Author: Alfredo Casuso

Media Contact: David Perry & Associates, Inc/David Perry
(415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com

Free “Virtual Happy Hours” Bring Together Designers & Font Fans
from San Francisco’s Letterform Archive

Tuesday, May 19 (12noon Pacific) – Global Edition

 Thursday, May 21 (5pm Pacific) – Evening Edition

All Summer Programming – including one-on-one classes – offered online
www.lettarc.org/events

18 May 2020 — San Francisco, CA: Who’s Zoomin’ who? On Tuesday, May 19 (12noon PDT) with Type Directors Club (TDC) and Thursday, May 21 (5pm PDT) the answer is designers and font fans from around the world taking part in two unprecedented, free “Virtual Happy Hours” from San Francisco’s nonprofit Letterform Archive (www.letterformarchive.org): toasting the universal  accessibility of and creative team behind one of the most comprehensive online collections of typographic history assembled. Additionally, all of Letterform Archive’s programming has been converted to online events, including the organization’s first public workshop offerings. Unlike many online courses, however, Letterform limits class sizes so there is one-on-one instruction and interaction. Registration for the Online Archive celebratory virtual happy hours and the Archive’s online courses is at lettarc.org/events

“We didn’t expect to sort of break the Internet,” laughs Letterform founder and executive director, Rob Saunders. “One month, two server crashes, and over 200,000 hits later seems like a good time to take stock and raise a glass, virtually, for now. And until we’re back to a tactile experience, high tech allows us to teach our very personalized class offerings high cyber touch.”

Since its launch April 7 during the height of COVID-19, Letterform’s free online archive continues to grow, providing a powerful tool for students and professional designers around the world. The two “Virtual Happy Hours” will provide an opportunity to chat with Letterform’s curatorial team – Saunders, Kate Long, and Stephen Coles – and the Online Archive design/development team, including Murray Grigo-McMahon, the database prodigy behind the project, along with Jon Suedaand chris hamamoto who developed the front-end design for the site.

“With the Online Archive reaching people all over the world, we want to join our global community to celebrate this special milestone and provide a backstage tour of highlights from the nearly 1,500 objects and 9,000 hi-fi images housed online,” says Saunders. “We’ll toast online with designers everywhere, including the TDC community, using the Zoom video conferencing platform.  We’re doing one at 12noon Pacific – Tuesday, May 19 – to be as accessible as possible for as many time zones as possible, and the second at the traditional cocktail hour, Thursday, May 21 at 5pm Pacific time.”

Located in San Francisco’s creative Dogpatch neighborhood, Letterform Archive is a unique collection where artists, scholars, and the font-loving public come in and learn from – and touch – a collection with objects ranging from a 4,000-year-old cuneiform clay tablet to a page from a Gutenberg Bible to style manuals from Apple Computer. From a fifteenth-century handmade Rothschild Book of Hours to psychedelic ’60s posters and the early pixelated digital type designs of the 1980s, it is a collection unparalleled in the Bay Area and unique across the world.  During its five-year history, Letterform Archive has welcomed over 10,000 visitors from 30 countries, including students, practitioners, and letterform admirers from every creative background. Later this year, the Archive will move into a new, expanded building, providing more hands-on access, when such access is once again available.

About Letterform Archive’s Online Archive:

For the last four years, Saunders and his team of librarians, curators, developers, and designers have been preparing for this moment: making its world-class digital trove of typographical artifacts available – free of charge – to anyone and everyone on the planet. The Archive’s online repository of digitized materials related to lettering, typography, calligraphy, and graphic design spans thousands of years of history. Opened as a beta in 2018, the Online Archive was previously available to members only.

The Archive developed its own photography standards, in consultation with E. M. Ginger of 42-Line, to produce high-fidelity imagery that is as true to the original as possible. Visitors can zoom in and pan around the images for a more detailed view of each object. Viewers will gain access to materials in a variety of formats, including books, periodicals, packaging, posters, original artwork, sketches, type specimens, and related ephemera. 

