“ADVERTISING WITHOUT POSTERS IS LIKE FISHING WITHOUT WORMS”
- The Hatch Brothers
This week I’m finally getting around to framing up the poster below - probably my favorite memento from our trip to Nashville in May (close second - the boots). But as much as I love the poster itself, in hindsight, it was the visit to Hatch Show Print shop itself which was the greatest takeaway.
I was intoxicated by just the experience of walking into the place - a narrow, friendly space that had clearly been in operation a loooooong time - where you stand at the counter and watch as they lovingly crank out show posters, invitations, and other cool stuff one by one with wood and lead blocks in one of the oldest working letterpress shops in America.
Among the hundreds of amazing show posters papering the walls of the narrow shop at 316 Broadway are limited-edition copies available for purchase. So it was with a yerp of delight that I stumbled on “the poster” - just perfect for my studio/office - and the very last copy of a print made for an NPR-sponsored show back in ‘09 called “Music For The Right Brain.” (I’m pretty sure you know about my right-brain penchant by now;)
Their website has a terrific video about the history of the shop - (note cats and Kathy - I saw both, and snagged the cat poster for my feline-addicted sister-in-law). I highly recommend taking a look to hear how they embrace their uniqueness, talk about their place in a digital age, and tell the story of their role in the history of advertising and commemoration art.
“It could be Bessie Smith, it could be The Beastie Boys,” says shop manager Jim Sherradan of the shop’s clientele. To me Hatch Show was just sheer awesomeness. I felt like I was holding hands with the past as that same past was delivering a modern-day message. As their site says, ”We are a tonic for the Information Age.” Indeed.
- The Hatch Brothers
Post a Comment