Stories

Neil and I are both big supporters of sustainability. We both have children and we often wonder what their world will be like, and what we can do to leave them with a habitable planet. So, keeping Neil's Archiv

es as environmental as possible was an important consideration from the start.

From the beginning of my design career, paper has always been my thing. I like working with quality paper. It started at Atlantic Records with Crosby, Stills, and Nash's first album when I insisted on having high quality paper and a real color separator. I remember Ahmet Ertegun and cornering me in a bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel, saying there was no way I was getting away with using expensive paper and my own color separator. Jerry said they could put a record in a paper bag and it would sell. He felt that album covers were only to appease the artists. But I had the backing of the artists. In fact, I think that cover may have paved the way and started the trend of seeking out quality papers for album covers.
From the beginning, when I choose a paper I always try to make sustainability part of the equation. Mohawk papers are my favorite environmental papers to use. I first used for the Oil on Ice DVD cover because it was 100% postconsumer waste. I remember researching paper for the project and reading that Mohawk manufactures paper with wind-generated power and that was it for me. I just thought that was so cool.

So, when we were deciding which paper to use for the journal, Mohawk was the first that popped into my mind. We needed a paper that could hold the heavy coverage and clarity of the images and hand written notes. We used Vellum for the journal and decided to use it again for the 10 DVD/Blu-Ray wallet packs.

The journal is literally a walk through time with Neil. A map of his life during those years, photos of him with other musicians, hand written notes about what was happening in his life, the beginnings of song lyrics. It's like a time capsule of an era and using an environmental paper was important to keep in the mood of that time.