Today I headed up to Walthamstow to visit Chris Bracey’s huge studio on Vallentin Road – God’s Own Junkyard. Peeking through the locked iron gates, it really does look just like a junkyard, but once inside it’s like an Aladdin’s cave of neon treasures.
I don’t know whether it’s because of the junkyard’s location, or if it’s because not that many people know about it, but when my friend and I showed up at around 2pm on a Saturday – a peak time for visitors in most places – we were lucky enough to be the only people there.
The man who works there, John, is really friendly and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of pretty much everything stored in the studio. He was happy to show us round, pointing out props and signs that had been in various films, like Tombraider, Eyes Wide Shut, and the newest installment of the Iron Man films – a huge ‘STARK’ sign. I really can’t recommend this place enough; I’ve never been anywhere else like it!
Posted in Art, Culture, Design, Film, Photography, Writing
Tagged photography, nostalgia, surreal, creativity, London, art, fun, set design, creative, east London, writing, contemporary art, film, cool, Leonie Cumiskey, writer, artist, 2013, blogging, fashion shoot, signage, neon lights, Chris Bracey, neon art, props, film industry, light art, places to visit, Walthamstow, film props, cool locations, something different, God's Own Junkyard, old signs, lightbulbs, slogans, days out, friendly London, artist studio, junkyard
Brilliant series of adverts from Uniball which highlight the merits of sending a handwritten letter and cleverly illustrate what misused fonts say about your message. An advertising campaign which is all about communication and implicit meaning – so meta!
My favourite one is ‘Pappy Is Dead‘, which makes fun of Comic Sans (the underdog of all fonts) and there is also quite a camp skit deriding the Broadway font, too. The ‘Bust You Out’ version is probably the most effective, because obviously slang sounds so ridiculous when it’s read out in the Queen’s English! It reminds me of the time when James Blunt had to read out some Sean Paul lyrics on Never Mind The Buzzcocks.
