Rather than picking up a word search or sudoku to pass the time, designers might enjoy Tony Seddon’s new book Draw Your Own Alphabets, Thirty Fonts to Scribble, Sketch and Make Your Own. Although the book comes with brief descriptions of the anatomy of fonts and how to digitize new fonts, this isn’t a crash course in font design. The bulk of the 160 pages offers a variety of handwritten fonts, ranging from playful to structured, paired with a gridded sketch area to draw your own version of each sample. Seddon points out distinguishing characteristics of each font and suggests some natural partners that could be used in design, but again, the instruction is fairly cursory. Fun and stimulating, Draw Your Own Alphabets would be a great workbook to scribble in before bed, get your pencil moving in a moment of creative block, or stick in your carry-on for your next flight.
Final verdict (Buy It, Borrow It, Skip It)? If you’re looking for an alternative to Sudoku or an easy creative exercise, buy it! If you’re interested in learning how to design fonts, skip it.
Weekend Event Picks for Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill: It’s Third Friday in Durham // Enjoy music, art, food, camping & crafts at the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival all weekend long in Chatham County // Closing weekend of Activated Art at the Ackland, performances Friday and Saturday night // Last chance to take your kids to the NC Science Festival at Marbles Museum // Bet you didn’t know storytelling was a competitive sport…hear 8 previous winners compete at the Monti GrandSLAM Friday night // Live & Local Earth Day music festival Saturday in Raleigh // 10th annual Great Grapes Wine & Food Festival on Saturday // Go green at the free Durham Earth Day festival Sunday afternoon
I can’t remember how exactly Heather of Illustrated Bites and I met. I think it was through a blogger friend of a blogger friend. Or something like that. But I was immediately hooked. She’s unlike any other food blogger. Photographs are almost nowhere to be found on her site. That’s probably because she’s an illustrator, a very talented one, and illustrates all of her recipes. I see a pretty book that sits on the shelves of Anthropologie in her future. You don’t want to miss her MINT inspired recipe for today either. —Melissa
What is your best memory in the kitchen (current or past)? Anytime that I’m cooking with family or friends is a great time in the kitchen. I think cooking and eating should be a social event. If I could have folks over for dinner every night of the week, I would!
Whats the best thing about your kitchen? I live in an apartment, and my kitchen is small and leaves a lot to be desired, but I love my gas stove. I think gas ranges are pretty common on the west coast, but it’s my first one and I can never go back to an electric oven again. Also, there’s really cute aqua tiles behind the sink that I love.
What is your favorite meal to prepare? I cook cornbread and collard greens any chance I get. My boyfriend and I are both from North Carolina, and we remedy homesickness with Southern food. I’ve definitely become much more of a Southern cook since moving to California.
What does your dream kitchen look like? One day I hope to have a big open kitchen that lends to entertaining and hanging out. It will have plenty of counter space and storage, a dishwasher, a big harvest table, gas stove (of course!), and colorful tiles.
What 3 guests would you like to have around your dinner table? Three guests who I would love to have dinner with are a few figureheads of the East Bay food community. Alice Waters the owner of Chez Panisse, Michael Pollan food writer and author of books like The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and Novella Carpenter, urban farmer and author of Farm City. They’re just a few people in the area that really make the East Bay a special place be.
If you happen to find yourself in the triangle area of NC on Tuesday night (October 23rd), I hope you’ll come to hear me speak with CROP in Raleigh! I’ll be talking about:
• Why you should blog, and how it can help you achieve your goals • How to start a blog (when to post, what to post) • Promoting your blog • Submitting your work to bloggers • Blogger etiquette
Exciting!!
For more details, check out the CROP site. See you there!
