This is the story of self-taught typographic letterer, Chrystel Crickx. In the streets of Schaerbeek, Belgium, Chrystel used to cut out letters by hand and sell them by the piece in her shop, Publi Fluor, from 1975 to 2001. Little did she know back then that her work was going to be part of the history of typography and of Brussels too. She pioneered techniques that ignored conventions, “cutting letters in her kitchen behind the counter, she developed a lettering practice that was less mobile, yet more commercial." Her vinyl adhesives, bought by locals for signs and advertising, have since been digitized and made accessible to users outside Belgium and in a range of new contexts.

This publications attempts to tell the life of a type model, its successive authors and their tools, all while broadening the field and exploring the interstices between the many stories that Chrystel Crickx’s practice gave rise to.

Contributors include Soazig Auvray, Marine Declève, Hélène Marian, and Vincent Meessen

Edited by the Crickx Research Group

Designed by Olivier Bertrand

Published by Surfaces Utiles
Multilingual, in Dutch, French and English

Softcover, exposed Swiss binding, 384 pages, full color, 6.5 × 9 inches

ISBN: 978-2-93-111010-2