Design Influences – Hatch Show Print

Almost a year ago several of us were fortunate enough to hear Jim Sherraden of Hatch Show Print speak about his life, and business. He’s a Kansas native, a great story teller, and was even nice enough to cut us a deal on a large poster featuring a donkey to hang in our conference room. Jim is the purposeful recipient of a lot of visual history. It didn’t just land in his lap though, in fact he worked quite hard to get where he is today.

Since the founding of Hatch over a century ago, they’ve done promotional posters for the likes of Elvis, Johnny Cash, and even more modern acts like Pearl Jam, and Coldplay. For the most part the Hatch portfolio revolves around music, and due to the fact that they’re in Nashville; -a lot of country music. After much coercing Jim eventually talked the Country Music Hall of Fame into purchasing Hatch, and allowing Jim to do what he seems to really love… Curate the Hatch legacy, and make it relevant to future generations.

Today Hatch does a lot of reprints of old posters, and even continues to take on client work for new projects. But there is something else going on at Hatch. Jim and his crew are taking very old, elements and combining them together to make something very new. It’s a bit fine art, and a lot graphic design. It might not be Andy Warhol, but it’s somehow in a similar vein. They take bits of commercial art, and combine them into something totally different.

Due to Jim’s hard work, the Hatch Show Print legacy is practically carved in stone. There’s a popular book, speaking engagements, product design, and even a museum. We’re big fans of the long Hatch history, but we’ll be disappointed if posterity doesn’t make room for this most recent chapter. Jim might blush if you called this new work “fine art” or “design”, but despite his modesty, -it is something important. Hatch, and Jim are changing the way we see collage, typography, and our past.

A few of our favorites:
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The Hatch website:
Hatch Show Print