Meeting Nº 19: Calligraphy Workshop Recap

Last weekend, a lovely group of people gathered at Coach House for a blackletter calligraphy workshop, hosted by the talented Kevin King. Located on the second floor of the building, the Coach House library provided a creative space for those interested in learning the history of the style, and experimenting different forms of tools for the lettering. The purpose of the workshop was to introduce the blackletter script, which is a "distinct style of calligraphy most noted for its dense texture and very vertical rhythm," (Kevin King).

Kevin provided the tools (including some very interesting bamboo styluses) and a workbook. Throughout the course of the workshop, Kevin guided the participants through a number of different techniques, including the construction of each letterform. With Kevin's tidbits of fun facts & anecdotes, it made for a very educational afternoon.

A big thank-you to Kevin for his time and wonderful teaching skills and toCoach House for lending its creative space.

Meeting Nº 18: Letraset Love Letters Recap

A little while ago, Ligatures received a very generous donation of Letraset from the wonderful Sharon Hart. The team sorted the huge collection of sheets into categories and set-up at Shopify, eagerly awaiting what creative and love-filled cards people would create.

Letraset came into existence in the early 1960's and due to its dry-transfer capabilities, designers were able to quickly create visualizations of concept work. It really revolutionized the way designers worked and created headlines and other work. To this day, Letraset still sells dry-transfer typefaces.

Despite the cold, there were a number of new faces that came out to our event. As this was a card-making session, a lot of quirky and fun letters began to appear. Some filled with love, others with ... well, sarcasm. There were hundreds of styles and sizes to choose from – it was a great opportunity to play with composition. The hardest part ... kerning! It really makes you appreciate how far we've come. Thanks, InDesign!

 

As the night came to a close, it was fantastic to see all the cards come together and see the creativity that had blossomed throughout the evening. Even after a very busy night of transfers, we still had hundred of Letraset sheets in our collection. Stay tuned in the future for another Letraset event!

A big thank-you to Veronica Wong and the team at Shopify for hosting the Letraset Love Letters event.

Meeting Nº17 recap

On Tuesday, we braved the cold and gathered at Mill St. Beer Hall to enjoy a beverage, practice our lettering, and discuss the future of Ligatures.

We had a lot of good laughs, and were thoroughly impressed with the scribbles left on our impromptu newsprint canvas. We also had some excellent event ideas put on the table:

● a "Command of Hand" lettering duel! ● a collaborative hand-lettered gift wrap making session ● a type-themed art & craft fair ● more workshops (brush pen, lino printing, screen printing) ● guest speakers

Check out some of the great doodles from the evening. And thanks again to Mill St. for generously offering their space.

Hope to see you at our next event. Watch for details coming Monday!

  

           

   

    

HoliDIY recap

Last Wednesday, we gathered at the beautiful Shopify space to celebrate the season and create some typographic, holiday-themed work. Enthusiastic folks brought all of them own DIY tools and supplies, and Beau's Brewing Company brought delicious beer samples. All-in-all, it was a fantastic night, filled with lots of letters and laughs. Plenty of photos below.

  

 

       

Thanks to everyone came out during this busy season and made the event a success.

Happy Holidays from your friends at Ligatures. See you in the new year!

Meeting Nº14: St. James Cemetery type walk recap

(Photo: Kostis Petridis)

In honour of Halloween, we convened at St. James cemetery last Wednesday to explore the typographic inscriptions around the graveyard. There were so many beautiful specimens, dating as far back as 1844. Please enjoy these spooky photos!

(Photo: Kostis Petridis)

            

Meeting Nº12: Ligatures Lectures - Lettering and the Movie Poster

What a night!

It's with great pleasure to announce the success of our first ever Ligature Lecture. In the spirit of the film festival that took over Toronto in September, our first lecture focussed the relationship between lettering and the movie poster. Beginning in the early 1920's, Leslie's lecture spanned the decades looking into the characteristics of type and how it evolved with the movie poster itself.

