Hatch Show Prints Nashville

I've already plundered a few of my holiday snaps from the recent US road trip (did you see the amazing Shack Up Inn in Mississippi? Loved that place!). There will be more plundering – we just saw sooooo much great stuff.

In today's post, may I introduce you to Nashville's legendary poster shop, Hatch Show Prints. Our friend Ashley used to live in Nashville and has some of their bright screen prints on her kitchen wall. When I admired them, she told me all about the shop. So while we were there we went to check it out.

This is the tempting wall that greets you as you enter the shop, which is also where the printing happens, as you can see lower down in this post.

I bought a postcard version of the cool Patsy Cline print, above (there's a clearer image below, too). Did you know that Cline was was the first female artist to headline her own shows in the late 1950s? I've been listening recently to modern Nashville singer, Caitlin Rose, who does a lovely cover of Cline's 1957 number, Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray. Gorgeous.

But back to Hatch.

Hatch began as a family-run business in 1875, when the two original Hatch brothers brought their letterpress skills from Wisconsin to Nashville.

They started pretty much as they continued, by advertising all sorts of southern American shows – from travelling circuses, to carnivals and vaudeville acts. The posters would be plastered up the sides of barns and city buildings. Meanwhile, the day-to-day work of designing advertising posters for filling stations, laundries, grocery stores, and movie theatres was the company's bread and butter (you can see the current range of advertising posters here).

And then, along came country music – which is probably made Hatch Prints (and, of course, Nashville) famous, rather than just busy – and explains why it is now owned by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, to which it was donated in 1992.

The company – by then, under the management of a new generation of the family – carved the faces of some of the genre's biggest stars into its woodblocks. Johnny Cash, the above-mentioned Patsy Cline and Hank Williams have all been immortalised by the store's inks and distinctive simple, graphic, bright designs – as well as legends from other genres, including Elvis, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. You can buy reprints of all the old favourites, as well as lots of brand new designs.  

And here are some of my favourite Hatch Show Prints. The good news is they recently opened an online shop and ship worldwide. And the prints are so affordable (they start at just a couple of dollars a-piece) that, even if you're outside the States, the cost of the postage should be off-set by the cost of your artwork. Probably best to buy a few then...

Above: Eat, Drink and be Married (good wedding present!) and Dolly Parton and her Traveling Band show poster.

I bought the Terrier on Duty print for Ashley, because as well as being our remote Nashville guide, she is also my Jack Russell Reggie's chief doggie sitter. It is printed from hand-carved lino blocks, with text typeset from antique wood typefaces typical of the Hatch archive, explains the blurb. It also informs us that the dog in the picture is Hatch's own hound, Finnegan, who is on duty at the shop Monday to Friday.

The other two prints are: Johnny Cash and a classic – but classy – tourist souvenir of Music City. And it really is a music city – you cannot walk more than a few seconds before finding another acoustic guitar and mournful singer covering Dolly et al, wafting from the next bar room window. God we loved it, even in the super touristy city centre where Hatch Prints has its home. Even the Civic Centre has giant speakers on the pavement, pumping out country tunes. Totally brilliant if country floats your boat – though, if it doesn't, you probably aren't going to be in Nashville any time soon.
 

And here's good old Patsy, along with a 1998 advertisement Hatch made for the Kentucky State Fair that I brought home for co-editor Abi (and, ahem, myself). We both do like an equine graphic.

Now, as they'd say in Nashville: have great weekends y'all!

The Vintage Store St Ives

If you saw Friday's post, you'll know I was St Ives, Cornwall, for the weekend. 

I've been going there since I was tiny, as my grandma lives still there and my great grandmother grew up there (some cousins also used to run Hart's Ice Cream parlour, on the harbour, which looked like this – visiting the factory as a kid with one of them was possibly the most exciting moment of my entire childhood. I can still smell the intoxicating vanilla-y Cornish cream vats). But I digress. St Ives is a spectacularly beautiful part of the UK and although there are the obvious downsides of the place being gentrified and rammed with tourists year-round, the town's reinvention is a great improvement on the rather dismal seaside town of the 1980s, when there were about three, not very good, places to eat and only the tacky amusement arcade to play in when it was raining. And this weekend was the first time I'd seen this new shop, The Vintage Store St Ives...

That Depeche Mode poster, £265 (framed – I think) looks fantastic. I love how the 1980s are creeping into fashion again (minus the dodgier elements – you can keep your black leather sofas and red/blue/yellow/monochrome mix duvet covers). You could also try 55 Max, which sells a range of originals in a similar price bracket: I love this King Tubby one.

This gorgeous Ercol love seat is £650. Nest do some interesting variations – unusual paint effects and different colours as well as original plain wooden ones. They are out of my current price range at £665-700. But they are worth a look for inspiration and general awe.  Even eBay isn't giving them up for under £600, but it is a beautifully compact and unique design and a classic that won't lose value.

The 1983 Max Bill lithographic print costs £160, framed.

Solid granite characterises the architecture of much of this part of Cornwall (and the town has strict building restrictions to protect the uniformity of the buildings, including a rule banning anyone from deviating from traditional grey slate roofs – which makes the place ridiculously pretty). And, here, the stone looks just as good raw on the inside. If you fancy faking the effect, check out Dreamwalls.


Loved the excellent bathroom door sign. And a big bathroom clock is an unusual touch that really works, especially with the gentle railway theme.

What a satisfying alcove – a great idea to turn it into a little seat as well as shelving, rather than – more obviously – just the latter. A little clamp-on lamp attached to one shelf and an extra cushion and you'd get the perfect cosy evening reading nook.

Old exhibition promo posters like this lovely 1988 Joan Brossa one look best and most authentic framed without a border or a mount – as they would have been displayed at the time they were in use. There are lots of places to find original posters of this ilk, if you have £100+ to spend. Otherwise, eBay is worth a punt for the odd bargain. There's currently a good 1978 Miro poster for under £40. With a little sifting, you might also find some affordable gems here, too.

Oh Lloyd Cole. How nice to see you. And what excellent use of album covers as decor. A super cheap idea to copy if you are still in possession of some retro vinyl.

We nearly snapped up the print shown here, which is not listed on the shop's website but is for sale for £45.

He has a great collection of industrial clocks for sale, which you can see better in the very top image. London Timepiece, which I discovered at last year's Tent, part of the London Design Festival, is a rich source of similar styles – very well priced, too.

The fantastic beer advertisingsign/light is not listed on the website – so contact the shop if you are interested. The spectacular view of St Ives harbour is free.