Empathy - Extra! Extra! No. 3

Thanks for checking in with the Third edition of Extra! Extra!

Recently, Jo’s favorite teacher was a well-deserving finalist for the Golden Apple Award. That made me think about apples as traditional gifts for teachers and if it’s possible to create one from ornaments. I tried messing around with a few options to create tone with just one color and hit on the below solution.
This apple appears on both the Print Club card for May and this 5x7” print available to all. Perfect for the educators in your life!

Apple

$15.00

This print was inspired by all the wonderful, hard-working teachers in our lives. It’s an apple built from different metal type ornaments to create shading. It recalls the patterns of cross stitching as well. Measures 5×7” and is printed on heavy cotton cardstock.
A card version is part of the May Print Club.

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At the end of 2023, I began the Free the Books project to encourage printers to use their press power to fight book bans. After taking a year hiatus to focus on Jo’s health, Free the Books is back, starting with a reprint of this poster that sold out quickly when first printed. More are on the way.
Read more about the project and download the pdf that is a starter for getting involved in your local community. Now that libraries are under attack and funding is disappearing overnight, the work is far from done. I love to share printer projects with the Free the Books email list, so if you’re a printer creating work around this subject, please reach out.

I subscribe to a handful of monthly series by different printers around the country because I love getting mail and supporting others in my field. One of these is Dan Wood’s Linotype Daily project, which I’ll let him explain:

For the past 6 years, I have been working on a letterpress printing and typecasting project called The Linotype Daily, using the machine that began the third printing/information revolution at the end of the 19th century (after Korean moveable type, and Gutenberg’s press) to sort through our current state of media overload. For 366 days beginning March 1st, 2019 (it was a leap year) I wrote, cast in hot metal type, printed, and published a new letterpress print each day. The project is not purely an art/printmaking project, not purely political commentary or personal diary, and not purely an Instagram feed, but functions simultaneously as all three, blurring the lines between them and making the work more accessible to the varied populations it reaches. It became a commentary on our own oversaturated Information Age using the very machine that started it all, in what once seemed blazingly fast but is now a painfully slow process– a pause, perhaps, to gain some insight one might otherwise miss. The project continues as The Linotype Occasionally, releasing 2-6 prints per month, with paper and digital subscribers. As a printer, aware of the hugely important social history and impact of printing, I hope to create contemporary work in a format that is relatable to the public, honest, and which can transcend and perhaps change our preconceptions of whatever the subject at hand.  

Watch Dan in action!

Enjoy some snippets of projects below:

One of my favorite bits of Dan’s missives is the addendums at the bottom that often include personal anecdotes:

You can support Dan, too! Check out his site for all of the different ways to help him keep the project going.

Rules are the metal strip material used for printing lines in letterpress work. With the encroachment of lithography on printing trades in the late 1800s, letterpress printers pushed the envelope with what could be created with a very angular art form. This is when we see the advent of rule benders and other fabulous pieces of equipment. There are two rule benders in the shop, shown below. Both offer the torque needed to curve thicker rules for printing or for the spacing needed around elaborate forms.

The smaller one has a series of brass curves that can separate in order to place the piece you want to bend. Then it closes and a hand crank gently bends it.

The second, and more useful for work in the shop, involves sliding the piece in between two rollers and then adjusting the tightness of their contact to get the curvature you desire.

Some thin leads can be bent by hand or pliers but I like to start with the rule benders for a more consistent curve. I’ve set dozens of projects using curves, including this one meant to resemble a wave.

I’ve known Geri McCormick for…ever? Which is the general feeling when you meet someone who shares your passionate approach to craft and you know you want them in your life. Geri is the woman behind Virgin Wood Type, one of the very few places to get wood type made in traditional ways with a pantograph. From Geri:

I fell in love with wood type about twenty years ago after twenty years of designing on a computer. I reconnected with letterpress. It felt good to use my hands to set type. Especially the old wood type. The fanciful and sometime quirky letter forms of the Victorian era became my new fascination. The old wood type is quite rare and so I looked for a way to make wood type. My husband Bill and I came upon an opportunity to acquire wood type making equipment, and started Virgin Wood Type. The rest is history.

Starshaped has a LOT of beautiful type from Geri and her team, including a few full fonts and many ornaments. It’s such a gift to have pristine, new type in the shop that prints correctly and doesn’t involve much makeready time to prepare it (common with old type).

Back in 2017, I had the pleasure of collaborating with Geri to create two sets of ornaments named Ida and Lucy. I wrote in detail about the project here.
These sets are still available for all printers to purchase. Long live wood type!