“Many of our materials are unique, curated from designers’ archives or donated by collectors. They represent centuries of design history for the benefit of current and future generations of design students, professionals, and researchers,” said Saunders, a collector of the letter arts for over 40 years. In 2015, his personal passion opened to the public, eventually offering hands-on access to a curated collection of over 60,000 items. “Some come with specific research ideas in mind, while others are simply looking for inspiration. Invariably, thanks to the breadth and accessibility of the collection, they stumble on something unexpected. Serendipity is key to the Archive experience.”

The most obvious feature of the site is what Saunders calls its “big, beautiful imagery.” Nonetheless, Saunders and project lead, Librarian Kate Long, are equally proud of the metadata behind those images. Volunteers Murray Grigo-MacMahon and Websy developer Nick Webster developed the site and its incredible data architecture, while Jon Sueda and chris hamamoto led the charge on its exquisite design with Omar Mohammad.

“It’s the information that fuels the powerful search and filter functions of the site, and it’s written specifically with graphic designers in mind,” says Long, noting that this first phase of the site surfaces just a small percentage of the metadata collected by the Archive, with more to be revealed as the project develops. “Our challenge was to draw on our existing library services knowledge, but also rethink standards and terminology for the material and audience unique to the Online Archive. We wanted to create an intuitive experience for designers using the words they use, with a user interface full of rich imagery.”

 Contact: (415) 651-2929 / dani.grindlinger@schooleymitchell.com 

Retailers need new modes of transacting business with their customers

Dani Grindlinger of Schooley Mitchell’s new San Francisco location offers solutions

18 May 2020 — San Francisco, CA: For the first time in two-months, retailers selling books, games, home furnishings, cosmetics and other “non-essential” products will be able to open on Monday for curbside pick-up and delivery. Business owners will need to provide customers with a way to select products and safely pay for their purchases without entering the store. Many business owners will need to implement new ordering and/or payment systems to enable sales. 

There is a new resource for Bay Area retailers to investigate their options. Schooley Mitchell is the leading cost reduction consulting firm in North America. Strategic Partner, Dani Grindlinger, offers cost-saving solutions and operational recommendations in several areas, such as telecommunications, merchant services, waste removal, and small package shipping. Grindlinger established the San Francisco office in January 2020. 

“Contactless card readers are available with any of the major processors and even most of the smaller ones,” advises Dani Grindlinger of Schooley Mitchell. “Because electronic data is captured at the time of the sale, payment processors consider these to be a ‘low-risk, card-present’ transaction – meaning the store saves on processing costs compared to an order taken over the phone, on a website, or using electronic invoicing.” 

Schooley Mitchell consultants like Grindlinger deliver independent, objective operational expertise to retailers, manufacturers, and service-based businesses. They analyze their clients’ existing and changing business needs then work with vendors to develop the most cost-effective solutions. They do not receive kickbacks or incentives from vendors. Schooley Mitchell’s fees are self-funded out of the savings generated through their services. 

“I am a small business owner myself, and literally just got started when COVID-19 hit. I am thrilled to be in a position to help other businesses right now,” says Grindlinger. “There is no cost for my initial analysis and recommendations. I share in the savings that I am able to find using Schooley Mitchells proprietary tools and processes for cost reduction and vendor management.”  

To learn more about how Dani can help you prepare for the changes to your operations, and improve your bottom line call her at 415-651-2929, email, or visit www.schooleymitchell.com/dgrindlinger.

