I love old mechanical objects, they fascinate me.
Some of my earliest memories are of my grandfather half-buried under his ancient car, a racing green Austin A35, fixing something that was either broken or falling off – he kept the car running for over 30 years, and it was second hand when he purchased it.
I also remember a school visit, at 10 years of age, to a weaving museum and being completely spellbound by the mechanics of the looms and the spinning jenny – the size and the noise was an overload to the senses, but these machines still worked and continued to produce beautiful fabric.
I learnt to sew with a hand-propelled Singer machine and I taught myself to type on an ancient Royal typewriter that weighed almost the same as I did at the age of 11.
I enjoy working with vintage items that were created for a purpose before the age of consumerism and redundancy were built into the life of the goods which are on the shopping shelves today. Goods that can be maintained, and looked after, and cherished, and will continue to produce as long as they are cared for – items that can last for generations.
So here I find myself, sharing my life-long love of literature and language, being able to create a business by producing and sharing a choice of quotes which inspire or speak to me, on a vintage typewriter which is a joy to use. It is not as swift as a word processed document or as perfect in continuity of print as a digital process, but each piece of work that I produce on my 1963 Olivetti Lettera 32 will always be unique.
That is not to say that I don't like the modern world and the constant surge of technology, this has enabled me to indulge my other love of typography within my digital designs and create inspiring literary prints which fully embrace the technological world we inhabit - you can reside in Australia and purchase from me at a moment in time which would be my 'tomorrow' o'clock (in the UK and 11 hours behind you guys!), print and frame my design and have it hung on your wall before I have woken up in the morning - progress is not a negative movement but, personally, I like to keep one foot in the past too.