Mitchell & Dent's Tittle Tattle

We at Mitchell & Dent think that if young people skipped from reading Judy Blume directly to Lesley M.M. Blume, all would be well with the world. An advocate for bringing back the ‘forgotten-yet-delightful, chic, useful, curious and otherwise commendable things’; Ms Blume is a gal after our own hearts with a love of manners, mail and monogrammed coat linings. OK, perhaps we weren’t such big fans of that last item until she made mention of it, but we sure-as-heck are now. Mademoiselle Michelle’s favourite suggestion is to bring back elevator operators, Madame Dent votes fresh flowers as hair adornments and Madame Mitchell opts for Tipsy Parson. You’ll just have to read the book to find out what that is, sorry, was.

lesleymmblume.com

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1. Letterpressed loveliness
2. A trundle in tweed
3. Blast from the past

If you hate Comic Sans like we hate Comic Sans, you might just love this book. It is not just for design geeks with an inordinate fondness for fonts (and yes, it does tell you when and why you should say ‘typeface’ instead of ‘font’ and why designers get all finicky about it). It is an easy entertaining read about why Helvetica has taken over the world, the outrage caused by Ikea abandoning Futura and the very strange sexual proclivities of Eric Gill.

simongarfield.com

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1. Ella ella eh eh
2. Daily drop cap
3. Letter impressive

No lycra for the ladies of letterpress. If we go bicycling, we like to do it in style. Our most favourite missive on manners (‘Manners for Women’ written in 1897 by the ‘Madge’ of Truth, Mrs Humphry) has a whole chapter on the etiquette of bicycling. Mrs Humphry warns young women that the bicycle is responsible for much promiscuous acquaintanceship, which she no doubt disapproves of. I am sure however, that Mrs Humphry would very much approve of tomorrow’s Tweed Run. Visit Dismantle to register now.

dismantle.org.au

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1. From times gone by
2. Wheely good
3. Maisie

For crafty folks who are nifty with a needle, you might get a little thrill out of Ume Craft‘s shop of patterns for felt plush. In the shape of foods. How funny is felt food? That, and William Shatner singing Cee Lo Green’s ‘Fuck You’.

umecrafts.etsy.com

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1. Learn your lesson
2. Oh, diddums
3. Bookity book book

If you, like me, buy books by the cover and think every accessory you own is a piece of art, then you’ll thank the. for these.

thinkofthe.com

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1. Picture books
2. Loose leaf
3. Bookity book book

Pip Lincolne from Meet Me at Mike’s is super ace. When Miss Gem and the mesdames rocked up on her doorstep unannounced, instead of telling us to sod off, she invited us in for tea and brownies and a sneaky peak at Project Yellow Box. That kind of kindness deserves to be paid back in kind, so we heartily recommend you visit the Meet Me at Mike’s shop in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy in Melbourne. Or Pip’s blog if you haven’t stumbled across it already (and if you haven’t, where have you been hiding yourself?!). We also love her first book of crafty projects (pictured above) and are excited to hear that her second book Sew La Tea Do is not far away.

meetmeatmikes.blogspot.com

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1. The Envelope Project
2. Crafty
3. Cute as a button

Getting up this morning I felt like Dr Foster who went to Gloucester in a shower of rain. Walking out my front door, my muddle was definitely in danger of getting a little soggy. This is not a smooth segue, but what about this great picture book of another children’s rhyme ‘There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly’? Mutt Ink, you sure do brighten a dull day (see what I did there, it all comes good in the end).

www.muttink.com

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1. Tweetness and flight
2. Joy oh joy
3. Itsy bitsy animals

Yes, I said chips. Madame Dent‘s printer paramour Mr Clifford Esq. and his chums established Perth’s own Club EBCB in honour of the greatest book ever written in their opinion - Egg, Bacon, Chips and Beans: 50 Great Cafes and the Things That Make Them Great by Russell Davies – a homage to British caffs (like Bridport’s Cafe Royal above), the Futura typeface and the lone pea (if you can spot it). Guess who’s getting this teatowel from Manchester’s Mr PS come Christmas?

russelldavies.typepad.com/eggbaconchipsandbeans
MrPS.etsy.com

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1. Got us pegged
2. Bravo, Custard Cream, bravo
3. Fontastic

Sheffield lass Su Blackwell knows how to create pictures with words. These miniature dioramas are delicately formed from old books carefully sourced from second-hand bookstores. These sculptures are like pop-up picture books for adults. No touching.

www.sublackwell.co.uk

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1. Swallowed a fly
2. Pretty paper
3. Patience

Mitchell & Dent heartily recommend you purchase your most important paper procurements from cat people like themselves. Dog people simply want to be loved, whereas cat people know how to serve. And if you’re an incredibly talented mid century illustrator like Bernice Myers, please indulge us with more pictures of cats. Then Eric Sturdevant from Virginia can post more pictures on his illustration blog Fun All Around and we’ll all be purring with contentment.

fun-all-around.blogspot.com

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1. For any occasion
2. It’s time
3. Holiday frocks