About the foundry
Two people, six families, one long table
Quoin Type is Maren Holt and Idris Okafor. We draw typefaces in a shared studio above a print shop in Rotterdam and sell the licenses directly.
A quoin is the wooden or metal wedge that locks metal type into its frame on a press. Nobody sees it on the printed page, but without it the letters slide around. We liked that as a description of the job.
Maren drew lettering for book covers for twelve years before she started making fonts; Bellweather and Vesper Display came from that work. Idris worked on station and airport signs, which is where Tallis Grotesk and Ledger Mono come from. Almanac Text and Compass Sans we drew together.
We release one or two families a year and keep updating the old ones: more languages, better spacing, new styles when people ask for them. Updates are free for everyone who has bought a license.
Custom work
We extend our families for companies that need extra weights, a language we do not cover yet, or a version with their own alternates. Write to us with what you need and when.
Drawn by hand first
Every family starts as pencil drawings at about 5 cm cap height. We scan them, trace them and then spend most of the time on spacing.
Tested in print
Proofs go through the print shop downstairs on uncoated and coated paper before a family is released, at 7 points and at 70.
Sold directly
You buy from us and download the files at once. No subscription, no account, and the license stays valid if we ever stop selling the family.