Ligatures presents Toronto premiere of 'Sign Painters: The Movie'

 

We are pleased to announce our next event which has been months in the making.

Ligatures will be hosting a free screening of 'Sign Painters: The Movie' on Wednesday, August 20th from 7pm – 9pm at Swipe Design (401 Richmond Street West). The event is generously sponsored by Fair Goods, Swipe Design | Books + Objects & Typostrophe.

In 2010 filmmakers Faythe Levine and Sam Macon began documenting these dedicated practitioners, their time-honoured methods, and their appreciation for quality and craftsmanship. Sign Painters, the first anecdotal history of the craft, features the stories of more than two-dozen sign painters working in cities throughout the United States. The documentary profiles sign painters young and old, from the new vanguard working solo to collaborative shops such as San Francisco’s New Bohemia Signs and New York’s Colossal Media’s Sky High Murals. – Sign Painters Movie blog

This will be the Toronto premiere of the film, and a number of local sign painters from the GTA will be in attendance to celebrate this special screening. We will also be joined by representatives from Graphic Commerce, the primary supplier of sign painting tools, based in Mississauga. We will have plenty of food, beverages and giveaways – you don't want to miss this one.

"A cautionary tale about the head-long rush into a technology-driven time and a meditation on what’s lost along the way. it is a reminder to look around and recognize the physical history in our presence every day." – Mary Louise Schumacher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Space for this event is limited. For more information or to RSVP, please go to ligatures.ca.

More about the film on the Sign Painters official website.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Update 07/29/14: This event sold out in less than 10 hours. Please email us to get on the waiting list, or to be notified about future screenings: ligatures.yyz at gmail dot com

Brush pen workshop

We have finalized the details for our first brush pen workshop.

The event will be held Sunday, July 13 from 1:00pm-4:00pm at Coach House Press (80 bpNichol Ln, U of T campus).

The day will be hosted by letterers (and Ligatures co-founders) Kyle Gallant & Christopher Rouleau. Kyle is a multi-faceted designer, skilled in calligraphy, expressive lettering, and even graffiti. He is a self-described "compulsive doodler" and passionate about all things type. Christopher is a freelance graphic designer & letterer, with a love for alphabets, antique lettering guides and old hand-lettered signs. He is comfortable working in a variety of media, including pen, chalk, acrylic, ink... the list goes on. Christopher also co-instructed a Ligatures lino printing workshop in the spring.

Check out more of their recent work on Instagram: http://instagram.com/eckstatic http://instagram.com/chris_rouleau/

Kyle & Christopher have pooled together their skills, knowledge and resources to put together a 3-hour tutorial on the fundamentals of brush lettering. All skill levels welcome!

Supplies:

We will be offering a supplies package at the cost of $50. This kit will have everything you need for the workshop, all of which you get to take home at the end of the day. Included in your kit: -3 different types of brush pens (one special order) -1 roll of tracing paper -access to plenty of layout paper -a variety of lettering guides & samples -a handmade booklet of lettering techniques -access to any additional tools you might need (pencils, rulers, tape, grid paper, utility knives, ink & brushes, as well as some experimental lettering tools from our personal collections).

Payment:

This event will sell out, so sign up early! And if you've already expressed interest but cannot attend, please notify us so we can open up the spots for people on the wait list.

Please RSVP here no later than Wednesday, July 9. An email will follow with payment instructions.

We look forward to bringing your talents together, sharing knowledge with one another, and creating some new brush pen work work!

03 July 2014: This event is sold out. Please contact us to get on the wait list, or watch for future workshops in the fall.

Ligatures business cards

We've been brainstorming business card ideas for a while. Since our organization is ever-changing and covers a broad spectrum of events (show & tells, film screenings, workshops, lectures, etc.), we wanted something super flexible that communicates who we are and ultimately, where people can find the most up-to-date information about events. We adapted our wordmark into url format and had a classy little rubber stamp made.

And when it came to paper stock and colour, we thought, "Why choose one colour when we can have them all?" We have been fortunate enough to see an amazing range of talents attend our events – why not showcase that diversity by branding ourselves with several bright colours! Below are some process shots, as well as the final business cards.

 

Special thanks to Kevin King for helping us with the paper cutting, and an extra special thanks to Sharon Hart for donating this beautiful card stock.

Summer Show & Tell

RSVP here.

Also, please check out the work of Tania Volpe, who created this month's excellent web banner and poster!

We Totes Love Type

We are proud to unveil our new shop and our first product: the "We Totes Love Type" Official Ligatures Tote Bag.

