Manchester-based designer and crafter Emma Smart is the subject of our latest Handmade Type Workshop contributor Q&A. Read on to find out what inspires her work and what the future holds for Smart Emma.
What led you to making ‘handmade type’?
Working as a graphic designer I seem to spend a lot of my time on a computer, so its nice to be able to take some of my time at home and experiment with sewing, this piece of ‘handmade type’ was created to go at the start my portfolio and show my crafty side compared to the other design projects in there.
What are you favourite materials to use?
embroidery silks, wool, mesh, cardboard, material, cotton – I like the range of textures and colours of the wool/embroidery silks create.
What (or who) inspires your work?
Loads of things inspire me, I am always on design blogs, researching on the internet, looking at books, magazines, films, jewellery, going to markets and clothes. Everything and anything really!
There seems to be a trend for all things handmade in design at the moment, why do you think this is?
With so much work being digital at the moment I think handmade projects are becoming popular because of the uniqueness and there seems to be a appreciation for the techniques taken to create each piece.
What projects are you working on now and what does the future hold?
I’m currently working on some embroidered signs and a hand sewn Year Planner/Calendar that you’ll be able to pin things to. I’ve also been desperate to make an embroidered cuckoo clock which hopefully I will get round to soon!
Get inspired with Emma’s tutorial in Handmade Type Workshop and discover more at smartemma.co.uk.
Taking font creation back to basics, Charlotte Rivers‘ new book explores innovative ways to design contemporary lettering of all kinds, examining everything from classic design examples to 3D and illustrated fonts, digital lettering and radical conceptual alphabets.
Handmade Type Workshop is ideal for anyone looking to move beyond existing typography and fonts to create, explore and use original or customized letterforms and available now from our website.
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