A Very Busy Little Street ~ November, 2023
Friends of the studio,
In last October’s letter, I shared a sentence we regularly quote around the studio: Tutt Street is a very busy little street—and I misattributed the quote to David Ziker—it was actually Kathy Pask of A-to-Z Plastics. But it bears repeating because it continues to ring true.
I spent most of August on the road for Jason Adam Miller’s book tour with our friend Brandon. We journeyed through Nashville (photos), Raleigh, Denver (crying while filming), Belfast (fell in love with a cafe), Dublin (ate Fish Shop between a plane and a train), Boston, and Los Angeles (bar). It was a singular experience—I suspect its effects will have a long tail in my life personally and professionally.
After coming home, I shared the news that Dominick Simeri and I purchased Vested Interest, a 139-year-old collection of seventeen adjoining buildings on the southeast edge of downtown South Bend. I moved in during the summer of 2017 after Rami Mikhail-Sadek walked over one day at LangLab and said, “I’ve got a building you need to check out.” I quickly fell in love with the place. You can read about the story in my latest post on West.SB, our plans in a Q&A with Inside Indiana Business, and the history in Samuel Piccolo’s latest, “The Centuries Between Tutt and Sample.” Around 200 people came to last week’s Open Building to celebrate with us and tour the place.
Yesterday, Kath and I shared that we’re starting Bronson Book Strategy, a new outfit helping authors introduce their work to the world. In July’s letter, I mentioned that one of the pleasures of studio life this year was collaborating with Jason on the release of When The World Breaks. These days, it’s on authors to sell their books—no small task. So, we plan to partner with authors to develop strategy for reaching readers and create visual assets that live up to the beauty and substance of their work.
These months in client work, I started a website project for a men+ skincare brand—and continued a naming, branding, and messaging project with the South Bend Community School Corporation and a video project with iNDustry Labs. And in newly released client work, I produced a video for Commuters Trust—and helped Kath design a website for Misfit Society Coffee Club and this year’s Union membership for Crooked Ewe.
On the radio waves, Sun Worshipers In Luck Vol. 3 started playing in July—and Autumn Is Good Time In Cities Vol. 4 is the current studio soundtrack.
And last but not least, word on the street is that some of you are reading this letter and wondering: can I work with Jacob? So, here are four ways you can work with me in this season:
Hire the studio for a project (incl. creative direction, naming and identity design, content strategy, video production)
Commission me to write and/or photograph a story for publication.
Lease space at Vested Interest
Contract me as a fractional employee—I am exploring partnering with a company in a case where your needs exceed the scope of a typical studio project.
Good times at Tutt Street. Until next time,
Jacob
