Designer Collector: Paper ephemera
Written by Aidan Searle RGD, Hood & Searle Design Inc.
What do you collect?
I’ve always collected a lot of stuff (my whole life). But my favourite thing to collect is paper ephemera. I have more of this stuff than I would care to admit, haha.
When did you start?
I began collecting seriously while I was in design school, but since my early teens I’ve had a fondness for small things printed on paper. I started getting serious about it when I was travelling, there was always such unusual stuff I wasn't used to seeing or just really good graphic design (especially in Europe).
Every day I went out to adventure in the new city/town, I would just keep all the free paper stuff I came across (that I liked), from retail stores, galleries, museums and restaurants.
A couple of years later, I started frequenting antique stores, flea markets, vintage markets, etc.
How does your collection inspire you as a designer?
Whenever I start a new project, I typically go through some of my ephemera. I’ve recently organized it fairly well, so it’s easy for me to find a good starting point.
A lot of my work is inspired by kitschy stuff, outsider art, weirdo self-published zines; it’s very helpful using my collection of that stuff for reference materials/inspo. I also love typography and typesetting and I find it inspiring to reference my collection to see what people were doing 70+ years ago or more contemporarily in other countries.
What is your favourite item in your collection?
I’m a pretty no frills guy. My favourite stuff is usually the free stuff like clothing tags, bookmarks, blister-pack tops, menus and matchbooks. I like little things that are offset printed, or sometimes screen-printed, but I’m not picky. The weirder the better!
An item you aspire to have in your collection?
I really like Canadian modernism stuff: paper things from Expo 67, Montreal Olympics and Centennial stuff. I am also really into CN memorabilia and skateboarding stuff from the mid-1990s to mid-2000s: stickers, clothing tags, packaging.
Aidan Searle RGD
Hood & Searle Design Inc.
