Hand crafted type

When I was a kid I used to love the hustle and bustle of markets and shopping arcades.

I have very strong memories of the beautifully hand written price tags in the fruit 'n veg and meat stalls.

Most of that sort of stuff today is either churned out in a factory in China or scribbled out with a thick Sharpie by the stall owner.

It wasn't always this way.

Londoner Roy Gardner created much of the signage I saw as a kid.

Not for him the letraset or computer. He did it all by hand.

Now that my friends is typography.

The shop where he sold his wares is still going to this day.

It's in Spitalfields in East London and it's now run by his son Paul.

As you can see there's a timeless beauty about Gardner's work.

Which is quite surprising really when you consider its contemporary equivalent.

Anyway if you'd like to see more of Roy Gardner's work click here and visit Spitalfields Life.

Or if you're in London why not drop by Gardner's shop in Commercial St and say hello.

Be sure and tell 'em Stan sent you!