Jen Grasso
@brightonphotobooth.bsky.social
370 followers 360 following 21 posts
Photobooth technician turned archivist | Digital Content & Systems Coordinator @DesignArchives.bsky.social | 1/2 of the Photobooth Technicians Project https://tinyurl.com/ymd7kcax | She/her
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Reposted by Jen Grasso
designarchives.bsky.social
For a glimpse into university life in the late 19th century, this complaint letter from May 26 1893 from the Brighton School of Art archive. Needless to say campus life in Brighton has come a long way since then!
A typed letter that reads, 'May 26 1893, Dear Sir, I have if you will remember complained more than once of the great nuisance caused by the childrens playing on the school steps, & throwing rubbish, dead cats & fish etc. down the front area: the caretaker has just called my attention again to the state of the area; there are at present six heads of mack[erel] with a quantity of other fish refuse on the ground together with a rotten herring on one of the window panes, & a quantity of entrails hanging from the brickwork of the other win[dow]. Cannot this state of things, constantly re curring be put an end to? or would it be advisable [to] write to the Watch Committee about the same. Yours faithfully
Reposted by Jen Grasso
designarchives.bsky.social
A look a some of the material taken out for a special visit from the attendees of the Dress and Textiles Specialists (DATS) Conference 2025 including material from the FHK Henrion, Alison Settle, Dorrit Dekk, HA Rothholz, Vokins, and @designcouncil.bsky.social archives
metal mid-century sewing machine designed by FHK Henrion Table with archival material laid out including photo albums, advertisements, books, draft artwork, textiles, newspaper clippings, photographs and magazines two pages of a book of textile samples. Each swatch is a rectangle and has an ID number of some sort printed or stamped next to it. On the left-hand page are black, green, red and yellow plaid fabric swatches, on the right are multicoloured striped swatches A selection of Council of Industrial Design / Design Council award winning fabrics from 1958 and 1960 including (top to bottom) 'Adam' furnishing fabric designed by Keith Vaughn which is olive green, black and white, a cream lace curtain, and 4 colourways - black, yellow, blue and pink -  of the print Le Bosquet designed by Shirley Craven
Reposted by Jen Grasso
designarchives.bsky.social
The Design Archives' own Sirpa Kutilainen @sirps.bsky.social & Jen Grasso @brightonphotobooth.bsky.social are speaking at the Archives and Records Association 2025 Conference @araconference.bsky.social in Bristol next week. Read more about their research here:
blogs.brighton.ac.uk/brightondesi...
37 black and white photographs tiled, photos range in subject from packaging to products like scissors, cups, toilets, cameras and other types of product design. All images © Design Council Archive
Reposted by Jen Grasso
pastpostcard.bsky.social
FOOD ALRIGHT IF YOU LIKE STODGE & CUSTARD. MY HAIRDRYER IS REFUSING TO COOPERATE. DOING LOTS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIMENTS.
Reposted by Jen Grasso
designarchives.bsky.social
Including the Design Archives' Preservation & Digital Resources Co-ordinator Sirpa Kutilainen @sirps.bsky.social with Amy Sampson from @nationalarchives.gov.uk.web.brid.gy
and their session titled 'Shut down – switch on: empowerment, problem solving and plugging a gap'.
Reposted by Jen Grasso
designarchives.bsky.social
For @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social #EYATravel, these postcards of miniatures and model villages in New Romney, Polegate, and Hastings from the Barbara Jones archive.
BJO/2/3/1
sepia toned postcard of the gnomes in Rock Gardens, Worlds Smallest Railway, New Romney Station black and white postcard of a photograph of a model village, White Rock Gardens, Hastings black and white postcard with a photo of Fred Slaymakers Wonder Village, Wannock Gardens, Polegate, Sussex
Reposted by Jen Grasso
colindickey.com
Pulitzer prize for this Jay L. Clenendin image of LAPD stormtroopers in front of Barbara Kruger's "Untitled (Questions)"
About 3 dozen LAPD officers in full riot gear, standing around looking confused, bored, aimless. A waste of taxpayer money, a threatening show of force without morality or purpose. Behind them, the north wall of the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, covered with Barbara Kruger's "Untitled (Questions)" mural: against a field of stark red, white letters that read, in part, WHO IS BEYOND THE LAW? WHO IS BOUGHT AND SOLD? WHO DOES THE TIME? WHO SALUTES LONGEST? WHO DIES FIRST? WHO LAUGHS LAST
Reposted by Jen Grasso
miasato.bsky.social
This sucks. Digital sewing patterns are nice but a huge pain in the ass to print out, tape together, and cut, and I find that the quality of the instructions vary WIDELY (some are really not good). Resources like this that I wrote about previously are so important: www.theverge.com/23169321/com...
Reposted by Jen Grasso
redtickseed.bsky.social
Happy 5 year anniversary to Edward Colston's statue getting thrown into Bristol Harbour :D
Edward Colston's statue getting thrown into bristol harbour by a joyful crowd
Reposted by Jen Grasso
designarchives.bsky.social
Masterpeace
Design by Emanuel Rapoport & Ophir Paz
ICOGRADA/ ICoD Archive
ID: ICO/3/53/45
black background with MASTERPEACE written in white letters in the middle
Reposted by Jen Grasso
designarchives.bsky.social
American Cancer Society
Reprinted with permission from Franklin Watts, Inc.
From the books 'Land of Yellow', 'Land of Red', 'Land of Blue', designed by Peter Max
Icograda / The ICoD Archive
ID: ICO/3/32/97
#WorldHealthDay
A psychedelic poster split into thirds: the top third shows a blue sky with 2 yellow circles/suns and a flying figure, the middle third shows an orange marbled sky with a green striped landscape and orange mountains, with green, pink, orange and white circles/suns across the sky, and the bottom third has a green sky with an orange marbled mountain skyline and a large pink circle in the sky.
Reposted by Jen Grasso
oldukprintads.bsky.social
Mar 1984: Madonna and Siouxsie & The Banshees ads

