Writing

I write on a variety of topics and welcome commissions.

Blogs

Better Letters (March 2014 – )

Ghostsigns (June 2007 – )

Hand-Painted Signs of Kratie (August 2012 – November 2014)

Our VSO (May 2010 – January 2013)

Ghost Signs / Signwriting

Ghosts of London’s past (2022) in Forum 43 [Buy it]

N.E. Signs – a case study (2021) in Hackney History (Volume 21) [Buy it]

Ghost Signs: A London Story (2021) Isola Press [Buy it]

Sign Painting (2021) Laurence King Publishing [Buy it]

N.E. Signs (2020) A Zine from the N.E. Signs Appreciation Society [Read it]

Alf the Purse King (2020) Stitching together the story of a ghost sign from North London to the Norfolk coast [Read it]

Letters from Tokyo (2019) in Eye Magazine [Read it]

Letterheads in London (2019) in Forum 37, March

The Writing’s on the Wall: Journal of a Ghost-Sign Hunter (2019) in World of Interiors, February

Lettering Locations: Vienna and the Unmissable Schildermalermuseum (2018) in The Pre-Vinylite Society Journal, Issue One

Drum machines have no soul: The enduring appeal of hand-painted signs (2018) in Brush Master, Half Letter Press [Read it]

Foreword, in Meyer, M. (2018) Mike Meyer Morgue File, Book 2, Mike Meyer Sign Painter

Brushes with Greatness (2017) with Enright, B. & Hackett, C., in TypeNotes, Issue #2

Chasing Ghosts (2017) Coca-Cola Company [Read it]

What is a Ghost Sign? (2017) with Marshall, G., in Advertising and Public Memory: Historical, Social and Cultural Perspectives on Ghostsigns, Routledge [Read it]

Uncovering Ghost Signs and Their Meanings (2017) with Schutt, S. and White, L., in Advertising and Public Memory: Historical, Social and Cultural Perspectives on Ghostsigns, Routledge [Read it]

A Final Ghost Sign Story (2017) with Schutt, S., in Advertising and Public Memory: Historical, Social and Cultural Perspectives on Ghostsigns, Routledge

Foreword, in Swift, A. & Elliott, K. (2016) Ghost Signs of Bath, Akeman Press

What to do about ghost letters, in Koch, T. (2016) Ghostletters Vienna

Foreword, in Meyer, M. (2016) Mike Meyer Morgue File, Book 1, Mike Meyer Sign Painter

Foreword, in Tanswell, W. (2016) The Essential Guide to Hand Painted Signs, Tanswell Publications

Fileteado Porteño – past and present (as editor) Ferrari, G. (2016) Eye Magazine [Read it]

Writing the City (2015) with Krüper, L.C., in Eye, no.90, vol. 23 [Read it]

Introduction, in Brewer, N. (2015) Ghost Signs of London

Restoration Period (2014) The Recorder, Issue 1, Monotype [Read it]

Foreword, in West, C. (2014) Fading Ads of Gloucester, The History Press

20 hand-painted Cambodian signs (2013) Creative Bloq

Ghost signs: their place in history, on high streets and in our hearts, in Stage, W. (2013) Fading Ads of St Louis, The History Press

Hand-Painted Signs of Kratie (2013) Ultrabold, St Bride Library

Ghostsigns, Gravestones, and the Painted History on our Walls (2013) Cemetery Club [Read it]

Monograph: Hand-Painted Signs of Kratie (2013) Creative Review

Hand-Painted Signs of Kratie (2012) Ghostsigns Publications [Read it]

Hand-made in Cambodia (2012) Eye Magazine [Read it]

Ghostsigns and the stories they tell, in Bunford, C. and Bunford, P. (2012) Liverpool Ghostsigns, The History Press [Read it]

Digital Engagement and the History of Advertising Trust Ghostsigns Archive (2012) with Carletti, L. in History Workshop Online [Read it]

Fading Ads and a Transatlantic Relationship, in Jump, F. (2011) Fading Ads of New York City, The History Press [Read it]

Ghostsigns: the archive (2010) Ultrabold, St Bride Library [Read it]

Ghostsigns: ‘Saving’ the advertising sign writer’s art (2010) with Veale, C. in ARC, Archives and Records Association [Read it]

Ghostsigns: saving our hand painted advertising (2010) The Ephemerist, Ephemera Society [Read it]

Monograph: Ghostsigns (2010) Creative Review [Read it]

The London Blogger Interviews #32: Ghost Signs (2009) with Cummins, J. in Londonist [Read it]

Ghost signs of London (2009) Time Out [Read it]

Ghost signs: the fading craft of handpainted advertising (2008) Ultrabold, St Bride Library [Read it]

Ghost Signs: London’s Fading Spectacle of History (2007) with Groes, S. in Literary London [Read it]

Cambodia and VSO

The returned volunteers’ weekend (2013) Voluntary Service Overseas

Chickens in Sambour: A Market Assessment (2012) Cambodian Rural Development Team / Voluntary Service Overseas

Five minutes with… Sam Roberts, Marketing and Management Adviser (2012) Voluntary Service Overseas

Sharing Market Development Experiences in Asia (2012) Voluntary Service Overseas

Camblogia 3 (2011) NSJ Magazine [Read it]

Camblogia 2 (2011) NSJ Magazine [Read it]

Camblogia 1 (2011) NSJ Magazine [Read it]

From the Editors (2011) NSJ Magazine [Read it]

Game Control by Lionel Shriver: Book review (2011) NSJ Magazine [Read it]

Share it Fairly (2011) TEDxPhnomPenh [Read it]

The Redundancy of Courage by Timothy Mo: Book review (2011) NSJ Magazine [Read it]

The Ice Man Cometh… (2011) NSJ Magazine

Employment in Cambodia (2010) VSO Cambodia [Read it]

Losing Face… (2010) NSJ Magazine

Employment, Learning and Development

Advertising Industry Job Descriptions (2015) with Fear, J. and March, G., Institute of Practitioners in Advertising / Creative Skill Set [Read them]

The Employment Relationship and the Quality of Work (2010) with Overell, S., Mills, T., Lekhi, R. And Blaug, R. in Good Work Commission, The Work Foundation [Read it]

Pay: Who were the winners and losers of the New Labour era? (2010) with Kasparova, D., Wyatt, N. and Mill, T. in Good Work Commission, The Work Foundation [Read it]

Adland’s ‘Brain Drain’: An investigation into careers and talent management within UK advertising agencies (2009) MSc Dissertation, London South Bank University [Read it]

Winning National Training Awards entry for the IPA Foundation Certificate (2007) with March, G. and Murray Chatterton, A., Institute of Practitioners in Advertising / National Training Awards