Late, one summer night, somewhere between London and Reading, I had my portfolio stolen while I was asleep on a First Great Western train. Successful interview with a publisher, followed by celebratory drinks with friends, happily hopped on a train… and as we pulled into Reading (where I lived during my PhD at the Department of Typography, University of Reading), I reached for my portfolio on the seat beside me – vanished!

Despite a police report, and a most helpful train manager, I had no luck in finding the culprit (or the battered portfolio). I spent several sleepless nights after, and would wake up in the middle of the night and open the front door imagining that some kind soul had returned it to me. I was shattered – I had no way of recovering many of the artifacts in there, lost to too many misbehaving hard drives.

As trite as it sounds, it is true – in case of my house burning down, my portfolio would have definitely have been one of my top 10 things to take with me. It’s a mystery. The case was of little value to anyone but me, but there you go. Someday I’ll do a project that imagines all the places my portfolio turned up. In the meanwhile, if you happen to find it, email me! I promise a fine reward!

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