Six years working at a cozy letterpress shop– especially one that’s basking in sunny Pennsylvania — is going to create some nifty pieces and fine design. Or at least it will inspire an entire weekend devoted to the art of the letterpress, ala The Ladies of Letterpress conference. After working in Mainz, Germany for a half-year of traditional typesetting and printing before opening up shop (Thoma-Printers), Kseniya Thomas’s love of letterpress is founded on skill, encouragement, and a big scoop of care. Here, Kseniya weighs in on the letterpress community, printing adventures, and her love of miniatures.

LIVE, WORK & DIRECT I’m Kseniya Thomas, and I’m a recovering English major from Salt Lake City. I currently live and work in Pennsylvania, where I’ve been happy to call myself a letterpress printer since 2005. I own Thomas-Printers, a commercial letterpress shop, and, with Jessica White of Heroes and Criminals Press, am the co-director of Ladies of Letterpress. I’m crazy for the Tour de France, old houses, running, newspapers, and anything in miniature.

INSPIRED BY GUTENBERG After graduating from college, I had a fellowship to study and work in Germany for a year. A friend and I happened to go to Mainz one weekend (I loved movable type, but didn’t yet fully understand the implications!), where the Gutenberg Museum has a working letterpress print shop. I wrote and asked if they accepted interns, and they did, so I moved to Mainz. I worked there for six months, and learned how to set type and print from guys who had spent their whole careers in print shops as pressmen, stonemen, or compositors before offset printing edged them out.

It was great: the shop has hundreds of lead typefaces, and I could print whatever I wanted. I also once printed a birth announcement for a princess, which was neat. I had no idea at the time that I had found my calling in life; even after I returned to the U.S., and realized that letterpress was happening here, I still only knew the basics of the history of printing and the craft of letterpress. And I knew nothing about running a small business!

A SUNNY SHOP My shop is located in the corner of an old shoe factory, with a room for shipping, receiving, and communications (ie, email), and a pressroom with a loading dock. The best thing about it is the tall, south-facing windows; in the summer, the only light I need is my color-correct lamp. I don’t think I’ll ever have another shop so sunny. It’s not decorated per se, except in a paper-stack, envelope-inventory, sample-shelf sort of way. It’s more workshop than showroom, so I don’t worry about hanging too much on the walls.

CARE FOR YOUR BUSINESS My best business advice is to learn to love your customers like family. They need care and attention just like family, and are the single thing, even more than hard work, that will keep you in business. Also, if you’re just starting out, don’t get caught up in playing catch-up with more established printers; there is no right way or one way to get where you want in this business, so your way is as likely to succeed as anyone else’s.

DESIGNED FOR PRINT I’m a printer who can design in a pinch, but I work with several great designers who can handle it when things get complicated. It’s nice being able to have designers who are familiar enough with the letterpress process that the finished product is going to print up great.

THE DAILY GRIND I do print full time. And when I’m not printing, I’m doing the 1000 other things a small business owner must do. Chief among them: worry, answer emails, write estimates, talk with clients, and a host of other pre-press, post-press, finishing, and ordering duties. Every day is different and yet comfortably similar, and now that I’ve been doing it full time for six years or so, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

ADVANCING A COMMUNITY I’m proud that Thomas-Printers is surviving the economy and doing well. Most recently, I’m proud of Jessica and I for organizing the best conference I’ve ever attended. The Ladies of Letterpress conference was such a happy, fun letterpress-fest, and it was thrilling to see so many ardent letterpress supporters and printers in one place.

It was also encouraging to see that letterpress is still going strong, new people are starting to print every day, and people are loving what we make more than ever. I cannot wait for a repeat next year!

BOXCAR’S ROLE It’s not an exaggeration to say that, without Boxcar, neither Thomas-Printers nor Ladies of Letterpress would exist. I got my start setting type, but setting type for every client isn’t a good business model for me. So the Boxcar Base is as important and valuable a tool as the press itself. Aside from the base and plates, Boxcar is the friendliest, fastest, nicest supplier I work with; the positive attitude and enthusiasm of the owners and staff has in turn contributed to the good-feeling and camaraderie in the letterpress community.

PRESS HISTORY My first press was a 12×18 Chandler & Price that I bought from Bill Welliver through the Letpres listserv. I used it for everything, large and small, for almost three years, until I bought a 10×15 C&P that allegedly only had had one owner and then sat in storage for 30 years. I also have a treadle-powered 8×12, which is handy when the power goes out. C&Ps are great presses, simple to use and relatively readily available, and are capable of a lot of fine work.

WHAT’S NEXT Ladies of Letterpress will be at the 2012 National Stationery Show for a third year with a new, super, wonderful, talented group of printers. And the second-annual LOLP conference is happening again-stay tuned for more details.

We’d like to give bigs thanks to Kseniya for taking the time to give us the scoop on Thomas Printers!

