Huge congratulations to our senior designer @melissa__monkhouse and her husband Sam on the birth of baby Alfie. We are absolutely over the moon for the 3 of them (and us) and we can’t wait to get a visit soon!

Looking for a family activity to take on over the February half term? Make sure you head to @durhamcathedral and pick up their Lent & Easter activity leaflet. This was a really fun one to work on and we cannot wait to tackle this one ourselves (even if we do know all the answers 👀)

I am sure everyone will join us in wishing Melissa well for her journey into parenthood. Today was her last day with the C12 team for a little while as she heads off on maternity leave. She will be a huge miss, but we are so thrilled for her and we can’t wait to meet the little one! 👶🍼

We are excited to get our hands on launch materials for the DU Professional 👀…a programme which enables professional services staff at Durham University to discover development opportunities that are available for them. Always lovely to see identity work come to life through print!

Innovation this way! Arrow, innovation support, are a collaboration between Durham University, Newcastle University, Northumbria University and the University of Sunderland. The Arrow team will listen to your needs and hone in on exactly the right support for you, linking business with knowledge and research to help foster success in our region.

We’ve demolished the C12 annual festive feast, so long 2023, see you in the new year! ✨

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Our annual trip to Pity Me Nursery last week was as successful as usual! Feeling suitably festive in the C12 studio 🤗🎄✨

If you’re visiting @durhamcathedral over the festive period with little ones, make sure to pick up a Family Activity Leaflet!

Feeling super lucky to have the fantastic #AucklandAglow on our doorstep! We thoroughly enjoyed our evening adventure around the park, hot chocolates and mulled wines in hand, we cannot recommend the experience enough! The Christmas light trail is on until New Year’s Eve 🤗 discover more by visiting @theaucklandproject ! ✨

North Pennines website update following their recent brand evolution! 🌳🐑 👀

Lumiere guide on tour! It’s been wonderful seeing these fantastic light installations in situ, our wander round Bishop Auckland market place after work today was rather lovely. 🙌🏼 ✨

#LumiereDurham launches tonight! This will be the third Lumiere guide we’ve designed for the event and will be available for purchase over the next few evenings, make sure to check out their installations in Bishop Auckland this year too! Always a pleasure to work on, so many gorgeous light creations.✨

Midweight/Senior Graphic Designer – Maternity Cover (view to extend) Come and join our creative team in County Durham. We’re looking for an enthusiastic Midweight/Senior Graphic Designer for maternity cover for our Senior Designer, starting February 1st 2024. We’re offering a minimum 9 month contract, with a view to extend. (Click the link in our bio for more info!) #graphicdesignjobs #graphicdesign #northeast

Such a tough life 🐶🐶

Pulled pork tacos for the team today with spicy Mexican rice and melted cheese 💪🏼🐷🧀

Help @theaucklandproject save this Tudor treasure and bring it back to Britain! This beautiful intricate tapestry is over 5meters wide and would be purchased by the Zurbarán Trust.

Lovely to be able to utilise Tamsin Rees’ illustrations for the @changingrelations 6 part publication set for ‘Sometimes it Hurts’. They give a voice to young people and a language to themes that are difficult and sensitive to approach (such as neglect, divorce, domestic abuse and unhealthy, controlling behaviours, both within families and within young people’s own romantic relationships). Visit changingrelations.co.uk/our-work/sometimes-it-hurts to discover more about their incredible and important work.

The Time Traveller’s Map of Faith… ‘Use your map and the tools in your explorer’s bag to help you discover more about faith throughout British history.’ 🗺️ 🧭 🔍

The office was treated to this indulgently rich almond flour chocolate cake made by Gary’s mum Jean to celebrate his birthday last week. I’ve been assured it was absolutely delicious and was speedily devoured by the C12 team, I (Melissa) am gutted to have missed out on Jean’s baking due to being off poorly! Also although there was candles and glasses of bubbly, this was the only photo taken in my absence! A belated happy birthday to our @grobsonuk 🎂

13 years passed, but still giving. Each of Richard’s children were gifted and planted a fruit tree from their pops. Plums, apples, pears and damsons. Today we celebrated Duncan by having a wonderful pear crumble. Duncan’s legacy lives on. 🍐 #ProudPops #TrueGentleman #RIPDuncan

Homemade chicken, parmesan and spinach pasties with spicy med veg and roasties for the team followed by strawberries and cream!