The front features the motto "We Totes Love Type" in a mix of type (including wood type courtesy of snap + tumble letterpress) and hand lettering (penned by Christopher Rouleau).

The back features a pattern of "Totes" lettering. The bags were screen printed by hand by Paul Dotey, and have slight variations in ink distribution. Each bag is unique – just like you!

We sourced several bags, and these were the best, strongest tote bags we found – we promise! They are perfect for stowing your sketchbooks, packing a picnic, or bringing anything from bezier point A to bezier point B.

The tote bags are only $15, and available for purchase in our online shop. Show your love for type, and pick up your tote today!

All proceeds go towards funding future Ligatures events. Thanks for your support!

p.s. Check out the making of the totes on Christopher's blog.

Calligraphy workshop

We have finalized the details for our first calligraphy workshop!

The workshop will be held Saturday, May 10 from 1:00-4:00 at Coach House Books (80 bpNichol Ln, U of T campus).

Calligraphy expert Kevin King will host a three-hour workshop on the basics of calligraphy. Kevin became interested in calligraphy through his work as a Type Designer & Typographer at Canada Type & the Coach House Press in Toronto. With the help of the Toronto book binder Don Taylor, he began taking lessons from the master Toronto Calligrapher Susan Shand, who he still continues to study under. Susan taught him not only the basic techniques of Calligraphy, but also the underlying theories and principles of the art.

Supplies:

We will be offering a supplies package at the cost of $55.

For our workshop, we will only be working with a very small set of tools. We will be working with calligraphy markers and a selection of fountain pens that will help us become acquainted with the basic techniques of calligraphy, and simple 11x17" graph paper sheets. The beauty of calligraphy is that you do not need a huge set of expensive tools to create beautiful work. We encourage students to bring along any calligraphy pens that they may already own, as this could be a great opportunity for you to learn more about how your tools work and to use a tool that you are already comfortable with.

The fee also includes a calligraphy workbook that students can take home.

Space for this workshop is limited! Please RSVP here no later than Wednesday, May 7. An email will follow with payment instructions.

Crafting Type

Crafting Type is a 3-day touring typeface design workshop, and they will be making a stop in Toronto on May 9-11 at Centennial College. From their press release:

Crafting Type lasts for 3 days and is designed to give you a solid theoretical and practical start in type design.

Although most students don’t want to be type designers we hear from architects, UI/UX designers, people who work in identity and branding and of course graphic designers that the process of learning how to make type has given them new insights and made them better at what they do - because they work with type and letters on a daily basis.

We break down the sense that type design is impenetrable and encourage exploration.

We keep a ratio of 7-12 students per teacher to keep the quality of instruction high and to make adjusting to different skill levels practical.

Octavio Pardo and Aoife Mooney are the two confirmed instructors for this event. They both hold Masters degrees in Typeface Design from the University of Reading in the UK and are active as professional type designers. Octavio Pardo is a graphic and typeface designer based in Milan, and internationally recognized for his typeface Sutturah, by the Type Directors Club of NY. Aoife Mooney is a freelance typeface designer for the Hoefler & Co. type foundry and lecturer in graphic design and typography at Kent State University, OH.

  

Prices for the 3-day workshop range from $300 (student price) to $600 (professional). Space for this event is limited, so make sure you sign up early. Register here.

For more information, here are some great links:

Crafting Type website

Crafting Type newsletter

I Love Typography interview

Ligatures Film Screening of Making Faces

With the success of the Linotype Film screening we've decided to keep with the hot metal type theme. We will be assembling at Coach House Books for the free screening of Making Faces: Metal Type in the 21st Century by Richard Kegler on Wednesday, April 9^th. The documentary follows the creation of the typeface Stern, designed and cut by Canadian designer Jim Rimmer (1931 — 2010). The typeface was commissioned by P22 Type Foundry to be the first-ever digital font and an hand-set metal type release. Kevin King will have an actual case of Stern type for us to see firsthand!

Join us for this FREE screening as Jim walks us through the long lost process of cutting and casting type in metal! Space is limited, please sign up early.

We would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to to P22 Type Foundry for helping us secure the rights for a public showing!

Honest Ed's Show Card Sale

 

Toronto's favourite department store, Honest Ed's, will be having a sale of it show cards and advertisements on Monday, March 10, with proceeds going to charity. From the press release:

More than 1,000 of Honest Ed’s previous advertisements and (hand painted show card signs) will be sold (on a first come, first served basis). 

From 50 cents and up!

