You guys, MY PRESS STILL ISN’T HERE. I haven’t printed in more than two months! I think I’m starting to show symptoms of withdrawal… The only upside is that without the joy of production to distract me, I’ve been checking things off my business development to do list.
One of those items is bringing back the Card Club! It’s an even better deal this time around: Each month more than $20 worth of stationery, prints, coasters and other goodies will be delivered to your door—for just $10 per month! A membership also makes an awesome gift for anyone who loves letterpress, getting mail or sending letters! Purchase here or get in touch directly here!
A few months ago, I got an email out of the blue from a woman named Diane who wrote to say she had had a letterpress in the 90’s but sold everything except a few special cuts years ago. She had discovered my blog and loved what I was up to—right down to my paper, which only another artist would notice!
She asked if I wanted the remaining cuts but didn’t mention a price, so I sent her my address and wasn’t sure what would happen. A week later, a box of preciously wrapped vintage printing plates arrived with the loveliest letter.
I’ve printed a few—starfish coasters? Yes, please!—with many more to come once Bess is up and running again. There is something so wonderful about old plates: Their heft, their patina and the crispness of the way they print. I’m so thankful that Diane decided to share them with a perfect stranger/fellow printer!
Once we get through the standard rounds of Bermuda questions, there’s a quick pause while my conversation partner processes it all, and then their eyebrows raise as they ask, “Oh! What are you going to do with your press?”
The answer is… bring her along for the ride! I realize shipping a 400-pound antique printing press to another country maybe isn’t the most practical course of action, but I look at it as an investment in my personal happiness. I considered leaving her at my parents’ house and just printing when I go home to visit, but had I left her for a few months previously and it’s just not something I want to do for the next 3-5 years, or however long we’re here.
A few weeks before the big move, my dad and I took her apart into two main pieces, the fly wheel and lots of smaller bits, above. I spent a Saturday rubbing wax over every inch of her to protect from any water and humidity—which also had the added benefit of cleaning more of the 100-year-old gunk from her frame than I thought possible. Then we packed her up along with all my studio supplies, securing everything to a pallet and built a wooden crate around it all. We then shipped it to a facility in New Jersey.
New wood type that I haven’t even had a chance to use! I can’t wait to print with it.
She’s currently on a container ship on her way to the island. I’m not exactly sure what happens now—some people have said that since I just moved here, my crate will breeze through customs. Others have said it will probably sit on the dock for 2-3 weeks and cost me several hundred dollars in duty to release. Who knows! Either way, I can’t wait for her to arrive—and don’t worry, I’ll share more pics as soon as my studio/office here is set up!
My favorite new items from the last year are my coasters! The first were save the dates for this wedding, and since the minimum order of coaster blanks was 1,000 I started playing around with existing designs and wood type. Some of my faves were the drink coasters below, currently out of stock because I pared down for the move, but I’ll print some more soon!
The coasters have been so popular, I’ve since ordered a couple thousand more blanks. The first design I drew specifically for a coaster was this citrus design. I love to have a variety pack on hand for summer entertaining and I think a large quantity of single-color coasters would truly be great as part of a baby or wedding shower theme! They’re available here.
Game day coasters are also awesome—the ones below are exclusively available at Driftless Studio in Madison, WI.
And finally, most recently things came full circle for another save the date for a couple in Australia. Get in touch if you need custom coasters of your own!
Several months ago, I received an email titled “Special Request” from someone I had never met. It was a producer from a local production company asking to film in my studio. Fast forward two months and here I am, spending six hours with a three-person video crew documenting the process of printing invitations for a conference they put on, and now I finally have a sneak peek of the final product. Check it out here! Oh, and in case I didn’t mention… here’s where it aired (ahhh!):
You guys, MY PRESS STILL ISN’T HERE. I haven’t printed in more than two months! I think I’m starting to show symptoms of withdrawal… The only upside is that without the joy of production to distract me, I’ve been checking things off my business development to do list.
One of those items is bringing back the Card Club! It’s an even better deal this time around: Each month more than $20 worth of stationery, prints, coasters and other goodies will be delivered to your door—for just $10 per month! A membership also makes an awesome gift for anyone who loves letterpress, getting mail or sending letters! Purchase here or get in touch directly here!
622 press | LETTERPRESS GOODS MADE BY HAND 