The Brattleboro Shop Opens, With Love For Old Lettering

The Brattleboro Shop is now open.

As most people know, I’m a big fan of both Brattleboro and local history. I’ve combined those two passions into a project that others can enjoy – The Brattleboro Shop. It’s an online gift store with exclusive, unique Brattleboro-centric gifts and goodies. 

My fun comes from re-making old logos and designing retro-looking artwork. It’s good practice for me to study old lettering and to try to imitate old poster styles, and it is joyful to give some of these old designs new use.

You get to benefit by having access to some really neat, new, unique Brattleboro gifts.

Just look at some of these letters. Here is an “E” from a J. Estey logo. I love the way the middle line of the letter pierces the upright and goes back through it. I’m also intrigued and amazed that the background outline shape (light blue) doesn’t match the foreground shape (dark blue) at all. Who thought this up? How?

Or take a look at the “R” from an Estey Organ Company logo. It is from the “organ” part of the logo. I’ve been working with letters and type my entire life and have never seen such a R. I love that inner curl, and the way the tip of the r comes to a point, facing straight down. Such creativity.

I really enjoy the ‘W” of this Vermont Wheel Club logo, too (below. The Wheel Club was Brattleboro’s bicycle club, with club rooms on Elliot Street. They used to have an annual ball, and regular races and competitions. The W here features some interesting flourishes, with curvy, bold outside lines and a center that seems to be topped with a little person. I like that the center isn’t a single line, too. It crosses and doubles back on itself. And we haven’t even mentioned the rather prominent wings giving the logo some lift.

In addition to lettering, I’ve been having fun re-creating other Brattleboro icons. I’ve re-made both the Main Street and Centre Church clock faces, and created a series of posters celebrating Brattleboro’s ties to circus arts.

I’ve also been practicing my vintage poster art, and creating a series of travel posters showing off Brattleboro landmarks. So far I’ve done the Brooks House, ski jump, and Retreat Tower. I have a few more on my to-do list, too.

(These are all done using original photos or scans. I bump the size up tremendously and work at a high resolution. I use Photoshop to place points and define vector curves, outlining each “layer” of the original and creating new, real layers in the software. I typically work in greyscale until the shapes are correct, then I work on colors. If the original has colors, I’ll try to match it. If not, I improvise.)

You can find iBrattleboro merchandise. There are farmers’ market greeting cards, using photos of fabulous foods, and even some skateboard (Brattle Bored) designs. Poke around the Collections to see everything. 

I’ll be adding things on a regular basis, so go ahead and bookmark the link to the page, or look for the ad here on iBrattleboro and click on that to get there.

We get a nominal percentage of all sales, so your support helps us keep doing what we do. Spread the word, and treat yourself to something nice.

Finally, if there’s something you’d like, let me know. I’m taking requests.

The Brattleboro Shop is at your service.