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A hayman 3030 guitar

IT’S ALIVE: Hayman 3030

Dun DUn DUNnnNNNnnne.

I update this website sporadically. Every visit I reflect on the fact the most popular post I’ve ever had is the Hayman 3030 one. It’s understandable, because anyone who’s lucky enough to own the baddest guitar in town has a limited number of places on the internet to find information about them, so bosh, they land here (poor souls).

Anyhoo, 10 years later I finally completed it. Yes, like a computer game, I completed it. Have a read of the link above, and then let me break down the key facts:

  • I was very lucky to buy the pickups I needed from Brandoni Guitars just before they closed. They only had the 1010 version (three pickups) so I had to remove the middle one, which I felt bad about.
  • Sanding the body down was fun and fine. It had green marker pen on it so had to be done. Obeche is very soft so I used a fine grit to avoid sanding the whole thing to dust. For the finish, I went with Wudtone. If you want a lovely finish that compliments the natural grain of the guitar and allows it to breathe, then I highly recommend them.
  • The original owner had cut out sections from the back of the guitar. I had to fill those with replacement sections of obeche. It’s very obvious where those sections were/are, but I’m fine with it. No, I’m not going to show you.
  • WIRING. I’d never wired a guitar before. It was easily the most fun part of the restoration, but also a steep learning curve. Let’s list the things: One of the lugs broke on the pickup; the ground wire from pickup to lug broke so had to be joined with solder; the switch selector was confusing because it’s not like your average switch selector. I must have had three attempts to get the correct pickups going in each switch position. Finally, there was an annoying buzz through the amp once I thought everything was done. Guess who hadn’t grounded the bridge. Yep.
  • The only part I can’t complete is the missing logo on the head. I can live with that.
  • I’d read from so many folk about how nice a Hayman is to play, and everyone was right. Not only does it sound bloody great through an amp (it’s the best I’ve heard on clean settings) but the feel on the neck is something else.

So far it’s done quite a few rehearsals and three gigs. I play it cool when I’m playing, but inside I’m smiling like a loon.

Richard playing the Hayman 3030 with his band.

And just as a reminder, here’s the side by side beginning to end pics 🙂Hayman 30/30A hayman 3030 guitar

Two ceramic heads looking at each other

Designing Cam Lates [in-house]

Have you noticed Cam Lates? Have you been to a Cam Lates event? If it’s ‘no!’ to both, then I’m not doing my job very well, and we shall move swiftly on before someone important finds out.

Designing in-house

In all my marketing and comms roles, I’ve had permission to do some graphic design. Partly because the organisations required it for one reason or another, but it’s mainly because I love doing it. There are pros and cons:

Pros

  • You have a good understanding of the project/thing you’re designing for
  • You have direct contact with the colleague you’re designing for
  • You have easy access to design components (logos, images etc)
  • Quick turnaround
  • Save on external design costs
  • You get better at it

Cons

  • Time designing could be better spent elsewhere – if I’m brutally honest with myself, it’s not my job
  • It’s hard to surprise yourself (you know, when you first open that attachment from a designer, and go ‘ooooh.’ That.)
  • It’s hard to be objective
  • Colleagues might not want to hurt your feelings when giving feedback
  • I don’t design on a daily basis, so what on earth makes me think I can do it?

That last one is really important, so I’m not even going to answer it. Onwards!

Designing Cam Lates

Cam Lates was a new programme of events for the University of Cambridge Museums. We wanted to reach young professionals, students and essentially those who would like something a little different from their museum visit/or night out in Cambridge.

The first Cam Lates programme involved four museums with events spread across four months. We did a general poster campaign (as well as online stuff) where four designs were drawn from the collections involved. Crucially, they promoted the whole programme, rather than each individual event.

Posters for Cam Lates in 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And there you have it.

Okay, confession, I started writing this post about two years ago and now I’ve come back to the website thinking I should put my recent stuff on there and oosh! I didn’t even finish this one. But now I have, sort of…

The posters went down well and were probably the first big design job I did for the University where folk sat up and took notice. I do lots of design now, so let’s see if I can get some of that up too.

See you soon x

People I worked/work with…

Catchy title, eh?

Back when I worked at Writers’ Centre Norwich, I decided to do some very simple drawings/designs of my colleagues. It was partly to do with getting the hang of Inkscape (free vector drawing tool), but also to have something to do on the train journey from Ely.

They’ve been sat on my laptop for a couple of years now. I always intended to show them to my chosen subjects, but felt a bit weird about it. I considered them as gifts, but then thought why on earth would they want a picture of themselves?

I dunno, whatever the response, now seems like a good time to let them know…

(sorry Chris, Annelli, Leila ((you already know)), Katy, and Sam ((think you also know)). If you do want to print these, the below images link to PDF downloads)

Richard White #18

It’s been over a year since I last drew a Richard White. It’s been over a year since I last did anything on this site. Life kinda got busy; all good busy, but the kind of busy where other stuff that used to keep you busy just didn’t seem important enough to be busy busy. Or something.

Anyway, I’m here now, back with another Richard White. This one is a prison mugshot.

Richard White #17

Richard White #17 is no longer with us. The below obituary was published back in 2009.