We’re excited to share an event that Smudge Ink (one of our long time letterpress friends) is putting on next week. They’re teaming up with local vendors to put on a holiday sale, and will be donating a portion of the proceeds to the Greater Boston Food Bank! The Holiday Sip + Shop event will take place on Thursday, November 3rd (that’s a week from today!) from 4-8pm at their shop in historic Charlestown, Massachusetts. Because we think it’s so cool that Smudge Ink is supporting their local food bank with their event, we donated the plate for their letterpress posters, and we’ve gotta say — they came out pretty awesome, don’t ya think?

If you’re in the Boston area, be sure to stop by! There will be a drawing for a gift basket filled with awesome prizes like a calendar, gift wrap, boxed notes, holiday cards and coasters from Smudge Ink; a 2-box subscription from Boston Organics for home-delivery of organic produce; a soy candle from Crash, plus soap goodies from Stella Marie, a few bottles of craft brews from Pretty Things Beer + Ale , and a special gift from 2-Fresh-Threads!

Smudge will also be giving away a 4-pack of these amazing letterpress coasters to their first 50 customers, so be sure to stop by and support these local businesses!

Having a cool letterpress holiday event at your print shop? Let us know and we’d love to help promote it!

Turns out, the Boxcar Press staff loves food nearly as much as they love letterpress.

In 2008, we partnered with Grindstone Farm, a 240 acre organic farm located in Pulaski, NY. Boxcar Press now subsidizes the CSA Shares for all of their employees, and provides a pick up location for the community. Turns out, it was an easy way to make a positive impact for a cause we care about! According to Grindstone owner and farmer Dick de Graff, participating in a CSA is one of the best ways to support local farmers; by purchasing a “share” of the farmer’s crops at the beginning of the season, the buyer shares in the risk and reward of whatever the season brings.

Pictured here are some of the “rewards” of this year’s harvest season, which is about to come to an end.

Interested in finding a CSA in your area? Check out localharvest.com for information on CSAs, U Pick Farms, Farmers Markets, and Co-ops near you!

We want to hear from you! We love how much letterpress community members pitch in to help others. What causes does your letterpress shop support?

Want to see more photos from our trip to Grindstone Farm & our CSA pick-up location here at Boxcar Press? Click here to view our slideshow on Flickr!

Today is CSA day, as in Community Supported Agriculture. Every week we get bins full of fresh organic, local produce delivered right to our door. This keeps us strong and healthy to do more printing and for the farms to keep growing delicious crops for the community.

We’re diggin’ these coasters we recently printed for the shop – check ‘em out!

It’s been a long cross-country ride through the remarkable realms of painting, book-making, and letterpress printing for Shayna Norwood, the daring woman behind Steel Petal Press. We were able to catch up with her in between runs to get the deep dish on printing in Chicago, Illinois.

Can you tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Shayna and I currently live in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago by way of San Francisco, New Orleans, Los Angeles, St Louis, and Washington, DC. I print handmade letterpress greeting cards, custom wedding invitations, and make hand-bound journals. I’ve always known I wanted to be an artist. Right out of high school, I went straight into art school to study painting. Since then I have explored many different mediums before finally landing in book arts and letterpress printing.

How did you first get involved in letterpress and who are your printing mentors?
While finishing up my BFA at San Francisco Art Institute I took a year long Book Arts class that first exposed me to the art of letterpress. Following graduation, I was accepted to a six month residency at Women’s Studio Workshop where I continued to focus on Artist Books, letterpress printing, silk screening, book binding and paper making.

As I moved around the country, I continued to volunteer and take classes at Pyramid Atlantic in Washington, DC and at the San Francisco Center for the Book. In 2008 I moved to Chicago to work towards my MFA in Book and Paper Art at Columbia College Chicago. Although I left the program early, I was able to use the knowledge I had learned throughout the years before to move forward in starting my own business.

Are you a designer and printer, or printer only?
Mostly artist, full time printer, and self taught designer.

If you design, tell us a little about your creative process.

For my creative process: First, I have to think up a new idea. This can come at any time and is usually out of the blue: riding the train, while jogging, on a Sunday morning reading the paper, running errands, riding my bike, etc. Then I need to transform the idea into an image or object. This takes some time tinkering with the materials and the images to see what looks best. Then there’s production mode, in which I just crank out a bunch of work. The last part is much less creative.

When I work with clients on custom jobs, I listen to them and their ideas, collect image samples and inspiration and move forward from there.

What is the story behind your very first press?
I just bought my very first press this past year! Her name is Penelope and she is a C&P model-n. I am still in the process of getting her up and running, so in the meantime I rent press time on the Vandercook presses at Evanston Print and Paper. Also Kimberly at Daily Sips Studio generously lets me use her Vandercook SP-15.

Tell us about your print shop or where you print! Any cool things about it or its location?
My print shop is in a shared studio space that takes up the floor of an unfinished warehouse in West Town, Chicago. I moved in before I had committed full time to printing. It’s good for the time being, but not somewhere I picture myself long term.

Do you print full time? For how long?
YES! I have been printing full time since January 2011, so it’s all relatively new for me.

What are some accomplishments you are proud of?
Setting goals, working hard to make them happen, and ultimately starting my own business.

How has Boxcar Press helped you with your business and printing?
I do not have access to lots of type, nor do I have a polymer platemaker, so Boxcar really helps me turn my digital designs into polymer plates for printing. I’ve also ordered inks and other supplies from Boxcar in the past.

