Search

Art

A Day in the Life of Jenny Beorkrem of Ork Posters

04.06.10 | By
A Day in the Life of Jenny Beorkrem of Ork Posters

Jenny Beorkrem is the designer behind Ork Posters, those awesome city neighborhood posters you’ve been seeing everywhere. I have Philadelphia.

My dog Lola waits patiently as I roll out of bed, pull on some clothes and open my eyes enough to take her for a walk. Today happens to be the first 60-degree day in Chicago’s spring — brilliant! It makes you feel very grateful for global warming… I mean the changing seasons. As a result, there are probably a disproportionate amount of outdoor photos taken today, but it’s so beautiful out, even before the green growth has begun.

Back home to put a pot of water on the stove for the morning’s coffee and eat some breakfast. My favorite cereal has been Honey Nut Cheerios since I was a kid – whole grains keep your heart healthy!

I sit down at the computer to answer emails. I have two “helpers” now (I prefer that word to “employees”) but I still answer about fifty percent of the general emails sent to Ork. Neither of my helpers are in today, so I’ll be going it alone — today’s Thursday — it’s not so bad towards the end of the work week when things are quieter.

My boyfriend typically works in the afternoons, so we take some time this morning to go for my first bike ride of the year and enjoy the sun! Although Chicago was named the bike-friendliest city by someone who ranks those things, it still still gets my heart racing to ride through Chicago’s streets. Today we were also in danger of the discus practice near the bike path!

Back home after the ride, I get cleaned up and then pack up a couple of shipments for today. I keep an inventory of all the posters and prints in my home, or wherever the Ork office happens to be (we’ve moved it three times in the last year!). We fulfill wholesale orders for the small stores that we retail to and the international orders from here.

My almost daily run to the post office to drop off the tubes and today’s mail. Today I happen to be doing one of my duties as a US citizen and returning my census form.

It’s almost 3:00 now and I forgot lunch! I have to eat an early dinner tonight so I opt for a snack. Lola takes her perch by the window while I take a break to catch up on some of the NCAA March Madness. I don’t watch too many sports, but I love college basketball!

A couple days ago, I screenprinted these for the Printervention show. “A print for the public” was about the only guideline we were given. I sort and sign them so I can get them out of the way. Come see the show at the Chicago Cultural Center next month!

Spend an hour or so replying to the afternoon’s emails and getting some odds and ends done online.

On the first 60 degree day, I couldn’t resist a BBQ. I make some burgers for an early dinner. I spy the Sear’s Tower from my deck.

I get lost in the clouds waiting for the burgers to cook, watching the planes go by. I’m near one of the flight paths into O’hare. Call me childish, but planes still fascinate me and I love sitting out here and watching them fly over.

I drop my car off at the repair shop and hop on the train to meet a friend downtown. We’re headed to see Rick Valicenti give a quick talk about the atmosphere of type design in the city and see Typeforce — The Annual Chicago Show of Emerging Typographic Allstars. It’s at Co-Prosperity Sphere (CPS) down on the south side in Bridgeport.

And now some eye candy for you. I caught half of the nice window display at CPS because we were running late — you’ll have to use some imagination. I snapped a few of the pieces that I liked…

This one from Tnop… Save craftsmanship. Stop abusing fonts. Push beyond boundaries. Drop design trends. Join modernism. Free computer effects. Make conceptual work.

Lora Fosberg — This type installation is about 15′ long in total and 2′ high… I didn’t read all the sayings but I liked this one, “We’re just taller children.”

Billy Baumann of Delicious Design League.

Back home for a nightcap and some more email checking. I find some good reads in the latest edition of Lumpen Magazine (Independent Culture Art Politics Action) that I picked up at CPS. I prop my eyelids up until my boyfriend gets home from work and then get some sleep before I do another version of it all again tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks, Jenny!

Jaime Derringer, Founder + Executive Editor of Design Milk, is a Jersey girl living in SoCal. She dreams about funky, artistic jewelry + having enough free time to enjoy some of her favorite things—running, reading, making music, and drawing.