It's 2026, the set up of ACDSleeve took much much longer than anticipated, but I'm on the home stretch to be ready to take on orders. I'm settled in the office, the CNC cardboard cutter has been delivered / installed and I now have a printer in house, which should make orders and custom work much more streamlined. The space is almost finished, just a couple of custom benches/board storage to come in February. It's crazy that this is only day 30 in the new space (…continued)

Still a way to go, but this progress in the last 2 days feels absolutely bonkers (click through for install in reverse)

2026 is here, and starting out with a busy first week:
-Delivery/install and training on massive card cutting machine (plotter) tomorrow and Wednesday
-Printer delivery/install Thursday
…then it’s go time…

Things are slowly progressing, aside from having no internet, or any means of making packaging, I’m pretty much set up. Printer is ordered for delivery before the end of the year and installation of the massive card cutting machine is booked for the first week of January.

I’m finally in the new home of ACDSleeve, currently working in a bit of a tip while I wait for electrics to get sorted and equipment to be delivered. Feels so good to have a base again. Here’s to 2026 when things will be much more operational.

After a few delays I got the keys to the new home of ACDSleeve this week.
There’s a lot of moving, unpacking, maintenance, equipment buying and general set up to be done but this is probably the biggest hurdle overcome.

In just over 2 weeks this empty shell of a unit will be the home of ACDSleeve, after 9 months of trying to find the right space I’m on the home stretch of getting a work space that’ll suit my needs for the next few years. All being well orders will be possible before the end of the year, but there’s a lot to sort before then…

The first batch of test prints are here to compare old jobs with new cardstock options.

A whiter white board which will now be unlaminated (no more plastic) and a brown/kraft board which is the best looking/feeling I’ve offered.

A lot more testing and set up behind the scenes, but, progress…

I’ve not posted anything in over 2 months, life definitely got in the way of restarting ACDSleeve. I guess major life changes can take more of your time and attention than expected, but, I’m getting down to it now.

This box has a range of ideas I designed/developed earlier this year, which needs sifting through, roughly 6 CD and 6 cassette options which all being well should be ready to go when I can officially relaunch this, as well as some weird ideas which need work but there’s something there. I’ll be going through these and posting a few of them in the coming weeks, some are redesigned options I used to offer, others are completely original ideas not found anywhere else.

Still a hell of a lot to get done, finding working space, looking into and buying equipment, finding various suppliers, sorting the website…but it will be moving along, just much slower than expected.

15 years ago today I was working on the very first run of packaging I’d ever made. It wasn’t under the ACDSleeve name as it wasn’t even a “business” then, just an idea I’d come up with for a pop up CD case, it was credited to my tumblr page where I’d been posting design work while unemployed and looking for work.

I made all 100 of these in the space of just over a day, with equipment that wasn’t fit for purpose, using solvent glue which sent me a bit mad, and using techniques which are not good at all. It was a slog, but it was worth it. The photo of them boxed up was taken at gone 1am on the day of the show they were for. I won’t go into how important the EP/band are to me as I gush over Blakfish far too much, but for these to be available and sell out at their last ever show is still massive to me.

There has been a 7 year hiatus, but it’s crazy to think that back when I was 22 with no idea what I was doing I was sowing the seeds of what consumed my life for the next 8 years and what I’m going to be jumping back into this year.