Vicky Carr & Textbook Studio

Vicky Carr provided the final years of the University of Huddersfield a lecture on how her business runs, the importance of networking. Meeting each other whilst doing their degrees at Stockport college, Vicky co-founded the Salford based Textbook Studio with Chris Shearston in 2011. The company specialises in publications and aims to give meaning and form to images and bodies of text through graphic design. Vicky defines the practice of Textbook Studio into four areas of work including commercial practice, studio work, education and being part of a Risograph collective.

Textbook Studio’s commercial practice primarily consists of making prints and artist books for larger clients that are mostly local, noting that that a lot of these clients usually become repeating customers. Their self-initiated work comes from working in the studio to experiment with new designs, collaborating with other artists and creating work for exhibitions. As both founders spent time in higher education, the company sees the value of teaching, and integrate it into their work through giving lectures and workshops to students and those who are interested in learning about photography and graphic design, Vicky’s talk at Huddersfield is just an example of this.

Textbook Studio is also part of a Risograph collective, allowing them to experiment with their printing techniques and using this cheaper printing method to raise funds and create interesting work. Vicky gave ideas to students on how to raise funds for events with the example of selling prints made with the Risograph at print fairs and even more inventive, they built a vending machine that would dispense different prints from a range of artists to raise funds for maintenance on their building.

Within the talk, Vicky brings up the importance of networking with other artists and businesses, as the studio is based in an old cotton mill shared with other like-minded companies it has allowed Textbook Studios to collaborate with others and share work.

The graphic design company founded only a few years after Vicky and Chris graduated, now at a decade long run, continues to be an asset to local artists and to the community.