Russell & Wait

By Oliver Derosier

Back in 2013, the good folks at Trampoline stumbled upon a nifty typographic treasure right in their own backyard. From the renovation of an old Glens Falls building came a handful of throwaways, among them a vintage, hand-lettered sign. The Tramps rescued the sign from a dumpster and carried it back to the shop, no-doubt saving it from certain demise. The typography of the sign was strikingly unique, with careful attention given to every last letter. The whole sign was so exceptional, it was decided by all that a typeface ought to be made in its honor. The valiant task was assigned to one of Trampoline’s very own interns, Emily Ruchlicki, who took on the challenge with gusto. Thanks to a great new App: Adobe Capture, Emily was able to scan the letterforms onto her phone, and instantly convert them into vector shapes.

From there she whittled away at the details, making sure every ascender, loop and stem was just as it should be. The end result? A typeface all its own, brought back to life from a bygone era.

After all was said and done, Emily named her new, throwback typeface after the stationery store that had occupied the building: Russel & Wait. As for the original creator, whoever you may be, we thank you for your diligence and hard work! Now, the team at Trampoline has a spiffy new typeface in their collection, and an awesome story to go along with it.

It’s pretty incredible how many vintage design goodies are out there, just collecting dust in an old basement or flea market. To think that old sign might have been turned into wood chips is a sad thought indeed. Instead, the old beaut now stands tall and proud in Trampoline’s home base, as if it had always been there. Who could say how many more creative gems are out there just waiting to be discovered by the right person. Inspiration is so often found in the places we’d last expect, you just have to keep your eye out for it!