Jette
An inspired vision by a master builder launched an old-world Nordic design as a new vessel.
In 2002, master craftsman Matt Billey envisioned building a boat based on a century-old Danish design he had found. Using Scandinavian woods and mostly authentic turn-of-the-century tools and techniques, Matt built a 30-foot Danish double-ender and named her Jette.
Robert shot photos of the launch day and Matt’s workshop, and we designed an oversized book to document the boat-building journey.
Scope: Design, Art Direction, Creative Direction, Photography, Color Correcting, High-Resolution Retouching, and Print Production
“Shortly after I photographed Matt’s workshop and Jette’s launch day, I knew I needed to make a book of his creative boat-building journey. I had planned on a 48-page book, but once I began designing and mapping out the content, it grew to 124 pages. In addition to my photos, the album-sized book also includes some of Matt’s blog entries, dozens of his iPhone photos, online observations he made during the twelve-year process, nautical poems, and some old family photos. I wanted to capture through photography and design a very talented artist and bring his story to life as a beautifully produced and memorable keepsake.” — Robert Krivicich
The book is mind-blowing. And I couldn’t be more pleased with your artwork. Of course I’ve seen the boat and all of those artifacts, but never like that before. It really is amazing! Thank you!
Photography by Robert Krivicich