From graffiti carved in the walls of Pompeii in 79AD to the birth of printing, the bauhaus and contemporary ampersands, the evolution of ‘&’, a logograph from the Latin ‘et’ representing partnership, collaboration and coming together. The Union collection combines calligraphic drawing and typographic design to create a graphic history spanning two millennia.
Whitebeam Studio was founded by graphic designer Diana Allen and her daughter, visual artist Holly Allen Cooper. Their shared backgrounds in typography and calligraphy combine to create a new collection of plates exploring the rebel character in the alphabet.
The ampersand originated as a ligature of the Latin word ‘et’. The abbreviation was an alternative to the official Tironian shorthand taught to scribes from first century BC and was therefore personal to each and every author. As literacy increased among the general population, so did the personal flourishes of the common mark “&”.
Key examples of calligraphic styles and typefaces along the timeline are silkscreened by hand on English fine bone china. Whitebeam Studio collaborates with a small pottery in Stoke on Trent, one of the few manufacturing potteries that remain in the uk.
6 side/salad plates 21cm
1 serving plate 27cm
English fine bone china
See the collection at www.whitebeamstudio.com/union-ceramics
contact us
High and low resolution digital images:
press@whitebeamstudio.com
Diana Allen, Holly AllenCooper, founders:
hello@whitebeamstudio.com
Francesca Graham, sales and marketing:
francesca@whitebeamstudio.com
studio/usa+1 718 3300036
studio/uk +44 7526001230