About Schooley Mitchell:

Schooley Mitchell is the largest independent cost-reduction consulting firm in North America, with offices from coast-to-coast in the United States and Canada. To date, Schooley Mitchell has delivered over $340 million in documented savings to our clients. For additional information about Schooley Mitchell’s services and opportunity, visit www.schooleymitchell.com 

Media Contact: David Perry / David Perry & Assoc. Inc. / (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com

Stacey Abrams, Cory Booker, Tom Perez & Dolores Huerta wrap up final week of Manny’s Super Civic Cyber Conversations April 27 – 30

Unprecedented LIVE online gathering of civic leaders continues Manny’s tradition as place for community building and civic engagement

35-40k viewers have tuned in and participated so far in unique online series

27 April 2020 – San Francisco, CA: The unprecedented online gathering of political, business, community and educational leaders, Manny’s Super Civic Cyber Conversations, wraps up this week with conversations featuring Stacey Abrams (April 28^th ), David Simas, CEO of the Obama Foundation (April 29^th) Cory Booker (April 29^th), Jose Antonio Vargas (April 29^th), Tom Perez, DNC Chair (April 30^th) and Dolores Huerta (April 30^th)

“I’m blown away by all of the civic leaders who are rising to the occasion with Manny’s to provide knowledge, inspiration, and hope to our community right now via these civic cyber conversations ” said Manny Yekutiel, founder and owners of Manny’s, the innovative community space, café and bookstore at 16^th & Valencia in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Beginning immediately after the COVID-19 Pandemic forced the closing of businesses in San Francisco and around the world, Yekutiel took Manny’s usual programming online. Since then, 100 people have been interviewed and more than 35,000 people have participated online.

Since opening its doors on Election Night 2018, Manny’s has become an epicenter of community involvement, dialogue and civic engagement having served over 50,000 people, staged over 400 events, donated space to more than 150 area nonprofits and charities by hosting 17 presidential candidates. Also, besides receiving copious media and public attention, Manny’s was recognized for his above-and-beyond achievements by the California State Senate as “Small Business of the Year.” In December 2019, Yekutiel was named to San Francisco’s Small Business Commission by Mayor London N. Breed.

Manny’s is a people powered, community focused meeting and learning place in the heart of San Francisco that combines a restaurant, political bookshop, and civic events space. Manny’s goal: to create a central and affordable place to become a better informed and more involved citizen. Manny’s offers its events space to nonprofits, activists and civic organizations to spread their message and do their work as well as hosting its own civic and arts related programming. Manny’s kitchen is run by the non-profit, Farming Hope, which hires formerly homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals and trains them in the food skills needed to work in the restaurant industry.

WHERE & HOW:
We’ll be using Zoom to broadcast all of the Manny’s Super Civic Cyber Conversations. Folks can register at www.welcometomannys.com and facebook.com/welcometomannys

WHY:
To continue our mission, Manny’s is hosting over one hundred live civic conversations over video for the public.  We’ll be providing opportunities for the public to continue to be civically engaged all at the convenience of their home for free or with a suggested donation.  With an expected reach of 15,000 – 20,000 viewers with many news outlets also tuning in and participating.

Upcoming LIVE Manny’s Cyber Conversations:  

27 April – Monday, 5pm: Serving SF’s Most Vulnerable Now with Human Services Agency ED Trent Rhorer

27 April – Monday, 6pm: Conversation with SF Goodwill CEO William Rogers: Investing in our Workforce

27 April – Monday, 7pm: Rethinking Jail with SF Assistant Attorney Tai Klement

28 April – Tuesday, 5pm: Conversation with Stacey Abrams in Support of Fair Fight ($25 minimum contribution)

28 April – Tuesday, 6pm: The Need for an LGBT Museum with Terry Beswick

28 April – Tuesday, 7pm: Can Psychedelics Cure Disease? A Conversation b/w Rick Doblin and Joe Green

29 April – Wednesday, 5pm: Continuing President Obama’s Legacy with Obama Foundation CEO David Simas

29 April – Wednesday 6pm: Conversation with Senator Cory Booker: Leading America Through This Time

29 April – Wednesday 7pm: Jose Antonio Vargas: How Undocumented Immigrants are Left Out of Recovery

30 April – Thursday, 4pm: How We Will Win the 2020 Election w/ Democratic Party Chair Tom Perez

30 April – Thursday, 5pm: The Role of a Movie Theater in Community with Lex Sloan

30 April – Thursday, 7pm: Dolores Huerta on 2020 Census and Supporting Farmworkers During this Crisis