Our Letterpress Prints

playing with blocks

Here are more photos of woodblock letters from our letterpress workshop!

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!

letterpress week at oh, hello friend.

letterpress week at oh,hello friend!
image by: slimjim
We find oh, hello friend's blog just delightful. Then we heard that her blog would be hosting Letterpress Week starting on the 26th, and were were super-impressed. We are taking a letterpress workshop in May and are infatuated with the process, so we'll be checking in all week. We hope you will too.

Design Spotlight 1: YEE HAW Industrial Letterpress

It is our intention to feature creative organizations on this blog. We support stellar forms of visual communication and we hope to provoke thoughtful discussions and new ideas. Here is our first Design Spotlight, written by GA:

Yee-Haw Industrial Letterpress & Design Co. was founded in 1997 by Kevin Bradley and Julie Belcher. The two set up shop in a small barn in Corbin, Kentucky with a dream and a Vandercook Universal 3 Proofing Press. They are currently located in Tennessee and have found a successful niche with their fresh and bold letterpress prints. They specialize in "original art-like products - from letterpress posters promoting special events, music acts and theatre show to handmade, woodcut, fine art prints." The interaction of type and image on their prints has a bold and modern twist, while still keeping the traditional handmade feel. 

As a print designer in a society that is increasingly web-centric, I believe that the pieces created by this company are beautiful examples of why working with paper so special and necessary. YEE HAW is at the forefront of the letterpress revival that has been growing since the 90s . I have collected a few of their cards and calendars, and I hope to purchase the DADA poster that was used to promote the 2006 exhibition at the National Gallery of Art.

I am excited to share their handmade goodness with you. Check out their blog and their site on etsy, and enjoy some of their sample pieces here.