Melissa’s weekly haul from the Bishop Auckland veggie van needed a shout out. £10 for the lot and always so flavoursome by comparison with supermarket produce. 🙌🏼🍏🍎🍌🍅🍇🥦🥒

Tom from the wonderful @_pineapplegallery next door (pop in if you haven’t already, his collection of artworks is truly amazing) has been spreading the love with his petunias! This little one managed to make its home in a little pavement crack outside ours and is positively thriving! 🌺

All the way from the RSPCA down in Shrewsbury, we’d like to introduce Richard’s new pal Rupert! Still a puppy, this playful new C12 member has a loving, kind nature and is aptly curious.

We enjoyed a tour of Durham Cathedral and Museum yesterday, seeing some of our boards in situ and hearing some really lovely feedback on the Family Activity Booklet. Plus we got to see the amazing Cathedral staff in action saving a little bat which a visitor had spotted huddled in a corner on the floor. They are trained on how to handle the little creatures, giving them water to drink and working closely with the Durham Bat Group to nurse them back to health before their release!

Always lovely seeing a logo we designed up close and personal! Very much looking forward to experiencing Aglow this winter! ✨

Delicious coffee delivery all the way from a very kind client in Norwich! The C12 team will likely be extremely productive today, happy Thursday! ☕️

Lovely to see the Gaia Family Activity Booklets in use at @durhamcathedral 🙌🏼🌎 Encouraging curiosity in young people around the Earth and what we can do to protect it.

It’s been a pleasure working with @durhamcathedral on the Gaia exhibition, Sam and Melissa had a wander round yesterday, it truly is impressive to behold! 1/2

We’ve had budding designer Ben McDonagh in this week for his work experience. We set him on a recent ‘Grow and Glow Club’ brief, researching and designing a brand identity and brand extensions for a made up company ‘The Pizza Factory’. We’re looking forward to touching base next month to see how his design work progresses. (PS thank you Ben for the abundance of chocolates!)

James has taken Charlie Proud under his wing this week. Cups of tea in hand, they’ve been delving into the wonderful world of web development and coding. Gifting the team a bottle of our favourite Jam Shed and some tasty chocolates, we reckon he’s welcome back any time. It’s been a pleasure Charlie!

Durham University’s Chancellor’s Report - We adore how much a little bit of foil elevates a publication!

…and today we’re enjoying buttery garlic ciabattas with mozzarella covered BBQ pulled pork 💪🏼🐷

We do love a bit of large format printing, especially when the colours come out as vivid at this! 🐢😎 @nheartlands

Abhi is in the middle of a placement at C12 and kindly offered to cook for the team! We have just demolished the most deliciously authentic chicken tikka masala with charred naan bread. 🙌🏼 Unreal.

We’ve had a lot of fun working with @nheartlands on Hyem Fest! Coming to Willington, Saturday 15th July, 2pm until late.

“What a wonderful day! Curious12 were honoured to attend our Senior Designer Melissa’s wedding to Sam Monkhouse. Everything was perfect, from church through to the reception at a marquee at the family farm. The hospitality was amazing, we were made to feel so welcome by family and friends. So grateful to be able to share this wonderful moment. Scrubs up well like!” …sharing a few photos of the day, showcasing some of their creative creations!

Still celebrating a decade of C12, this time with a leisurely Tunstall Reservoir walk, brief playtime and tasty Italian food 😋

This week we’re on beef chilli, packed with roasted veggies and served with the team favourite Jam Shed Shiraz and jalapeño/coriander/rocket salad. 💪🏼

Delicious homemade gnocchi from Anton today, with crusty, heavily buttered bread and an orange, pine nut, fennel and walnut salad.👌🏼

A little collection of the adverts/posts we've produced for Ad Gefrin in the run-up to their launch. Their Anglo-Saxon Museum and Whisky Distillery, based in Wooler, Northumberland, opened this weekend to the public.🥃

@adgefrin the Anglo-Saxon Museum and Whisky Distillery opens its doors tomorrow! We so enjoyed our sneak preview on Monday evening exploring their glorious HQ in Wooler, Northumberland. We are in utter awe of what the Ad Gefrin family and team have created. 🙌🏼

…and what a decade it has been! Here’s a little appreciation post to all the fantastic people we’ve had the privilege of working with. 🙌🏼 🍾

We so enjoyed our visit to the Modern Makers exhibition preview evening last week. The exhibition is on until 18th June and showcases the next generation of artists, makers and designers from The Northern School of Art.

