Beauty In The Making

I went to this lovely exhibition yesterday called Beauty In The Making in Victoria House basement [nearest tube Holborn]. It explores the creative processes behind things we take for granted on a daily basis, for example the paper we use, and typefaces like Helvetica at the touch of a button. We rarely give much thought to the skill and craftsmanship involved behind typography, or that there's more to paper making than simply chopping down trees.

The exhibition is very interactive, with a live demonstration of turning dyed pulp into paper, letterpressing and envelope making. Sharon and I spent a good half hour making three envelopes, so it really boggles my mind that people at GFSmith make 200 envelopes an hour by hand! We also saw the actual design plans by Eric Gill for his most famous work, the Gill Sans typeface. As well as all this, there are daily talks with different speakers for each day. Check out the Talks Programme for more information.

As part of the exhibition, we got given a lovely goody bag to go home with! This included a beautiful notebook by GFSmith, with assorted coloured paper and exposed Spanish binding.

Unfortunately when I visited Beauty In The Making, I didn't have my camera on me - but I intend to go again before it's over! This exhibition is perfect for paper and stationery lovers, make sure you visit before it finishes on Friday 27th April.