Since the announcement that honest ed’s will eventually close, many of the public have asked to purchase the colourful show card signs that are produced in the store. Some are now being offered.

Honest Ed’s has been using the method of show card writing since Honest Ed Mirvish founded the store in 1948. Show card writing is now considered a lost art.

Each item sold will be stamped with a “stamp of authenticity” and signed by Ed’s celebrity show card signwriters, or long time managers who will be in attendance at various times during the hours of the sale which will be held monday march 10th from 11 a.m. To 6 p.m. All monies received for the advertisements/show cards will be donated to a charitable cause.

Lino printing workshop

Christopher Rouleau and Tanya Roberts (of Snap + Tumble letterpress) will host a three-hour workshop on the basics of lino printing. During the course of the afternoon, you will learn the basics on transferring your design to lino, carving techniques, and the best ways to ink and press your work. Advanced printmakers may also have the opportunity to print their pieces on the Vandercook printing press, thanks to the help of our friend Kevin King, who works at Coach House.

We will be offering a supplies package at the cost of $25. Your kit will include:

·  one 4" x 6" lino tile (super soft or regular - you will specify in your RSVP) ·  10 sheets of 5" x 7" white printing paper (you may bring additional paper of your own) ·  access to black, water soluble ink and a brayer (roller) ·  1 Speedball lino carving tool (that you get to keep!) ·  access to other basic supplies (paper towels, wax paper, graphite paper, masking tape, envelopes, etc.)

Space for this workshop is limited! Please RSVP here no later than Friday, March 14. An email will follow with payment instructions.

We look forward to bringing your talents together, sharing knowledge with one another, and creating some new typographic work!

Linotype Film screening at Coach House

This event is now full! Please email us to get on the waiting list here.

Linocut workshop

Due to popular demand, we have decided to try out our first Ligatures workshop. Next month, we would like to host a lino carving & printmaking afternoon. At this point, nothing is set – we are trying to assess initial interest. Here are a few details:

-on either Sunday, March 23 or Sunday, March 30, Christopher Rouleau and Tanya Roberts (of Snap + Tumble letterpress) will host a three hour workshop on the basics of lino printing. During the course of the afternoon, you will learn the basics on transferring your design to lino, carving techniques, and the best ways to ink and press your work. -for the sake of consistency, we will offer a supplies package at the cost of $25. Your kit will include:

· one super soft 4" x 6" lino tile · 10 sheets of 5" x 7" white printing paper (you may bring your own paper if you'd like extra) · access to black, water soluble ink and a brayer (roller) · 1 Speedball lino carving tool (that you get to keep!) · access to other basic supplies (paper towels, wax paper, tape, etc.)

If you are interested in participating, please contact us no later than Friday, February 21st with:

· your preferred workshop date (if you can attend either date, please say so). We will choose whichever date is better for the majority of attendees. · any potential venue ideas - anywhere central with lots of natural light, big tables, and access to a sink.

Once we have this information, we will finalize the date, and then figure out the best way to set up the payment (which we would like to collect before the event to ensure attendance). We will have more details next week.

Please RSVP, and we'll get this rolling!

p.s. If you already have your own lino tools/supplies and would like to participate, please let us know, and we can make special pricing arrangements.

Ligatures Meeting Nº 3

Please join us  Thursday, January 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the University of Toronto St. George Campus to chat about New Year's Resolutions! There will be an opportunity for everyone to share their type projects, lettering plans for the new year, and discuss how we can help each other reach these goals. The meeting will be hosted at Coach House Books, a Canadian type and printing landmark located 80 bpNichol Lane in downtown Toronto.

Space is filling up, please sign up as soon as you can. We have some really big type related news to share, including a future meeting that includes this guy right here.

No, it's not a transformer, it's a Linotype Machine.

If you're interested in helping get the word out, you can print out this poster.

Welcome Aboard

Ligatures is a destination. It’s where the creative and the obsessed intersect. It’s where innovation and initiative come together. It’s where the desire to learn comes to life. It’s a place to go. It’s a place to get things done. Ligatures welcomes you to a space for typographic-obsessed individuals whose devotion to all-things-type knows no bounds. Graphic designers, type designers and type lovers are invited to join our creative forum to discuss their work and receive feedback from their peers. Ligatures is built on creating a sense of community amongst its YYZ creatives through the sharing of information and resources. Embracing the art of conversation, Ligatures members meet in Toronto on the first Thursday of each month to discuss current projects, and have an opportunity to ‘show and tell’ their work. All skills levels and interests are welcome.

Join our fleet today!