The collector: Richard Pollitt, Freelance Graphic Designer, Bristol, UK.

The collection: Fruit and vegetable crate packaging design.

The story behind the collection...

I started my collection a few years back as a way of documenting British dependence on imported fruit and vegeatbles for a design project. The collection never stopped and I became slightly obsessed with the printed wooden panel which displays the brand, fruit type and location of the contents of the box. The aim was to plan out a map of our food dependence and exhibit the panels of printed wood. This never happened. Being a graphic designer I'm fascinated with the crude print and typography of the panels.

I have them in a large drawer at the bottom of my wardrobe and still plan to produce the project. The process of collecting the boxes became a routine for me, visiting local vegetable shops around Bristol and gathering the boxes on a weekly basis. I struck up a deal with the local bin men in the food market who would pull out the boxes from the bin and store them for me. I became a regular to the food markets where store holders would flaunt their new style of box. The collection grew and grew and eventually I put in a few hours scanning the wooden panels in a plan to disconnect myself from the physical box and throw away the prints. They remain under my wardrobe.

www.richardpollitt.co.uk

All images © Richard Pollitt & used with his kind permission.