‘Head to Ushaw between 1 April – 25 June for French opulence and splendour in our new exhibition The Power of Image: Versailles and the Sun King. The exhibition explores Louis XIV’s relationship with Versailles through the Cabinet du Roi, the series of printed engravings produced to reflect the glory of his reign. In addition to a display of the rare original volumes, all produced in the second half of the seventeenth century, the exhibition features over 100 of the prints, reproduced and enlarged to show their rich details.’

Thebluebirdboutique.co.uk has been up and running for just over a week now. Swipe through to see some of our favourite products Rebecca has available, adoring the amount of fringe within this product range 🙌🏼. We’re thrilled to hear how well the branding and website for this new venture have been received. @bluebirdboutiqueuk

Happy pancake day/Shrove Tuesday to all! 🐶 To quote James it has been, ‘Even better than last year’👌🏼

C12 eat again, pasta bake for four in the office today. 🐷 🐷 🐷 🐷

The @theparkheadhotel website was a joy to work on, we’re amazed at the transformation and cannot wait to pop round for a wholesome C12 lunch when they open up at the beginning of Feb! Having thoroughly browsed their online menu, we’re eyeing up the walled garden soup, blackened half roast chicken and sticky toffee pudding. 🤤

Some lovely red foiling on @collingwoodcollege ‘s 50year celebration publication! ‘Aime le Meilleur!’

We’ve recently created a video to showcase Durham University’s exciting new biodiversity strategy 👀🌿🦔🌳🐝🦉🦋🍄

We recently created a PRILL (Participatory Research Innovation and Learning Labs) visual guide, which allowed us to lean into the metaphor of journey and exploration, with each PR strand being it’s own island. We had a lot of fun creating these visuals!

Super excited to be heading to Waterstones in Newcastle this evening to watch a panel discussion celebrating the launch of @lucyenichol ‘s brand new book ‘Don’t Call Me Snowflake’. It’s a fascinating deep dive into misconceptions and negativity surrounding mental health. Lucy’s book is powerful, informative and beautifully written in her signature down-to-earth, open, conversational style. 🙌🏼 We couldn’t recommend this fabulous read enough.

Days like these mean team porridge 🥣 🐻🐻🐻 ☔️

…And that’s a wrap! We’ll be back on the 4th January, happy holidays everybody!

@c12garyrobson a pack-up of our practice run Christmas lunch will be with you by the end of the day!

The Spanish Art in County Durham website is up and running. Visit zc-exhibitions.org to explore the treasures our county has to offer!

Penny has had a Minnie companion for today’s Auckland Park wander… dog 🐶 🐶

We’re proud to present Durham University’s ‘What we achieve together’ video. They commissioned an independent report to establish how the University contributes to the economic, cultural and social vibrancy of the North East. (you may even hear a familiar voice...)

We’ve loved being involved with the Governors for Schools team to create this animation!

Happy Halloween from the C12 propagation station! 💀🌱

A little decoration for @theaucklandproject ‘s Heras fencing, including a teaser of their Christmas styling!

Super interesting site visit exploring @norwichcastle for a rather exciting upcoming project in partnership with The British Museum. So enjoyed exploring Norwich whilst we were in the area. Watch this space! 👀

Happy Birthday to @c12garyrobson …lovely afternoon out celebrating 5️⃣0️⃣ years of Gary! 🎈

We have spied our @durhamuniversity ad in the Good University Guide 2023 👀 …Sports University of the year! 🏆🍾

Super proud to be based in Bishop Auckland and to support The Future of Fore Bondgate. So many curiosities in our little corner of the town!

Our Senior Designer Melissa is doing the Great North Run today and is raising money for @thestrokeassociation 💜💛

An amazing woman and an exceptional leader. Our Queen, rest in peace Lilibet. ❤️

Just a heads up… The Summer Market is on this weekend at @thebowesmuseum in #BarnardCastle Also check out their new local membership and Summer holiday activities! 💁🏻‍♀️🦋🌳🌸🌞🍎🍒🥐🍔🍰🧁🍭

Enjoying a large Bruce Bogtrotter style cake for @wo0o0od ‘s birthday 💪🏼

Looking for wholesome family activities this summer? @ushawdurham have got you!💪🏼

Belated birthday tiffin and @kneadaslice_ pizzas to celebrate 28 years of @samraper19 !

Enjoyable mid-week post-meeting golf cart tour of 11 Arches Park… it’s changed a lot since our last visit!

