Yes, as a matter of fact, we DO have Bella Figura samples available for you, a veritable plethora as far as the eye can see. Check out the exquisite and vast collection of Bella Figura design we have assembled for your fine stationery needs.
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!
Wrenches, suckers, hoses, & gauge pins oh my!
Scrumptious.
See how far the top of the paper stack is away from the holes and springy fingers? That’s a good space for smooth sheet feeding. Keep the stack rising at this constant rate depending on paper thickness, amount of air blast, angle of suckers and where air blast fluffs up the stack and you’re in business as a smooth operator.
Jackie Robinson is wonderful letterpress gal creating beautiful designs with 42 Pressed. Armed with typographical know-how and an acute attention to detail, Robinson’s work has been hit after hit with her letterpress customers. Read on to get the full scoop on this extraordinary lady of letterpress!
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Jackie Robinson and I am the owner/creative director of 42 Pressed. I live in St. Augustine, Florida with my husband, two dogs and brand new baby girl, Riley Magnolia Robinson. We also spend a lot of our time at our other house in Charleston, South Carolina, where my family lives and hope to get back to one day!
How did you first get involved in letterpress?
I went to grad school at a small portfolio school called the Creative Circus. I studied graphic design there and had a professor, Berwyn Hung, who was a big letterpress printer. It wasn’t until after I graduated that I really got into it, and he taught me everything that I know. After I started messing around with designing stationery and doing a few wedding suites for friends and for my own wedding, it just kind of clicked that this was what I wanted to do.
Tell us a little about your design process.
I really like to think out of the box and be different. My design style is heavily based on typography (I love type) so you will see a lot of that throughout my lines. When I am designing for a wedding, I really try and hit all different styles and imagine myself a bride again who wears Jcrew, one who is a hippie, one who is classic and chic, etc. and I pretty much establish a style that seems to fit every bride in their own right. My line appeals to pretty much everyone who likes to be a bit different and stray from the ordinary. I love using different materials and textures; I love to pair rough with delicate. I really just like to play with the unexpected.
When did you start printing?
42 Pressed has been operating since November of 2009.
What are some accomplishments you are proud of?
I am proud and fortunate to have gotten lots of great press: we’ve been featured on Martha Stewart, countless amazing blogs, and recently landed on the cover of Stationery Trends. We also attended our first National Stationery Show in May of 2010 and landed in 30 stores nationwide as a result.
How has Boxcar Press helped you with your business and printing?
Honestly, so so much! I was using Magnesium that was mounted on wood for my plates for a long time. I had issues with warping, with the magnesium pulling off the wood etc. Yes, it’s true that the mag mounted on wood is what real letterpress is all about, but the photopolymer plates have given me so much less of a headache. I know what to expect from them every time, and it’s a great product that I can rely on to get the job done well without the added stress that letterpress sometimes brings. If you are a letterpress printer, you know so many things can go wrong, so it is nice to eliminate a problem all together, and Boxcar plates help me do that.
What was your very first press? Was it love at first sight?
My first press was a Vandercook 15-21 and is still my only press. It has an adjustable bed which I love, it would be hard to bring on another press since I am just so in love with the one I have currently.
Describe your print shop. Any cool or nifty things about it?
It is fun, lots of color, lots of sunshine pouring in, dogs lounging around, music is always blasting. It’s definitely an inspiring space to be in.
Any neat tricks or advice you can share?
Never let a letterpress defeat you or frustrate you, always try and solve the puzzle and win.
What plans do you have for 2012 that you’d like to share?
Well, we just had our first baby!! So things have been insane around here, but I am starting to get back into gear again and think about the 2012 stationery show that we plan on attending. There will be a lot more ready made things, and I am also planning on designing and releasing new products once a month (ready made items) to keep us fresh and new with limited quantities. Stuff will go fast and remain relevant and in the now!
Many thanks to Jackie for letting us take a sneak peek into her shop and hard work! Check out out her cool designs at 42 Pressed!
Greg peels a plate off the washout unit on the platemaker. In the water are brushes that have taken off non-inking areas of the plate.
It’s always fun to see what’s on the menu. The fine printing no doubt makes it taste even more delicious.
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!
This is Smock’s Plymouth diecut shape on ivory 1-ply bamboo paper. Even a stack of stripped out sheets is fun to look at and play with – but only for a minute, there’s work to be done!
