Ellis Tree

Celebrating 100 years of the photobooth with @autofoto.london !💥 Motion by @mattberglas Sound by @otistree

2025 marked the 100th anniversary of the invention of the photobooth by Anatol Josepho in New York City in 1925. To celebrate the centenary I worked on a photo series for @autofoto.london that builds on my fascination with using the old analogue booths as street-side studios for still life photography. Documenting a range of everyday objects with the figure of 100 in mind, this was the first time that I’ve made animations inside the booth, moving things around in between flashes to capture photo strips that act as miniature film reels for motion 🎞️ Thanks to @mattberglas for helping make things move 💥 More of the series to come !

A few risograph prints I’ve made from my fruit sticker collection lately ! 🍊🍌🍎🍍🍋🍉🍈🥭🍐

Over on the site this week I had the pleasure of chatting to handful of incredible printmakers and presses about their craft and process, opening up a wider discussion on what the future of the industry might look like. If you fancy giving it a read, head over to the link in my bio! Thanks to @dtan.studio , @knustpress , @make__ready and @smalleditionsnyc for their insights and contributions to the piece. Art direction by @saskiavokes Illustrations by @Jhon_Boy , animated by @Rjgrullon Studio images courtesy of DTAN and Make-Ready

I had the pleasure of writing a piece for @type01_ earlier this year and it’s now out in print in the magazine’s tenth issue! ‘Typebeasts, tote bags, and stoneware serifs: a world of typographic wares’ explores the release of physical products, objects and merchandise as a growing area of exploration for independent type foundries as fonts spill over into the physical world in an array of interesting and somewhat unexpected 3D forms. To uncover some wonderful insights on the topic, I spoke to Daniel McQueen founder of @tdfoundry , Andrea Vacovská who heads up Displaay Offline at @xyz_displaay and Duncan Gravestock director of @f37foundry about the physical side to their type design practice and what goes into the creation of their typographic wares. Thanks so much to everyone that contributed to the piece! Design and Art Direction - @alicesherwin_  and @harold__bennett Edited by - @studiogroundfloor

Merch, but make it typographic. From @abcdinamo 's tiny skateboards to @xyz_displaay 's stoneware mugs, type foundries are taking letterforms off-screen and into everyday products.⁠ ⁠ Read “Typebeasts, Tote Bags & Stoneware Serifs” in TYPEONE Issue 10. ⁠ Author: Ellis Tree (@ellistree )⁠ ⁠ 🌐 Now shipping internationally. ⁠ 🔗 type-01.com/typeonemagazine ⁠ #type01 #typeonemag #typedesign #typefoundry

Earlier this year I got to deep dive into a topic close to my heart over on @itsnicethat : Obsession! Specifically, why our fixations (whilst they might temporarily tilt us off balance between work and life) are the thing that is making our creative work better. I was able to chat to a few fellow obsessives about everything from drag race to living as a mountain goat, to find out why following our intrinsic interests can take us to some pretty inspiring places in our projects! Some learnings from my research: - Obsessions make us very good at paying attention to things people might normally just pass by. - Deep diving into our interests makes it easier to convince other people that they should care about things too. - “Creativity thrives when it’s fed by joy, curiosity, and the things that make us feel alive.” - Our obsessions allow us to become experts in certain areas which is knowledge we can leverage as a powerful tool for visual communication. - Exploring our interests through our creative projects allows us to create work that is true to us - not trend-led. Thank you to everyone that spoke to me about their obsessions! Art direction @williamknight__ Illustrations by @seb_agresti

I’m terrible at posting anything at all on here and a year of writing at It’s Nice That has sped by! I wanted to share a small round up of some highlights from the past 12 months as a thank you to all of the (250ish!) creatives that I have spoken to - for everything I have learnt from them. With thanks always to my amazing editors @jennysbrewer and @olivia_hingley :) Here are really only a handful of pieces that I have loved working on - 13 to be exact and in no particular order! 1. A chat with @anthonyburrill about all things print to celebrate Work Hard and Be Nice to People turning 21. 2. Re-imaging type design through post-binary language with @bye.byebinary 3. @liangjung_chen kindly letting me in on what started their incredible Hardware Archive. 4. Sharing @anmaflor ‘s thoughts on photography as a tool to explore personal and cultural identity. 5. Talking to Claire and Jake from @hellosunroom about snail mail and finding inspiration outside. 6. Discovering @teenatona ‘s wonderful world of mixed media collage and photo illustration. 7. An extended conversation with @shoshibuya about the value of creative discipline, and his unchanging daily canvas: The New York Times. 8. A few reflections on modern basket making with Basket Club’s co-founder @opblaashelicopter 9. The chance to chat to @clementineberry editor of @tools_magazine_ about the craft techniques that make up our everyday lives. 10. Being let in on the heartwarming stories behind Jessie and Chris’ (@metro.auto.photo ) incredible ode to Alan Adler - Autofoto: A Life in Portraits. 11. An insight into the history of queer photography from Zorian Clayton, curator of prints at the V&A museum. We spoke about hidden discoveries in the collection, historic gaydars and new narratives for art history. 12. Uncovering @itssaraab ‘s creative process for capturing portraits that resemble renaissance paintings. 13. The priviledge of a few conversations with @julietklottrup on how she’s been capturing communities in the North West of England. + so many more! If you fancy giving any a read, you can find them here: /authors/ellis-tree

Last week on @itsnicethat we launched Wise Guides: An advice series for creatives navigating the first years of their careers. I’m so happy to have been able to contribute to the series with my guide on how to build creative community, outside of art school 🌟 The article is in the company of so many great pieces on everything from finding motivation to career path options, and really useful tips and tricks for standing out when starting out - with words by @jaheedhussain_ , @_creativelives and @daniellepender as well as an amazing FAQ with lawyers answering all the big questions for creatives. The series was edited by @jennysbrewer , with art direction by @africapombo and illustrations by @everyones_favourite Thanks to everyone that contributed and shared their thoughts on the value of building community and support networks for emerging creatives for my piece 🫶 Head over to the site to have a read of everything! 🤓

Radiant Circles: A riso animation made in collaboration with @mattberglas @bethbybeth_ and @frecklefacedfool ! This was such a joy to print and design, and an amazing opportunity to work with @studiowaynemcgregor last year thinking about motion graphics through analogue print. The animation spans 100 frames, displayed in a series of large format riso prints in three colour layers: A graphic translation of the colour gradients and spotlight movements within @studioolafureliasson ‘s set design for the contemporary ballet ‘Tree of Codes’, choreographed by Wayne McGregor. >>> swipe for a little flip book I made from the printed animation ⭐️ We still have a limited run of prints left, send us a message if you want to get your hands on one or both !

Thanks so much to everyone that came to the Feminist Imaginings Zine Launch the other week ! Thanks to the @photobookcafe for having us, we had a blast ✨ Some last copies of the zine are available to purchase on their online store if you couldn’t make it and want to grab one! (link in our bio’s) And thank you to @frecklefacedfool for taking these lovely shots of the night 📸 - Ellis and Millie 💚x

In case your invite got lost in the post 👀 Come and join us next week at the @photobookcafe for the Feminist Imaginings Zine Launch ! 🌟 ————————- Contributors: @alicee_wong @gracs_crap @liliasdesigns_ @isartsy @emily.vreed @miagiacone @bamzooki69 💚