What’s your favorite piece of business advice you’ve uncovered so far as a letterpress printer?
Network! There’s a really great community of letterpress printers in Chicago and it seems everyone is somehow connected or knows each other. I have been saved from impending deadlines (on more than one occasion) by generous letterpress printers willing to help me out of a bind.

Big thanks to Shayna for letting us get such a cool, closeup look on Steel Petal Press!

Sarah Wilkinson and Karis Van Noord are two beautiful California girls living their dream with Tabletop Made. With a garage turned studio and music at full blast, their stationery line proves that with a little you can get a lot. Each one of their cards are hand printed on a tabletop Kelsey Excelsior and the response has been nothing but positive. They have been featured on well-known blogs such as Design*Sponge, Sycamore Street Press, and more as of late. Read on about these ladies to hear what everyone is talking about.

How did each of you first get into letterpress?

We dreamed of starting a letterpress card company, and for fun, we took two workshops at Irvine Fine Arts Center with Madeleine Zygarewicz of Panorama Press. We were hooked! We immediately started searching for a press of our own.

What was your very first press?

Our first press (that we still use to this day) is a Kelsey Excelsior 6×10. We nicknamed him Sven, and he’s a hard-working man. He complains sometimes, but he’s had a good life so far.

What medium do you usually print?

Most of our designs are on photopolymer plates, but we do have a couple of steel plates. We also have a few collections of metal type, which we use for our own personal designs, say stationery with a friend’s name. However, photopolymer is our medium of choice.

What’s your process from sketch to press?

Taking inspiration from just about anything, we sketch, scan and trace the image to Illustrator, play around with colors, send each other ideas, rework the design a couple of times, prepare the file for plate-making, jump for joy when the plate arrives, and slap it on our Boxcar Base!

What other print shops do you admire?

We love Deadweight, Great Lakes, Morris + Essex, Tall Cow, Dutch Door Press, and Krank Press.

Who or what inspires you the most?

Living in Santa Barbara is a huge inspiration to us. We love looking at local textiles, architecture, natural landscapes, Mexican pottery, paper cuts – basically everything around us!

What’s your favorite item from Boxcar Press?

We love our base!

Any neat tricks you can share?

We have one trick that we swear by. We use paper corners to hold our paper in place. This allows us more room for the design since we don’t have to worry about mashing clips up on the base.

How was your experience showing at LA Renegade Craft Fair?

LA Renegade was an insightful experience. It was our first fair ever! Since we weren’t sure what to expect, we over-prepared. We basically brought our whole print shop. Now we know better! Our favorite parts included meeting fantastic artists who were so friendly and helpful to us and seeing our customers in person! We want to try out the SF Fair next.

Thanks Sarah and Karis for showing us your talent and hard work! Check out their blog and shop for all the latest from Tabletop Made!

I am still on a letterpress high after attending the Ladies of Letterpress Conference in Asheville, North Carolina during the first weekend of August.  It was a well-done first attempt to bring together a group of people who had one thing in common – they love putting ink to beautiful paper.  Some do it with lead or wood type, others with polymer or linoleum, a few screen print – but we all felt an immediate kinship with each other.

The presentations and demonstrations only served to bond us more. Events were either at the conference center of the hotel, or at Asheville Bookworks.  It was all energizing. Some highlights for me included a handmade paper making overview with Frank Brannon,  and the making of the Dead Feminists Broadsides with Jessica Spring and Chandler O’Leary.  And I was delighted to watch Kelly McMahon give a ton of instruction during ‘Getting to Know Your Table Top Press’.  It was concise, thorough and loaded with great information so bravo to Kelly.  People were writing down notes feverishly.

The panel discussions were all applicable and interesting.  They covered topics such as Letterpress as a Business, Using Social Media to Promote Your Business, Community Print Shops, and the Future of Letterpress.  Long after the discussions ended, people gathered to talk over what they heard or ask more questions. We were immersed in letterpress the whole time and it never got dull.   And the personal interactions were the best part.

Thank you to all of our Boxcar customers who introduced themselves to me.  It was a treat to greet you all, friends old and new.  We’ll always have Asheville!

Take a look below at some of my favorite photos from the trip!

The colors of handmade paper are splendidly beautiful to the eye as they “hang out”

First look at a Hollander beater:

Raw materials in the handmade paper process

Everything you need for printing on a table top press:

A community print shop – Asheville Bookworks

Boxcar Press represented at the Printers Fair

Amy Rau of Greengirl Press and Chris Charles of Fly Rabbit Press stopped by!

We’re so thrilled to see how many people participated in our Facebook contest last week – we had over 70 entries, and a lot of really great guesses! It came pretty close, but we found a winner: Jillian Contreni Sokso!

Jillian is a printmaker -  not exclusively letterpress, but mixed media prints, usually making one-of-a-kind works of art. She teaches printmaking in the art department at Houghton College, which is in the southern tier of New York state.  She also makes quite a few artist’s books, too – check out her website to see some of her amazing work!

Congratulations to Jillian, and thank you to everyone who participated!!!