The Journey in Colour exhibition at @thebowesmuseum is looking super vivid and inviting! 🌈

We enjoyed Northumberland show over the luxuriously long weekend. We do so love spying familiar brands and deliverables when we’re out and about!

Make sure to tune in to The One Show at 7pm this evening for the City of Culture 2025 announcement. We've our fingers and toes crossed for Durham and are so proud to work with the many fantastic local businesses and projects which would make County Durham a worthy winner! From The Bowes Museum and The Auckland Project to Ushaw and Durham University, our county is truly a fantastic place to call home.

The Bowes Museum’s Jubilee exhibition is simply joyous! 🇬🇧 👀

Launching tomorrow (and included in Ushaw’s membership) is ‘The Pugins at Ushaw: Masters of Graphic Design’ …to this day Ushaw is the only place in the world where it is possible to see the work of all six member of the Pugin family of architects and designers in a single location.

A little throwback to last month’s visual identity and styling we created for Durham World Heritage Day!

Happy Birthday to our director Richard! A shout-out must be given to @samraper19 …for this Richard cushion truly is the gift that keeps on giving! We’re enjoying the week of celebrations after C12 and Penny’s birthdays yesterday. 🎂🍻🎈🪵

C12 is 9 years old today! To celebrate we’ve had a little afternoon wander around Derwent Reservoir and a hearty meal at The Feathers Inn. 🥳 🎂 🍻

Burgers and guacamole make for a tasty C12 team lunch 🙌🏻 🍔 🥗 🍅 🥒 🫑 🥑 🥓

We were thrilled to be able to help with the Street Museum Exhibition! It launched in Blackhall today, a trail showcasing 3D printed artefacts from Durham University’s collections throughout windows within the village. #BlackhallStreetMuseum #Blackhall #Durham2025 #EastDurhamCreates

A couple of famous faces in Bishop Auckland today! 👀 Queen Letizia and Prince Charles visiting the ‘Prado of the North’ this afternoon.

We've been fortunate enough to work with Durham University and DCC on their fantastic 'Triple A' resource. It is currently featuring on the homepage. It is designed to raise awareness and understanding of a set of difficulties that impact many children in our schools – difficulties with Attention, Arousal and Anxiety. The resource is intended primarily for educational professionals, for example teachers, teaching assistants, SENCOs, and school leaders. It may also be useful for the broader school staff (administrative, canteen, caretakers). Durham University hope the resource will be helpful for thinking about primary and secondary school children.

With its lovely foiled cover, The Spanish Gallery - A Guide to the Works of Art was a joy to work on last year. Such beautiful artwork, the gallery itself is simply stunning, well worth a visit!

Great to be involved with this year’s Fire&Ice festival in Durham, we’re enjoying working with @durhambid for their upcoming citywide events. 🙌🏻

Squirty cream, chocolate drops, Nutella, honey, desiccated coconut & lemon …you’d batter believe we’re all over pancake day. 🥞🤗

Gammon joint, sourdough and an array of condiments at the ready, C12 lunch incoming! 🙌🏻

Today’s date, Tuesday 22nd February 2022. A date which is both a palindrome and an ambigram 👀 (read same left to right, right to left and upside down!)

Something exciting has been going on behind the scenes at No.43 in the Market Place (previously Home Bargains). Introducing: Bishop Auckland’s Big Picture.

Last year, in addition to their rebrand, we worked on a new website for Ushaw. Our very own C12 Penny has even managed to make an appearance or two...

One of our last jobs of the year (2021) for The Bowes Museum was the visual styling for the Silver Swan’s new home within the museum. We very much enjoyed playing with vintage botanicals and watercolour elements, mixed in with the clockwork mechanics.

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‘This is the spirit of Northumberland – AdGefrin Visitor Experience and Whisky Distillery’ How gorgeous are these behind the scenes production pics? We’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with @adgefrin (🥃) and @theliquoricepress (Foiling & Print & Embossing & Photo Credit 🙌🏻 📷) to create the first Corenkyn membership packs.

Office Christmas meal 🤗🎄

Team C12 highly recommend our new almost neighbours @kneadaslice_ 🙌🏻 Delicious sourdough base pizzas plus we’re thrilled to have discovered they do cocktails. 👀

Feeling festive 🤗

Pity Me nursery, come for the Christmas trees, stay for the pulled beef sandwiches. 🤤🌲