MAKING THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY AJOTO POSTER

Words by: Marta Verdes
Images: Chris Holden

AJOTO 10th Anniversary Poster


To commemorate our 10th anniversary we have created a Limited Edition 9 colour screen-printed artwork in collaboration with the renowned Manchester based illustrator Alex Sylt aka Crooked Cartoon .

2021 marks 315,569,520 seconds since we established AJOTO and began our journey.  We wanted to mark this special occasion and chose to commission the talented illustrator and screen-printer Alex Slyt, known as Crooked Cartoon to produce a one-off artwork. The limited edition poster captures the complexities of the AJOTO process, from design to production, and reflects heritage details of Manchesters industrial past, the city where both Alex and AJOTO are based.

“With this limited edition poster, we wanted to celebrate all the people, places and processes that have played a central role in our amazing journey so far” explains AJOTO’s founder Chris “Alex's illustration skill is exceptional, it has been impressive to witness the process unfold and follow how he transforms an vague conceptual idea into a masterpiece”

Look closely at the finished artwork and you’ll see scenes of the production process from designing the pen at the studio, sewing the leather pen pouches to the engraving of the AJOTO makers’ marks onto each Pen. The artwork references the architectural and industrial heritage of Manchester alongside the advanced technology we work with to produce each of our Pens. Alex has managed to capture the entire process, playing with the concept of scale in order to produce a Gulliver’s world of our entire manufacturing journey.

“I really enjoyed working on this project, as I can really sink myself into the detail” said Alex “By far the most challenging part of this project was starting and overcoming the roadblocks along the way. (how do I shade this, how do I draw that etc) There have been plenty of times when I have spent days trying to draw a single part of an image and constantly rubbing it out. The most rewarding stage by far is adding the final touches”.

The poster is a very limited edition 9 colours silkscreen printed in 18”x24” inch (610x 455 mm) format. Printed onto Imperial blue G.F Smith Colour plan. The poster is available via AJOTO online shop for £85, each one is signed and numbered.

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KNOW MORE ABOUT ALEX SLYT AKA CROOKED CARTOON



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