We were lucky enough, thanks to Veronica Wong, to host the event at Shopify at its downtown office. If you haven't met this talented lady yet, check her out on Instagram (SUPERVEE). Can't get enough of her amazing lettering! The wonderful space allowed for much interaction during the presentation as well as a a show-and-tell that followed the presentation.

This was a great opportunity for Leslie to combine both of her passions: film and type. Although there are plenty of resources when it comes to the evolution of the movie poster throughout the years, it's the relationship with type that grabbed her attention. Throughout all the research that went into this lecture, it was the fun and interesting factoids that would come about. For instance, the original Metropolis poster, which only has 4 known original copies left, went to auction and sold for over $1 million? Wild!

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There were many new faces that showed up for the presentation, which was fantastic. It was great to meet each and every one of you! It was lovely to see different groups break off and share some of the work that had been brought. As we move forward with Ligatures Lectures, it would be lovely for anyone interested in presenting a particular topic to contact Chris, Kyle, Margot, or myself. As we're such an eclectic group, it would be a great opportunity to share your knowledge with the rest of the group. We'd be happy to work with you for our second lecture.

Again, a big thank-you to Veronica and Shopify for hosting our very first lecture Looking forward to seeing everyone later this month for our type walk!

Photo credits: Christopher Rouleau

Meeting Nº13: Don Black Linecasting road trip recap

On September 19 & 26, Ligatures, along with the help of Tanya at Snap + Tumble Letterpress, organized 2 road trips to Don Black Linecasting in Scarborough.

Through the course of the visit, we were able to see dozen of amazing letterpress machines – some dating back to the turn of the 20th century – as well as cases and cases of type. We got to cast our names in lead (pictured above) and see these small letterforms printed on a proofing press (last photo).

Thanks again to Albert for offering such an informative tour, and to Don Black himself for the amazing historical anecdotes and the demo of the Intertype machine.

Please get in touch if you'd like to see more excursions like this in the future!

(Photo credit: Tanya Roberts)

(Photo credit: Tanya Roberts)

(Photo credit: Tanya Roberts)

 

Photos by Christopher Rouleau unless otherwise stated.

Meeting Nº11: 'Sign Painters' screening recap

(Photo credit: Ivonne Robledo)

After months of planning and weeks of work, the day had finally arrived. On Wednesday, August 21, we  gathered early at Swipe Design to prep for our first big screening of 'Sign Painters: The Movie'. With the help of the Swipe staff, we set up in the Urbanspace gallery, which comfortably held 100 seats. We also had tables for snacks, sign-up sheets and swag. (Thanks Fran, Kara, Kellie & Mike for helping to set up!)

Kyle had even prepared some fantastic "Reserved" signs for our special guests.

And we did not forget the popcorn, in special Ligatures-stamped bags (thanks, Leslie!)

The crowd slowly started to pour in around 6:30, and by 7:00, it was a full house, with nearly every seat taken.

Just after 7:00, we got things started. Chris Rouleau grabbed the microphone and welcomed everyone to the special event.

After a quick review of the Ligatures mandate and a plug of Ligatures' upcoming events, he went on to thank the sponsors for the evening: Fair Goods, Swipe Design | Books + Objects & Typostrophe. The evening was made extra special with homemade baked goods provided by Hart Felt Kitchen. Thanks again, Sharon!

On Wednesday, we were honoured to have Mr. Wayne Reuben join us for the screening. Wayne is one of the two remaining sign painters at Toronto world-famous department store, Honest Ed's. He even took time to do a few photos ops after the film. Thank again, Wayne!

(Photo credit: Mirela Z.)

On Thursday night, we did it all over again and presented our second sold-out screening to another crowd of 100 sign lovers. More popcorn, more treats, and more good times were had by all.

(Photo credit: Suzanne Long)

But perhaps the best part about Thursday: Wayne Reuben was kind enough to invite his fellow Honest Ed's signpainter, Mr. Douglas ("Dougie") Kerr, to the film screening. Dougie certainly made the evening extra special, and he was eager to chat with folks after the show. Thank you Dougie for joining us!

