Tools of the Trade - January

Thank you to everybody who bought our 2013 ‘Tools of the Trade’ Calendar. We really enjoyed putting it together and found it fascinating to see some of the tools which are used to make our favourite products. However we didn’t have space on the calendar to explain exactly what these tools were - so here we present the first in a series of twelve blogposts about our Tools of the Trade.

Our first set of tools are used to produce one of our most popular products; our Letter Postcards.

Each one is handprinted by Chrissie and Vicky in ‘The Corridor’, their narrow workshop in Tufnell Park, North London - at 1.2metres wide ( or 244 pica ems ), it is just wide enough to pull out a case of type.

From this workshop, using their collection of Adana presses sourced from all around the country, Harrington and Squires produce our cards alongside their own range of printed material, including cards, bookmarks, badges and magnets, as well as offering a bespoke design and printing service.

“The name Harrington and Squires is a homage to Bob Harrington and Horace Squires, ex-compositors and letterpress tutors at Hornsey College of Art in the late 60s and early 70s, and it conveys the bespoke quality of our work.”

The first Tool of the Trade is a sample of Gill Sans Titling wooden type. As used on our cards, this classic typeface has been used by Penguin Books, LNER, the BBC and Labour and Wait. Gill Sans is these days seen as a short-cut to mid-century Britishness, but we first loved it for its clean, clear lines and its quiet typographical authority.

Next to the type we have the Cornerstone quoin key and under that an 8x5 Adana chase, which is the frame in which type is secured or locked up ready for printing. The type is padded out with furniture ( pieces of wood or metal ) and tightened up with the quoin, which is a locking device to keep all the items in position in the chase.

And finally next to the quoin and chase we have a tin of rubber based ink and a roller for inking up the type ready for printing.

All of these tools are used together by Chrissie and Vicky to make our Letter Postcards.

For those who would like to learn more, Harrington and Squires run letterpress workshops to introduce the art and technique of typesetting and printing. 

Our thanks go to Chrissie and Vicky for supplying us the tools to shoot, and for allowing us to share their pictures. 

Sale

We’re back from our Christmas break, and the first thing to do is clear out our storeroom, which has accumulated another 6 months’ worth of samples, seconds and shop soiled goods.

We’ve sorted through everything now, so if you don’t mind a slight chip in your enamel, or fancy some end-of-line bargains why not to pop down to Redchurch Street this weekend?

Christmas Opening

Our opening hours this Christmas are as follows:

Thursday 20th - 11.00am to 6.00pm

Friday 21st - 11.00 am to 8.00pm

Saturday 22nd - 11.00am to 6.00pm

Sunday 23rd - 11.00am to 6.00pm

Monday 24th December to Tuesday 1st January - CLOSED

Wednesday 2nd January - 11.00am to 6.00pm

Please note that during this period there will be no mail order service. You may place orders, but they won’t be picked and posted until the 3rd January.

Thanks to all our customers for their support this year, and have a happy Christmas!

Last Orders Please!

The Christmas Mail Order Elves are working flat out, so have asked me to tell everyone that it is now time to place your last orders.

Today is the deadline for EUROPEAN ORDERS to be placed - if you are placing an order please make sure we have a contact telephone number as your local courier may need to contact you.

The deadline for UK orders is Wednesday 19th December. Our courier service is next-day, so if you must have it before Christmas please make sure to select UKMail rather than Royal Mail First Class. 

Please bear in mind we are very busy, to please place your Christmas orders as soon as possible!

Rotating Soap Holders

Also back in stock - after a long wait - our Rotating Soap Holder and Replacement Soaps.

Candle Holder

Finally back in stock! And just in time for Christmas… our Enamel Candle Holder.

Wrapping Paper

Christmas must really be getting close - we see now the arrival of brightly coloured wrapping paper, cheering up our grey December afternoons.

This Christmas we welcome back our traditional range of patterned papers, featuring designs from Eric Ravilious, Enid Marx, Edward Bawden and Jonathan Gibbs.

And joining them for the second year, we have papers from young London designer Esme Winter.  Surely a must for every well-dressed present.

Available in store now.

Mail Order

Meet the Labour and Wait Mail Order Team. 

Every order that gets sent out from the subterranean Labour and Wait dispatch centre is expertly picked and packed by Jasper and Dominic - with help from old friend Brian during the busy Christmas period.

