Letterheads 2020 – A step back in time

October 16 - 18 2020, the 23rd annual Letterheads Festival was held at Dean ‘Elvis’ Johnstones’, new Dream It sign shop, in Christchurch. Dean is known for his skills in developing themed business establishments and is an avid builder of anything quirky, especially if it has a connection to matters inter-terrestrial (the TARDIS, crashing flying saucers that feature on the news or pretty much anything Star Wars related. He’s also a highly proficient, talented, airbrush artist having won many awards to evidence the fact. The event was well supported with seventy people attending, many of whom commented it had been their first trip away all year!. Like most things this year, COVID had it’s impact, in that there were no international visitors for the first time in a very long time.

At these events, artisans and craftspeople from the various disciplines of signmaking congregate to share their wealth of knowledge with anyone who is prepared to watch, listen, learn or experiment. It is in this way that an appreciation for the traditional craft of signmaking is passed on from the elder statesmen to the present practitioners to ensure that these arts and crafts are not lost to the digital age. To this end all people with an artistic mind, an artistic hope or an artistic skill are more than welcome to register and attend.

Having attended many Letterheads events in NZ and around the world over the years, this was the first Letterheads event that Dean has hosted. The theme for the event was “A step back in time” and attendees were encouraged to think back to the days when they were an apprentice, dress accordingly, learn from each other and have a lot of fun. Says Dean, “whilst there is always a lot of talking and knowledge sharing at these events it was really important to me that this knowledge was applied in real life and that everyone walked away having finished a project. So we set up a huge shed plenty of workstations, paintbrushes, power and food and created a space where people could sit alongside each other chat, learn and create.

There were some amazing creations, but my favourite was watching Tony Arnold from Hokitika, who had never done any gilding before, gild the Letterheads event logo onto glass, with help and support from industry legend Noel Morrison. Everyone agreed it was a great weekend and are eagerly looking forward to next year’s event.

Letterheads NZ would like to thank event sponsors Computaleta, PSP, Total, Resene, Cohesive. The next event will be held in 2021 hosted by Clinton Potter of Red Star Signs in Hamilton. For full details and a registration form visit www.letterheads.co.nz or follow us on https://www.facebook.com/Letterheads-New-Zealand-1436022886654043/