It seems Meta and I are always in the car. Driving isn’t a big deal; being from both Texas and Montana, we’re used to long drives. Twenty-two hours from Bozeman to Dallas? Done it, many times. Four days to Boston? OK cool. Two days to Toronto, no problem. Two days to Nova Scotia, sure. We’re always going on a roadtrip somewhere. One great thing about New England (as opposed to Montana) is that there are tons of things that are an hour or two away. There’s always some little town with a flea market or community bazaar, and we’ve become quite hooked on getting up, putting the dogs in the car and heading off in some direction. We’ve actually driven to Portland Maine to have blueberry pancakes (two hours). As a weekend thing, we load Arlo and Birdie up and head off somewhere, usually just a day trip. Motels are hella-expensive now, so a long day in the car is just fine. We take the guys to dog parks we find, and they sleep most of the time anyway. Meta will read about some flea market or community event, and we’re off in the car. It’s all part of what we call the Graphic Design Roadtrip; more about that later. We go to bookstores, flea markets, junk stores, thrift stores, and the occasional antique mall. Now, some of those stores are good, some are bad. We’re not looking for grandma china or decorative glass—of which there is a lot—but usually, for paper ephemera. These are items intended for short-term use, created for a specific purpose and then discarded after use. Magazines could be an example, but it’s also billheads, packaging, tickets, menus and maps. It’s becoming harder and harder to find good paper… I look for travel ephemera everywhere, and occasionally, find amazing things. In 1955, a family drove from New York to Florida, and collected every tourist attraction brochure they could find… alligator farms, hot springs, everything. Motel brochures, restaurant menus…Hundreds of them. I bought a whole box full for less than $5, you know, just in case I might need them later for a project or something (that’s where Graphic Design Roadtrip will come into play later). They have absolutely zero value to most people, but for me, it’s a look into popular culture, which is a big interest of mine. I’m really interested in design that isn’t fancy, or famous, and usually is sort of homely, but authentic. The paper (especially packaging) gets kinda pricey, so Meta started taking photos—I mean like thousands of photos—which she occasionally posts on FB or Insta. This documents the things without us having to buy them, so we can look at stuff all day and spend like ten dollars or something. She did a great logo for Roadtrip, we wanna make some hats or something. I’ll leave all the pretty pictures for her. I want to tell you a few stories. Stay tuned.
Audrey Moss
7mo
I miss hearing your stories! Glad to see there's even more to explore out there. Love this, can't wait to hear more.
Anna Pierce
7mo
Love this. I can't wait to follow along — you'll never know when you need a little inspiration!
Jane Mills
7mo
Love hearing about your adventures! You two have incredible design style. I have no doubt that whatever you are up to will be fabulous!
Paul Jerde
7mo
I think this design is clever. Good job.
I’m ready to buy some GDR merch!
Animator at Fiction Tribe
7moI already put some money aside for the merch you've got a fan outta me