WHITE, Richard E.
Richard was born on Dec. 1, 1956, in Chicago, Ill., and passed away in Sacramento on Feb. 6, 2009, at the age of 52. He was born with a rare and severely disabling disease (Mucolipidosis), resulting in numerous major surgeries, extended hospitalizations and almost continuous pain throughout his entire life. In 1977 with his family he came to Sacramento where he attended and graduated from Sacramento State University, majoring in Business Administration. For over 20 years he was employed as an Auditor by the Department of Motor Vehicles, where he looked forward to working each day and where he was loved and cherished. He enjoyed traveling, studying history, watching sporting events and learning the Russian language. He is survived and greatly missed by his loving family: his parents Margaret and Richard White and his sister Carolyn White of Sacramento; his sister and brother-in-law Elaine and Russell Swerdon and nephews Colin and Matthew Swerdon of Pleasanton, Calif. Friends and family are invited to attend a Rosary at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009, at St. Joseph’s Church, 32890 South River Rd., Clarksburg, Calif., and the Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 13, 2009, at St. Joseph’s Church in Clarksburg. In lieu of flowers, you may wish to make donations to the International Society for Mannosidosis and Related Diseases (ISMRD), P.O. Box 308, Dexter, MI 48130, or the Bishop Gallegos Maternity Home, P.O. Box 305, Fair Oaks, CA 95628. Richard has been an inspiration to many.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Following the in-house creation of last year’s WCN Christmas postcard, we decided to give it another go. Thankfully, WCN’s new Communications Assistant, Anna – who has a delicious blog called Velvet Alphabet, which is all about cooking, eating, watching, reading, creating and enjoying (words stolen from her website) – came up with an excellent plan of festive attack.

It involves pencil shavings.
It involves lead.
It’s tree shaped.
It’s a snowman.
No, it’s a pencil shavings Christmas tree!

So, if you’re reading this, I really hope you get sent one. If you don’t, send me an email and I’ll post one especially. Maybe.

Christmas-Tree christmas-postcard2

Gosh, another Goshawk

A Goshawk Flyer

Jeanette Winterson and Helen Macdonald are on their way to Norwich. Not right this minute, but they’ll be on their way once March 2015 comes around. I did a flyer for WCN. It features Winterson’s lovely head and a bunch of Goshawks to represent Macdonald’s memoir H is for Hawk. That book is getting a hell of a lot of attention, and rightly so. You’ll find plenty of articles in the national tabloids, but this interview in the Cambridge News is excellent. Winterson is well known for her memoirs Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit and Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal, as well as for poetry, journalism and much, much more.

Drooling? Tickets are available on the WCN website, and Norwich Playhouse website if you fancy somewhere different.

From a design point of view, I thought the Goshawks were rather nice, so you can see them in all their glory, above and below, and the flyer, in all its semi-glory, below below.

Another Goshawk Gosh, another Goshawk Goshawk Jeanette Winterson / Helen Macdonald Flyer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richard White #16

Richard White #16

I begin with a confession: this Richard White may not be a bona fide Richard White.

Please don’t think bad of me.

It’s a shame, because, technically, it’s probably my best Richard White yet. I found him on Google images some time ago, but didn’t do the proper research. That research involves clicking on the image to see the web page he/she (you never know) sits on, which often clarifies his name truly is Richard White. Why wouldn’t it be? Mainly because website owning Richard Whites from across the world like to post pictures of other people, meaning Google, or any other search engine, sometimes incorrectly labels them as Richard White. How many times can I say Richard White in this post? I promise this over-use of the word Richard White has nothing to do with search engine optimisation. Nope. Richard White. Richard White.

 

Richard White is a project where I, Richard White, find and draw the Richard Whites of this world. If you’re still unsure, check out the Richard White project page.

Today I filmed the Poet Laureate of Jamaica

Mervyn Morris was in Norwich having performed the previous evening at the Live Lit Lounge in the Birdcage. Writers’ Centre Norwich (WCN) supported the event, so WCN Programme Director, Jon Morley, took the opportunity to interview him the next day. As in, today.

It was a bit last minute, meaning we ended up filming in whatever room the Maids Head Hotel staff decided to throw us in. That space ended up being a ballroom. Being a professional, I filmed using the office ipad mini, stuck on a wodge of blu-tack on top of a tripod. Morris was dead impressed.

The interview was fascinating. They talked about Morris’ poetry, the work of other Caribbean poets he’d edited and much, much more. I’ll post the film when it’s done. For now, here’s a nice picture of Morley and Morris, with White in the middle.

Jon Morley and Mervyn Morris

 

Richard White #15

Richard White #15

Richard White #14 and #15 have seen the Richard White production line, or rather, project, take off again. I’m pleased, as it simply means I’m carrying on – something I’m prone to not doing, what with all the other things people can get up to on a train, like reading the paper or playing Dots.

Anyhow, this Richard White is a Professor at Stanford University. The University page reads as follows:

Richard White is the Margaret Byrne Professor of American History at Stanford University and is the principal investigator for the Shaping the West project. This project explores the construction of space by transcontinental railroads in North America during the late nineteenth-century. Professor White has been conducting this research for the last twelve years.

Twelve years. Twelve years. That’s my Richard White Project inspiration, right there.

 

Richard White is a project where I, Richard White, find and draw the Richard Whites of this world. If you’re still unsure, check out the Richard White project page.

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