Our latest collaboration with the artist & designer Anthony Burrill launches on Saturday 3rd May. A 21st birthday celebration of Burrill's iconic print 'Work Hard & Be Nice To People'.

Rare editions from the artist's letterpress archive (2004 - 2019) will be available to purchase alongside a selected collection of final and never previously released letterpress prints. This archive sale will take place in both our Mare St Market, Coal Drops Yard (Sat 3rd May) and Brighton (Sun 4th May) stores and online (Mon 5th May at 10am).

Preview the collection here.

There are a limited number of prints available across the bank holiday weekend, with early access to each event open to ticket holders only. Tickets went out via our newsletter but please email us if you are interested and we'll see if there are any spaces still available.

LONDON

When: Saturday 3rd May

Where: They Made This, within Mare Street Market at Coal Drops Yard, 2 Lewis Cubitt Square, London, N1C 4DY

How: Early access tickets available via our newsletter, open to the general public in the afternoon.

BRIGHTON

When: Sunday 4th May

Where: They Made This, 15-16 Dukes Lane, Brighton, BN1 1BG

How: Early access tickets available via our newsletter, open to the general public in the afternoon.

"I was standing in the queue at Sainsbury's on Clapham High Street in the Summer of 2002. In front of me was an elderly lady talking to the woman on the check-out. She was talking about a variety of subjects, the cost of a tin of cat food, the weather that day and the secret to a happy life. Her advice was to work hard and be nice to people. I rememebered the phrase and packed it away in the back of my head thinking that I might do something with it one day."

"A couple of years later my family and I moved to rye in East Sussex. It is a beautiful town with a rich history of creativity and tradition. At the heart of the town lies Adams of Rye. An old fashioned shop that sells magazines, greetings cards and paraphernalia for the nearby beach. When I moved to Rye I noticed beautifully printed posters and announcements around the town advertising flower festivals, tea dances and bric-a-brac sales. The posters were printed using letterpress, an outdated process that has long been superseded by digital printing. At the bottom of the posters it said 'Printed by Adams of Rye'.

I went in to the shop to find out where the letterpress workshop might be. At the rear of the shop there is a door marked 'PRINT WORKS. DO NOT ENTER'. I ignored the sign and opened the door where I found an incredible time capsule of a print workshop that hadn't been changed since the 1950s. It was a moment that would alter the path of my career completely. I asked if they could print a poster for me that said 'WORK HARD & BE NICE TO PEOPLE', it felt like the perfect phrase to be set in vintage wood letter type and printed on a press that is over half a century old."

"The first run of three hundred copies were printed with a simple layout clearly setting out the phrase in a timeless way. I began to distribute copies, first to friends and then to people I worked with. Requests for copies soon started and we printed more to meet the demand. It began to be sold in galleries and from my website. It got mentions in the press and was featured in design publications.

That was in 2004, over twenty years ago. It's my most recognisable work and the piece that people associate most with me as an artist. We've printed thousands of copies, first in letterpress, later in silk-screen print and there have been a number of special editions. The silver foil block version was produced in 2012. It's an open edition, which means it isn't numbered, but I can only remember making around one hundred copies. Which makes it a rare print which makes it special in the method it was, but the sentiment remains the same. To have a happy life we must be nice to people and to work hard."

Anthony Burrill

April 2025