Orders are received in the nerve centre of the Admin Department. Each one will contain a unique mixture of products requiring the careful selection of the appropriate box from our cardboard mountain. We recycle as much of the packaging we receive as possible, so although your package may not look perfectly new, it is helping to save the planet.

Each box has any existing tape or stickers removed before it is repurposed. Although the packaging is recycled, the Mail Order Team pride themselves on sending out beautifully neat and tidy boxes.

Many of our items are delicate so require careful wrapping in ( recycled ) bubble wrap.

The Housekeeper’s Bucket is a particular favourite with the Mail Order Team. They love carefully wrapping these to prevent damage from any possible mishandling in transit - why not order two, and brighten up their day?

Boxes are often cut down to size, to ensure a snug fit for the contents.

Other packages require more inventive solutions. Take the Large Feather Duster, for instance, which often finds itself in the most unusual of places.

The lifeblood of any hard-working team is tea. Here it is used as inducement for Dominic - no tea until these orders are finished!

As Christmas approaches, the basement is taken over by cardboard - wall to wall, as far as the eye can see. 

The Mail Order Team’s Tools of the Trade.

At the end of the day, the boxes are ready to be picked up. Some of these packages will travel as far afield as Clitheroe, Newport, Los Angeles and Slough - we imagine the excitement of the recipients as they receive their package and tear it open. This is the all the motivation that the Mail Order Team require. That, and lots of tea.

If you require delivery for Christmas, please ensure that we receive your order by Wednesday 19th December. 

Enamel Soap Dish

We’re glad to say our Enamel Soap Dishes are finally back in stock.

New for Christmas 2012

Christmas is traditionally the time we find lots of new gift ideas, and this year is no exception. So let us introduce our Christmas 2012 line-up:

 

To start with, some toys, and a couple of old classics; the Gyroscope and the Kazoo. 

 

To go with our best-selling Pinhole Camera Kit and Radio Receiver Kit, we now have a Morse Code Kit. Ideal for technically-minded and inquisitive kids of all ages.

  

And for the young entomologists and ornithologists, we have a Bug Identification Kit and a Birdwatching Kit.

 

For the older outdoors enthusiasts we have a Survival Tin, which includes a compass, fishing kit, sewing kit and mini knife, while the stainless steel Mini Multi Tool can be used as a screwdriver, wrench, ruler, bottle opener, can opener, wire stripper, wood saw and knife.

  

The Survival Tin includes an emergency whistle, but we thought we’d supplement this with the classic Acme Thunderer. And while you wait for your rescue, why not make a nice brew with the Storm Kettle? A favourite with outdoor enthusiasts worldwide, this formidable device will boil water in even the foulest weather. 

  

To complete the backwoodsman’s kit we have the world famous, windproof and almost indestructible Zippo Lighter, and a Pocket Sharpening Stone - perfect for our Opinel or British Army Knives.

  

The Maglite Flashlight is a design classic, with heavyweight machining and a lifetime guarantee, and its little brother the Maglite Mini comes in a handy hard case.

 

We welcome the return of a couple of old Christmas favourites, the Kid’s Dustpan and Brush Set ( start them early ), and the German Nutcracker.

 

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without games, and we think a set of Playing Cards ( and a game of Newmarket ) is a great way to spend an evening. We also welcome the return of our page-a-day Pocket Diary.

 

Many of us here are keen cyclists, and we think this Dutch Puncture Repair Kit is a great little set, while the handy Mini Mess Tin can be used indoors or outdoors, in the studio, kitchen or office.

  

Th perfect vessel for our Italian Shaving Soap, we have found a beautiful Shaving Mug, and for a touch of luxury we have the famous ‘Major’ Travel Shaving Brush.

  

We know many of customers are dog owners, so we have put together a great range, including this rope Dog Lead, made by the master rope makers at the Chatham Dockyards, and this professional Dog Whistle.

 

We love this traditional heavyweight ceramic Dog Bowl, and the perfect accessory for all pet owners must be our best-selling Rubber Grooming Brush.

    

And for the person stuck in the kitchen on Christmas Day? Why not treat them to an Enamel Stewpot or an Enamel Casserole - made in Austria by Riess these versatile pots can be used on the hob and in the oven, and are perfect for turkey stew on Boxing Day ( and the day after, and the day after that… )

All of our Christmas products are available in store, or on our website.