Letterspace #72: Fanny Hamelin
22.10.2026
19.00 - 21.00
Thonik B.V., Grensstraat 47, 1091 SW, Amsterdam
Fanny Hamelin has worn many hats: type designer in a foundry, in a graphic design studio, as a freelancer, and now co-founder of her own foundry, Proof of Words. Each role gave her a different way of looking at letters.
Working for foundries taught her the craft and the rigor of font production. Working with graphic designers and cultural institutions, on custom alphabets and lettering, showed her how typefaces live in real projects. Until she had everything she needed to build a project of her own.
Fanny approaches letters through texture, with pixels and ornaments, and through history, with Baroque forms and scripts, always with a taste for the experimental. Fanny is going to take us through her journey, from her very first typeface to the realities of running a foundry.
About Fanny Hamelin
Fanny Hamelin is a French type designer based in Amsterdam. Since her graduation, she has been collaborating with type foundries, graphic designers and cultural institutions on typographic projects, doing type design and development. In 2023, she launched Proof of Words with her collaborator Léo Guibert. This type foundry is driven by their love for unconventional design and typographic curiosity. Her typeface projects are rooted in history, but are never strict revivals. She enjoys reinterpreting a style and adding her touch to it. She has a soft spot for the tacky and flamboyant typefaces of the 19th century.
From first typeface to foundry
In this talk, Fanny Hamelin shares her journey as a type designer, from her first typeface to the realities of running a type foundry. She begins with Savon, the first typeface she designed, and Selva, her first published typeface, before looking at the different paths, collaborations and personal projects that have shaped her practice along the way.
She then talks about how she came to launch Proof of Words, and what she has learned from building a type foundry together, looking at both the technical and typographic side of the process. She showcases a few typefaces from the foundry’s catalogue such as Limerick and Garnier and discusses what it’s like to run a type foundry today: the opportunities it creates, the challenges it brings and how it continues to enrich her work as a type designer.
Tickets
Please RSVP via email (free) or eventbrite (€1+).
The entrance is free thanks to our sponsors, that cover most of our expenses. To cover the remaining costs, we appreciate your donation.