(Photo credit: Marie Rupolo)

We couldn't be more pleased with the turnout of these screenings and the warm reception from the community. Wednesday night's screening sold out in less than 10 hours, sparking the Thursday screening, which sold out in less than 28 hours. We are so happy that we were able to present the premiere of this film to Toronto. Sign painting has deep roots in Toronto, with Honest Ed's being a perfectly preserved example of this disappearing art form. More broadly, the film presents larger concerns with urbanism, commercialism, and mass-production (versus the hand-made), and we are glad to ignite these important discussions in our city.

Thanks to everyone who joined us – we hope to see you all again soon!

Meeting Nº10: Brush pen workshop recap

On Sunday, July 13, we gathered at Coach House Press for our first-ever brush pen workshop. We were joined by 21 eager participants, all ready to freshen up on their penmanship and learn a few tips & tricks from Toronto letterers Kyle Gallant & Christopher Rouleau.

The workshop started with some quick overviews of expressive brush lettering (rooted in 50s/60s commercial arts) followed by a demonstration of the three pens that were supplied: the Tombow, the Pentel, and the Faber-Castell. Each pen has its own character & quirks, so we allowed each participant some time to get familiar with them.

We set up throughout Coach House – some chose to work in the bindery, others upstairs in the library, while most people enjoyed a sunny spot on the outdoor picnic table. We have to thank our friend (and calligrapher extraordinaire) Kevin King for allowing us to work in such an inspiring venue.

After some warm-ups, we delved right into some brush pen exercises. These little assignments helped participants experiment with new techniques and challenge their lettering approaches. Each person was encouraged to work at their own pace while Kyle & Chris made their way around the class, offering one-on-one advice.

        

And before we knew it, 3 hours had passed, and we had to start wrapping things up. Since Coach House was generous enough to give us their space for the afternoon, we all created a Thank You card using our fresh new lettering skills. We think it turned out great!

Thank you again to everyone who gave us their valuable summer afternoon. Even within the course of three hours, we saw outstanding improvements in the skills of all participants. Due to the resounding popularity, success & positive feedback we have received, we can't wait to hold another brush pen workshop this fall. Please stay tuned - the subject will be same, but the duration of the course will likely be extended in order to fit more exciting lettering exercises.

Thanks again! And happy lettering!

(All photos by Christopher Rouleau & Leslie Harrod.)

Ligatures Calligraphy Workshop

On Saturday May 9^th, Ligatures had their first-ever Calligraphy workshop. I arrived at Coach House Books to see Kevin King setting up outside. We both agreed it was a perfect day for an outdoor class.

The picnic tables began to fill quickly with people and tasty treats (Thanks to Sharon and Lilly!) After brief introductions and announcements, Kevin took the floor to teach us about the fundamentals of calligraphy. Kevin gave us a teaching booklet that he created and hand-bound. It showed the script we would be learning — Edward Johnston's foundational hand — penned by Kevin himself.

It was a pleasure to watch Kevin teach the group. He established very quickly the proper way to hold the pen. With chalk in hand, he demonstrated the basic strokes and progressed to letterform construction. His diagrams were very helpful in understanding how letters were formed with multiple strokes.

Kevin supplied us with broad nib markers which he had cleverly cut to sharpen the nib as well as Pilot Parallel pens. As I walked around the group of 15, it was apparent they were quick learners. I enjoyed seeing all the subtle variations in everyone's style. By the end of the class everyone was making such stunning letterforms.

Photo by Christopher Rouleau

Photo by Christopher Rouleau

Making Faces screening recap

On April 9th, our group convened at Coach House Books for a screening of Making Faces: Metal Type in the 21st Century by Richard Kegler. This 45-minute film documented the fascinating (and meticulous) process of creating tiny metal type matrixes – from sketch to cast metal. It offered an intimate look at the process of Canadian graphic & type designer Jim Rimmer, and offered a few great laughs. Rimmer's typeface Stern (pictured above) was the first font to be released simultaneously in both digital and metal type formats.

