This just in from Hatch Show Print and Field Notes, our absolutely favorite memo book brand and joint venture between Portland, Oregon-based Draplin Design Company and Chicago-based design firm Coudal Partners. Hatch Show Print, Nashville's legendary letterpress print shop, was founded by the brothers Hatch in 1879 and remains the living heartbeat of classic American poster design. Since Field Notes first started, they’ve known that if they were going to use quarterly limited editions to explore the history of American printing, publishing and design, they were going to have to collaborate with the infamous Hatch Show Print at some point. And that point has finally arrived. The resulting “Hatch Show Print” Edition memo books are now available at fieldnotesbrand.com and from fine retailers worldwide.
“Hatch is known for letterpress posters that use heritage typography and display images that somehow always seem fresh and vibrant, but also timeless,” said Jim Coudal, cofounder of Field Notes. “But Hatch makes large posters, and we make small notebooks. So we had to figure out how to make those signature formats work together.”
Collaborating on Pressing Issues
Field Notes imagined a three-poster public service campaign about effective poster design. They called it Pressing Issues: A Series on Ink, Paper, and Muscle. They wrote some copy and handed it off to the crew at Hatch to design and print. Next, the three finished posters were cut into covers for the fall memo books and Field Notes included one from each in the 3-Packs. Each poster yielded six covers, and Hatch utilized a variety of inks throughout the print run. As a result, along with the natural variations in letterpress printing, there’s a ton of variety in the limited edition — no two packs are exactly alike.
Field Notes also produced “Bumping Elbows with Ghosts,” a short film shot at Hatch Show Print while the collaboration was on press. Field Notes cofounder Aaron Draplin explores Hatch’s amazing archives, follows the printing process, learned a ton, and for the most part, managed to stay out the way.
This limited edition set is part of Field Notes’ Quarterly Edition Series, which is available individually or as a year-long subscription that includes two packs of each quarterly release, as well as exclusive bonus items with each edition. With this release, subscribers receive two 3-Packs of the “Hatch Show Print” Edition and a subscriber-exclusive “Mini-Poster Set,” featuring all three of Hatch's original designs. Annual subscriptions are $120 including shipping in the U.S. (International subscriptions are $130 plus a one-time $20 shipping charge that covers the full year.)
About Field Notes
Founded in 2007, Field Notes is a memo book brand headquartered in Chicago, and is a joint venture between Portland, Oregon-based Draplin Design Company and Chicago-based design firm Coudal Partners. Its memo books are proudly printed and manufactured in the United States. Learn more at fieldnotesbrand.com.
