arts and crafty


Even though the Furrie and Shortie comics are my crudely drawn images, the actual design and production quality of Issue 1 were anything but crude - J’s meticulous and fastidious work. Issue 1 was printed on sustainable and textured paper from RJ, thread sewn with an exposed bind, and shrink wrapped with a hard board. 

The designers for Issue 2 and 3 (thank you Sean Tiang and Koh Wei Ting, respectively) continued in the same vein. For Issue 3, we decided to push it further with a full-colour print for the whole book, plus 3 fold-out spreads. I wanted this series to end in a manner that was respectful of its balck-and-white minimalism, but also different. Why shouldn't it end in full colour

Unlike J, I am very lo-fi. He called me “arts and craft” (it wasn’t meant to be a compliment). While our tastes are similar, we differed in our sensibilities. The designer in him considered and wanted absolute control over everything. I am happy to let the process play out with all its quirks since they are by my hand. C’est la vie!

The packaging for the "Wrap Around my heart" Furoshiki/scarf/bandana and the "Walk and Half" hankies, as well as the brown paper bags and the drinks coupons are all made from art material and stuff I have amassed. They also recycled the last batch of name cards for ampulets that J designed. 


This last namecard design is my fave. The 1st 2 namecards (2007-10) were cute and played on the idea of ampulets as a nonsense/made up word. The 3rd and the 4th (2011-15) were simple duplex cards (he used squared lined notebooks all the while), one blind embossed and the other with the ampulets name more clearly stamped. Then came the 5th (2016-18) printed on a subtly patterned translucent paper, and in a gatefold with each layer revealing something different: the first being "ampulets" in English, then "安普樂" the Chinese name of the studio, and finally the studio's contact details. 

Although there is no longer the designer’s touch for the latest Furrie & Shortie merch and their packaging, I hope you continue to enjoy the things made by ampulets/Neighbourgoods!



J would have been quite appalled by this design....






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