«SIOUXSIE and the BANSHEES»
- Advertisements for a new single, available on 7" and 12" vinyl. A special limited edition included a free poster with the 12" release. The single is taken from the corresponding LP and cassette.
- An advertisement for a musical artist's single release. It includes lyrics from the song and record label information.
Reposted by Jen Grasso
emgeekay.bsky.social
The Digital Preservation Coalition has shared recordings from its workflow webinar series. You can find them here:

www.dpconline.org/events/previ...

#digipres #archives #library 📚
Digital Preservation Workflow Webinars 2025 - Digital Preservation Coalition
www.dpconline.org
Reposted by Jen Grasso
designarchives.bsky.social
Event | IOTA II – The Rise and Fall of the Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture, with Dr Zoë Hendon, 13 March 2025 with the Centre for Design History.
All welcome and more info here:
blogs.brighton.ac.uk/brightondesi...
A mid-century living room with a woman sitting on a chair reading a book to a young child. The carpet is orange, there are grey speckled tiles around the fireplace and yellow/green wallpaper
Reposted by Jen Grasso
designarchives.bsky.social
📣 Call for Papers📣
Proposed Special Issue for the journal Design Issues on the topic of Tangible Archives, co-edited by our Design Archives Director Sue Breakell. Deadline 30 June, more information here: direct.mit.edu/DocumentLibr...
bird's eye view of a table with mixed archive material including newspaper articles by Alison Settle, packaging by Willy De Majo, stamps and menus by HA Rothholz, photographs from Natasha Kroll and a box of ephemera from Barbara Jones
Reposted by Jen Grasso
designarchives.bsky.social
Designed by Audrey Levy this screenprinted wallpaper 'Impasto' won the Council of Industrial Design's ‘Design of the Year’, 1957. For #internationalwomensday let's celebrate Levy & her designs.
@designcouncil.bsky.social Archive, DCA/30/1/POR/L/26/1, DCA/30/7/1957/7/1
black and white portrait of a smiling woman with black glasses, short dark curly hair and a black coat with a flower brooch on the collar. It appears she's holding a tea cup in her left hand and she is looking to the side grey, yellow-green and white striped wallpaper
Reposted by Jen Grasso
gemmaclark.bsky.social
Help a sister out and sign my petition before my wee witch pricker stalkers on Twitter start gathering the firewood for my burning petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...
Reposted by Jen Grasso
designarchives.bsky.social
Thanks to Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) part of @ukri.org, the Design Archives was awarded funding to continue work addressing sustainability challenges within the archives sector.
Read about this ongoing project + what this funding will support here:
blogs.brighton.ac.uk/brightondesi...
Screen grab of hygrometer readings showing 100% compliance with humidity and temperature thresholds
Reposted by Jen Grasso