This font began as a pencil sketch made on a napkin in an oyster bar in Istanbul, while I perused the rather sparse but nicely calligraphed wine menu. My date- minor royalty from a nearby oil state- felt I was not paying her enough attention and went out in a huff. I was left with two heaping plates of mollusk, a rather fine bottle of 'Grigio and my sketch. Well into the second bottle (the Andalusian Merlot commemorated herewith) , and after who knows how many crumpled napkins, I asked the waiter to borrow his pen in order to ink in a first fair prototype of these glyphs. I remember how his mustaches twitched as he scowled at me.