Special thanks to P22 Type Foundry for making this screening possible, and to Coach House Books for generously offering their space. Much love to Kevin King for showing us an authentic case of Stern metal type, and for his vast knowledge of all things typographic.

Thanks to everyone who came out. See you at the next screening!

March Meeting Nº6: Lino printing workshop recap

Photo credit (bottom left): Tanya Roberts

On Sunday, March 23, we braved the frigid Toronto windchill and gathered at Coach House Press for our inaugural lino printing workshop. Myself and Tanya Roberts of Snap + Tumble Letterpress were the hosts for the day, and we were joined by 18 talented folks eager to learn a little bit more about lino printing techniques.

Tanya and I arrived early to prep everyone's supply bags. For $25, all participants received: one 4" x 6" lino tile, one Speedball carving tool, ten 5" x 7" sheets of Somerset paper, and access to brayers, ink and a printing baron.

We offered a brief introduction and demonstration in the bindery, and then participants were free to set up wherever they felt comfortable in Coach House. We had several people continue working in the bindery...

...while others headed up to the Hogarts-esque coffee room upstairs to start carving. We had people of all skill levels – some well versed in carving techniques, and others with zero experience at all. Everyone worked together to make their creations come to life.

Below are some fun process shots taken over the course of the 3 hour workshop.

Tanya and I were extremely grateful for such an amazing turnout, and blown away with the quality and range of work created. Every member of the group was so kind and generous – sharing tools, offering tips, and ever helping with cleanup. We also got to enjoy some amazing baked goods, courtesy of Sharon Hart of Hart Felt Kitchen. Thank you, Sharon!

This workshop could not have been possible without the help of Kevin King, who arranged for us to set up at Coach House. Thanks again, Kevin!

It was a pleasure to make this workshop come to life, and Tanya and I cannot wait to host the next lino printing workshop – hopefully sometime this summer. Please send us an email if you'd like to get on the mailing list, or follow us on social media for updates on upcoming events.

Thanks everyone! Happy carving!

(All photos by Christopher Rouleau unless otherwise stated.)

March Meeting Nº5: Recap

All I can say to begin this recap is THANK YOU to all those Ligatures members that braved the weather and made it out to Coach House for our first ever movie night! With the snow blowing outside, we screened the documentary Linotype in the quaint library on the second floor to a full house.

The night started with a wonderful tour and demonstration by Kevin King. Kevin’s been a wonderful contact with this group and helped in organizing this great event. Coach House is lucky enough to own an authentic Linotype machine, which is proudly displayed at the entrance. Built in 1917, the machine wasn’t in working order, but it was still something to see in person and really set the tone for the movie we were about to screen.

The film was filled with amazing and entertaining interviews with typesetters all around North America. From young to old, the fascination with type seemed to transcend the generations. It was great to see younger generations stepping forward to continue on the legacy that Linotype has created. One of the areas of the film that stood out was the discussion on the Linotype University, which offers various training programs to people interested. Organized and taught by Linotype engineers, there's actually a course coming up in the fall! Roadtrip?

I really don’t want to give too much away of the film but all I can say is that it is a really entertaining and educational film to check out. That being said, I think another big shout out needs to go to Ryan Edwards for helping us acquire the screening rights to this film. Without them, we wouldn’t have been able to make this happen. It was also lovely to see all those Ligatures members that brought along snacks & beverages to share with the group. Building a sense of community with the members has been wonderful and this movie night really brought us together. If you weren’t able to make this screening, don’t worry! We’ve got some more movie nights in the works for the upcoming summer months!

February Meeting Nº4: Recap

With love in the air, gathering at one of Toronto’s famous chocolatiers seemed fitting. Ligature members came together the eve before Valentine’s Day to share their very own love (of) letters.

As always, it was great to see some old and new faces at this month’s meeting. We are so grateful that members are spreading the word about our little group. The more we get ourselves out there, the more we can plan for great events and activities that benefit all.

