A year ago I woke up and had the sudden urge to get a Borzoi. At this point I had never even seen one in my life. Later that day I was sitting on M.’s couch and went on and on about why Borzois are the most superior dogs in the universe, the most elegant creatures, and how owning one would complete my life. M and I fantasised about calling her Ariadne. We saw ourselves frolicking in the forest with the imaginary beast. Instead of washing the table cloth, he was painting it (ultramarine blue) whilst we were getting more and more excited. Bright paint stains all over his bare chest. Neither of us had time or money to actually commit to a dog. The idea, the dream, excited us.

Later that day we walked through the forest close to our places, past the chickens and the graveyard. We lost track of time and ended up in a part that looked like it belonged in a Jane Austen adaptation. M started to climb up trees, plucked edible flowers for me (this time I did not poison myself), and rolled over the moss and grass. 

And then, all of a sudden, we saw one. An actual Borzoi. A grey and black beauty. The strangest of strange coincidences. Thinking back on this moment, it still feels unreal to me. Like we manifested him. But he was actually there. The owner told us he was rescued from Siberia. We were too stunned to even try to approach and pet him. Graciously he ignored us. The appearance of the Borzoi was all we would talk about for the rest of the walk and the coming months.

A year later, I still don't have a Borzoi, but I look at pictures of them every other day and every time I see one in real life (which happens almost never) I feel nervous and excited in equal parts. Hoping that the dog would acknowledge my appearance. Hoping that the dog would come to me. Hoping for us to have an instant connection, like love at first sight.

Until the day I have my own Borzoi, I have drawn 52 of them. 26 of them jump through the uppercase letters of an upcoming release called Vain. The other 26 can be accessed on the lowercase letters. My dear friend Sanne has the cutest Toy Poodle in the world (and normally I am not the biggest fan of small dogs): Koos. It seemed only appropriate that Koosje became the guardian of the one and only punctuation symbol I included.

Until the 14th of February, you can get a free license of Vain – Angel Baby Boys with the code KOOSJE.

About Vain:
Vain (the flared sans) was developed for the identity of Detour Platform. The full typeface (without dogs), as well as their identity, will be released in the coming months. Detour Platform is an independent publishing platform founded by Natasha Rijkhoff and Jesse Muller, and the identity is developed with Stefaniia Bodnia (who said she would always take care of my Borzoi if I were to get one).