Pluvo showed another ray of creativity when they collaborated with the lecturers at the Gold Coast’s QCA to produce a unique piece for a local art show.

Local artist Andrew Suggitt asked the company if they would submit a piece of artwork for his show titled “Ampersands”. Pluvo, with the leadership of their new recruit Siobhan Purkis, worked hand-in-hand with Jason Urech and Daniel Della-Bosca of Queensland College of Arts to produce the 3-Dimensional piece. All efforts, including some trial-and-error incidents were well worth it as the final result was one of the most talked about attractions at the Ampersands event.

The Barrel of Ampersands

Pluvo used 3D printing technology, (a brand new offering for QCA) to breathe life into their barrel of monkeys concept. Siobhan, together with Pluvo's creative director Tobias Black, fabricated the ampersands and barrel using the latest 3D programs. All of the parts were printed in brightly coloured plastic, which created an interesting juxtaposition of tone between the elements printed on-campus at QCA with their innovative 3D printers, and the laser etched wooden backdrop.

The 3D printers were put to the test for over 8 hours, finally completing all 13 ampersands and the individual barrel elements. Potato Press also helped out by laser etching the backdrop giving the whole piece a really professional finish.

According to Pluvo, they wanted to create a fun but also experimental piece, which looks at the Ampersand from a unique angle. The company also wanted to test the capabilities of 3D printing technology to see how it may work on a commercial level.

The Ampersands After Party and Art Show took place at The Cambus Wallace (a relatively new bar at Nobbys), was organised in conjunction with the Typism Inspiration Conference 2013. Pluvo was not the only company who submitted a piece of artwork but they certainly added a flavour to the entire event.

A printing education. Over 80 artists and 200 art pieces.

In 2012, Pluvo created a new brand for leading Gold Coast print company Fast Proof Press. Over the past five years Pluvo has closely witnessed the change in the printing industry and with the introduction of digital printing, the romance of traditional print has somewhat been removed and has become a very price driven excercise. So as part of the overall brand strategy Pluvo suggested that a printed educational book should be created, educating clients on exciting ways to communicate through print techniques. 

The Bible of Print was created. A specialty oversized A4 book consisting of 120 pages, that showcases many embellishments such as; Die cutting, embossing, foiling, varnishing, just to name a few. Each page is a print project in its own right.

For content, Pluvo put to tender an invitation to local artists, which gained huge response. Over 80 artists and 200 art pieces of the highest quality were submitted and in collaboration with Fast Proof Press Pluvo worked to formalise a plan on how each piece would be treated.

Eighteen months later we’re starting to see print proofs and with a delivery date in sight we are very excited to see this wild concept come to fruition.