As the type enthusiasts took over the back half of SOMA, Chris and myself were able to share some exciting news with some of the new members. With lots of hard work and dedication, we’ve arranged for Type Camp to come to Toronto. This is a very exciting opportunity, as it’s the first time this workshop has come to Toronto. Sessions are being offered on Friday, April 25^th and Saturday, April 26^th with a focus on calligraphy and hand lettering, instructed by Dr. Shelley Gruendler & Carol Fountain Nix. Both classes are filling up fast, so if you’re interested, please sign-up soon! (Early bird pricing ends March 1.)

We had some great show-and-tells this month as well. Not only was it great to meet some new type fanatics, but also see some of the work they were producing. Tanya Roberts (of Snap + Tumble letterpress) brought some über sexy Valentine’s Day cards to share with the group. Another member, JR Lagacé, brought in some of his lino cut prints that he had been working on. Chris brought in further examples of his on going “12 Months of Type,” with some examples of script using acrylic on various mediums. As mentioned earlier, if you come to a meeting bringing work isn’t necessary. We’re just happy to have you there and contributing to the group!

Another very cool event that we discussed was a lino carving workshop, hosted Chris Rouleau & Tanya Roberts (of Snap + Tumble letterpress). On Sunday, March 23^rd or Sunday, March 30^th, these two talented individuals 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 designs to lino, carving techniques, and the best ways to ink and press your work. The cost of this afternoon will be $25 and will include materials to get you through the afternoon. If you’d like to participate in this awesome event, please e-mail us at ligaturesyyz@gmail.com by Friday, February  21^st!

Next month, we’re looking forward to screening the Linotype film at Coach House Press. If you made it to the January meeting, you’ll know what a great location this place was, and how fitting it would be to screen this film. We’re still working on final date for the screening, so please watch for updates on the blog, site and social media. We’re super pumped about showing this film (you should be, too!).

All in all, it was a very successful meeting. Despite missing one of our co-founders (we miss you Kyle!), it was great to come together. Thanks again to all that came out to SOMA and we look forward to seeing you next month for our Linotype screening!

Lots of love to all of our members,

Chris & Leslie

January Meeting Nº 3: Recap

With the craziness of Christmas behind, all of us here at Ligatures wanted to start the New Year off just right. With that in mind, Coach House became the spot for our first meeting of the year. Having only heard of CH, it was a great opportunity to check out one of Toronto’s historical printing houses.

Chris, Kyle, and myself arrived earlier and got a sneak peek at our new meeting spot. When various forms of printing machines surround you, how can you not feel inspired? An original Linotype machine shadows you as you enter the building and despite it not being in working order (unless you want to have hot metal shot at you), was pretty fantastic to see in person. Kevin King, who also works at CH, was kind enough to give everyone a tour of the building as well as demonstrations of some of the printing devices that are currently in use. Seeing the evolution of type through these machines was quite amazing. Moving from the wooden and metal type casts to the use of printing plates gave you a sense of how far we’ve come and further appreciation for lettering itself.

I must say, Ligatures had its best turn out yet! It was amazing to see some reoccurring faces but as well as some new type lovers. A majority of the evening was spent discussing people’s work and sharing some of our current projects. Paul Dotey, an illustrator, was kind enough to bring in samples of his family’s Christmas cards from decades past. Words cannot describe how beautiful these cards were. From the delicate illustrations to the intricate lettering, it gave most of us at the meeting inspiration to have the coolest Christmas cards next year.

One of the biggest moments from the night was some great news that we’ve been keeping hush-hush for the last little bit. With some hard work done on our end (especially by Chris), we’ve convinced Type Camp (typecamp.org) to make a visit to Toronto! This will be its’ first time hosting a meeting in this city, which is pretty awesome. This is a wonderful opportunity for all of us type lovers to get together and learn from the pros! If you’d like more information head to either ligatures.ca or check out www.typecamp.org/camps/toronto-2014/

Thank-you to all the people that made it out! It was wonderful to see such dedication to getting this group going and making a real impact on Toronto’s type scene.