have a different plane of orbit.

The Outer Ring; Text again is 18pt Caslon

I spent an inordinate amount of time designing the joints that connect the two outer circles.

Detail of outer rings

Detail of Connections/Joints

I used 10pt Univers and Garamond Bold to create inner “orbit lines” with hyphens and other theoretical planets with “0″s.

Detail of 2 of the 3 inner Rings, showing letterpressed Dashes and Planets

Almost put together now.

Completed orrery, with central body (around which things rotate!)

All Done!

I had the recipients create the image on their own central bodies. Ours is a Pencil, which is fitting.

Tags: christmas, craft, holiday, Letterpress, ornament, papercraft

My mother gave me a copy of the Tao Te Ching a few years back that was, rather intriguingly, a rendition crafted by Ursula K. LeGuin. I was taken with it.

Of late, I have been having deeper thoughts about the meaning of leadership and the empowerment of those lead and found that the 17th verse expressed those sentiments well. As I–and our company, Cloud Four–move into 2009 with great goals and ideas, I felt like this was the perfect letterpress project.

I was able to use my new 10pt Univers font (I got it for $10!). “LAO TZU” was set in 12-on-14pt Caslon. I could have done better letterspacing there. “AO” is too spacy, “ZU” is a bit cramped.

Verse 17 from Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, Ursula K. LeGuin Rendition

Univers 10pt, which I chose because of its extreme clarity and lack of emotion. I wanted the verse to do the expression, uninterrupted by my letterforms.

Tags: ancient, cards, chinese, lao tzu, philosophy, tao te ching, univers

I needed to say I was sorry to someone important, so I was inspired to make these cards. Flexible, relevant cards that I imagine I’ll use a lot. Set in 18pt. Caslon Old Style 337e and 48pt. Excelsior Script Bold.

The challenge here was setting the ruled lines, which I found in a package of thin copper & brass spaces I bought on eBay (bonus!). It took a few do-overs, but I think I “get it” now.

Tags: cards, caslon, excelsior script, Letterpress, sorry

I made these cards for someone very special to me. I printed 50 but only made eight hand-drawn (colored pencil) finished cards. Set in 18pt. Caslon Old Style 337e. Unfortunately I have no accents; it should really read “embellit le desért”.

Little Prince Card (1 of 8)

Little Prince Card (2 of 8)

Tags: cards, caslon, Letterpress, little prince

Last night was our first local autumnal rainstorm, and it got dark early thanks to the dastardly end of daylight savings time. At 6:30 or so in the evening, right after my friend Mike arrived to study verilog with Mr. Pencil, our electricity went kaput.

I had just started getting ready to redistribute some type from a letterpress project and realized that electricity was entirely superfluous for that hobby, anyway. David and Mike ran to the liquor store for brandy (it seemed appropriate) and I lit up a forest of candles. Then I went to work all old-school Ben Franklin style.*

Candle, Composing Stick, Type, Furniture

Sydney and Me With Candles and Fire

Printing Room by Candlelight (Long-ish Exposure)

* Coincidentally, Ben Franklin was a (letterpress) printer by trade and also reputed to have dreamed up the notion of daylight savings time to save on candle usage.