Sunday, May 23, 2010

Letterpress Workshop in Alexandria

We had an awesome experience at a letterpress workshop this weekend. We had reserved a full-day class with Stuart Bradley of Railway Station Press in Alexandria, VA. We spent the day learning the basics of letterpress using the Chandler and Price tabletop press in Stuart's home studio. The beginner class covered terminology, the process, maintenance and materials.
We went with an emerald green ink for our prints. With the large selection of type and ornaments, Eric printed stationary for his photography business using metal type, and GA used wood blocks to create a typographical poster. Eric used a vintage 1930's camera ornament on his stationary. The wood block letters that GA selected would normally be printed on a larger format press, but we wanted to experiment! They required extra ink, so we added a bright red to the mix.
Stuart also shared valuable resources that will help us when we purchase our own letterpress. Since we normally work in the digital realm, we enjoyed the tactile sensation of this hands-on process. We highly recommend this workshop to anyone who is curious about letterpress and who would like a day of creative learning.





















We'd love to hear about your letterpress experiences too!

6 comments:

  1. Wow, I would love to go to a real old-fashioned letterpress, it looks amazing!!
    From Carys of La Ville Inconnue

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  2. It looks like you guys had a great time. I have never been to a letterpress workshop but may be I should. It looks fun! Have a great day!

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  3. Soooooo Jealous! I have always wanted some of these to play with and to decorate with. i heard ebay is an awesome source to find these treasures.

    Rachael

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  4. You are going to buy a letterpress? That is awesome. Looks like a wonderful afternoon and like you had tons of fun.

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  5. yes - a tabletop-sized press! eric has been doing a lot of research so we hope to collect typefaces and find a good deal over the next year.

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  6. I'm soooooo jealous! I want a letterpress so much! lol I know that's asking alot but I really do want it! :)

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