Tandem Offense: The Collective Poetry of Sy Woolstenhulme

I had the opportunity to utilise my Benchmark lettering system in highlighting the work of Sy Woolstenhulme, whom I am lucky enough to call a dear fried. Originally from Utah, our paths crossed in Boston, Massachusetts as design apprentices at Reebok. At the time, Sy was working in Color and Creative Design direction for the brand and I was under the Classics division as a apparel designer. Unbeknownst to me, Sy was and continues to be an avid writer in his free time. After a year together in Boston, I ended up moving to the Netherlands and during this time, he self published a book of his haikus. I immediately ordered a copy and would keep the book at my desk as work, ready from time to time during breaks. I knew i really wanted to see these on a larger scale outside of this wonderful book so I pitched Sy the idea of making his poems in large scale letters and posting them around my apartment. It was a challenge that we accepted, one picking the poems we thought were significant to both of us as well as agreeing on the look and feel. To be honest, I got very lucky, as Sy trusted my direction and gave me a lot of freedom in the curation of his works. I ended up cutting every individual letter by hand out of black paper and taping them up on the large walls of my studio apartment. The letters wrapping around corners, and crossing over hinges and door frames only added to the impact of the scale, transforming the room into a large scale book of sorts. I then went on to use the letters as a stencil in one case and did a mural out of chalk (that took forever, the wall was very rough and disintegrated my chalk on impact) on an exterior wall just outside the apartment. I think this project was impactful in my work ethic as it allowed me to be in a different state of making without judgement. With no formal training or constant guidance, I was able to take the design skillset I knew and interpret type and installation work as I seemed fit. I have felt as if this project really gave me a step up in my personal confidence in making and I’m happy with the results. A big thank you to Sy Woolstenhulme, a fantastic designer and wonderful friend, for allowing me a chance to push my self as a maker through your wonderful poetry. Please enjoy the photos below that document the work.