- We are a "Mom and Pop" company dedicated to the promotion
of our varied interests.
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- We
have an ever increasing number of Pat’s recipes (original and borrowed),
Jeff’s crazy art objects and the adventures of “Clockman” which is
beyond explanation. We have a
few books we have published ourselves (mainly because we couldn’t get
anyone else to publish them) that we have found useful and enjoyable to
others. Check back once in a
while as we are planning to add greeting cards, raised relief maps and
things we don’t even know about yet to our site
-
The Founding Couple
- Jeff Trionfante Design & Ideas
- Pat Hennessy Design & Idea Editor
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- A not-so-brief history of our business
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- When we lived in Salem, Oregon, Jeff
dabbled a fair amount in sculpture and kinetic sculpture.
He showed his work at the O’Connell Gallery in Portland (which
purchased his Dragonfly that now hangs at the Oregon Museum of Science and
Industry), several restaurants
and shops around Salem, and created several private commission pieces. Jeff also had a bird cage business – Akiba Bird Cages
– for a number of years making hand-crafted steel bird cages for every
kind of bird from finches to macaws.
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- Finally deciding it was time to finish
college, Jeff got a degree in geography combining his love of history and
maps. After graduate school in
Minnesota and working as a cartographic tech/illustrator for the U.S.
Geological Survey for 5+ years, starting in St Paul, Minnesota and later
transferring to Carson City, Nevada, Jeff
decided enough was enough and left the security of a mind-numbing government
job for the uncertainties of the free market.
Jeff started a business called JVT Cartographic Illustrations,
a map and scientific illustration service.
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- In 1996 we created the MAGPIE Street Map
series and put out a new map every year we were in business.
We ended up with six maps and three atlases of the Carson City and
Lake Tahoe/Truckee areas.
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- In 1999 we changed course a bit from maps
and published SUNCLOCKS, Paper Sundials To
Make and Use. Several
years ago Pat ran a science club for 6 to 14 year old children at the public
library where she worked. She
needed another idea for one of the sessions and Jeff developed a small
sundial for the children to construct out of paper.
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- Pat’s brother Dan, a middle school
teacher in Los Angeles, later used the lesson for one of his science
classes. The enthusiastic
response of children and adults in both instances convinced us to develop a
simple book of paper sundials that children can cut out and construct with a
minimum of assistance and skills. After
many enthusiastic responses from various editors, but no takers, we decided
to publish the book ourselves. We just sold the last copy in the summer of
2006. Unfortunately, we will not be reprinting it in the foreseeable
future.
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- We have now also published a handbook on
photograph, book and newspaper preservation and a
manual for volunteers at public libraries based
on Pat’s many years as an archivist in Oregon and Minnesota and her work
at the Carson City public library. Visit
our STORE for more details!
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- Since our business had expanded to include
other printed items besides maps, we changed the company name to JVT
Publications.
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- In 2002 we decided it was time to get out
of the map business and have Jeff pursue his art full time.
We sold our house, arranged to distribute our remaining stock to our
customers and
moved to Coos Bay, Oregon. Since
we have now expanded to include some non-printed items in our struggle to
create we have changed our name to JVT Publication & Creations.
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- In August 2003 we opened Silverfish Gallery, a
gallery for contemporary art, in North Bend, Oregon which is just north of
Coos Bay. While there was a great deal of interest in the art we
presented, there was very little income. After 14 months we decided to
call it quits.
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- For now, we're figuring out our next great endeavor.