For many years, I was a member of the Amalgamated Printers Association, a group dedicated to preserving and sharing print work with fellow members. One of my absolute favorite things that often appeared in the monthly mailed bundles was collections of index cards printed by David Greer showcasing 19th century gems from his collection. I saved them all as a reference in the shop as the original specimen books are difficult (and costly) to come by. This is an easy way to reference the past and discover what ornaments are part of a combination border. I loved when David would update cards in red with missing pieces found that complete the set.

I wrote more about working with 19th century type in this post about our annual New Years cards. They are notoriously difficult to work with, but having David’s cards helps me understand how the pieces are meant to go together.

I come to printing by way of design work for 90s bands that embraced DIY aesthetics, using hands-on tech to spread messages. My first printing job was at Fireproof Press, producing thousands of CD and record sleeves for bands, as well as other quirky ephemera for independent adventures in social events and publishing. Some of this work followed me after Fireproof closed and I’ve had the pleasure to consistently print for many of the people that got me where I am today.
Two of those folks are the bands Ida and Tsunami, who toured together this spring in support of new box sets released by Chicago’s own Numero Group. The women behind Tsunami ran Simple Machines Records and put out a guide to openly share knowledge about how to do just that. This pamphlet is one of my most prized possessions as the principles of collaboration, community and indie spirit helped me start a print shop.

The posters combined some of the oldest wood type in the shop with some of the newest (from Virgin!) and were printed in three colors. I love to see this mashup of type with varying patinas based on age and use.
It’s a pleasure to have been a small part of this tour and work with people I love not just for their talent but their relentless efforts to create a better world.

I like to photograph the Print Club postcards in sets every six months as the result is satisfying. The chipboard postcards are always my favorite thing to print for the club as they are humble while presenting the opportunity to create a tiny piece of art that can be kept or sent to a friend. Remaining postcards are available here.

Back in 2014, I created an alphabet of ornaments. These letterforms served a number of purposes, including forming this book. Only a handful of these cards are left in the shop. Grab ‘em while you can!

As always, thanks for your support!

All Hail Humble Chipboard

One might say my love of letterpress started with chipboard. I recently chuckled over a delivery of this recycled wonder in the shop as it made me pause to marvel at its humble magnificence. This batch was two-tone… two very different shades on each side, as shown by this month’s Print Club postcard.

Chipboard is a 100% recycled material designed for multiple utilitarian uses. And we definitely use it this way as evidenced by a look around the studio. Nearly every cutoff is saved for padding paper in the guillotine, collecting unwanted ink, packing orders, bulking up prints, etc.

Back in the 90’s, I took breaks from university studies by visiting record stores, which ultimately meant stumbling over new ideas in music packaging. At the time, CDs were king and this meant a considerable amount of plastic. Those that bucked the system immediately stood out; they were printed on chipboard packages! This magic immediately caught my eye and to my delight, I discovered many were made here in Chicago at Fireproof Press. Fast forward a few months and I got a job there while continuing to build a collection of unique packaging. Below are a few projects we printed at Fireproof and one CD by John Upchurch (the man behind Fireproof) that was printed at Starshaped.

These are a few records and CDs printed by Independent Project Press using chipboard as well.

Many of these packages were pre-fab and ideal for the versatility of a platen press. They came from Calumet Carton, not far from Chicago. They no longer offer CDs but I still purchase all of the mailers for the studio from them.
Below are a few of the music packages printed at Starshaped. You can see how even with similar packages, the chip itself shifts in color and sometimes texture.

Chipboard has shown up for a number of studio projects over the years, including this silent film-inspired poster for an annual open house. This particular stock had a grayish cast and was perfect for the job.

Chipboard is also the first choice for CHIRP Radio projects! These are a few of the invitations and cards we’ve done together over the years.

I’ve also used chipboard for a number of prints in the studio, including both of these below. The ampersand uses the back sides of wood type blocks to print translucent rectangles that allow the chipboard texture to show through. The snowy barn demonstrates how the color of chip can work for printing both light and dark colors.

The Dollhouse Gig Posters project in 2016 was an opportunity to combine all of these loves together. Each month of the year, I produced a tiny, 2x3” ‘poster’ of a musical genre and subscribers received them in the mail. The tiny posters were mounted onto 7” square chipboard showing what genre it was, with a nod to 60s-style ‘collect them all!’ design sensibilities.

And here’s a recent job for Mark Lerner, a longtime fan of the almighty chipboard and letterpress combo!

Chipboard features heavily in the Print Club. Not only is the postcard used to share info about the Club printed on it, but the monthly postcards are as well. You can see by the collection of postcards here that the chip itself changes over time with each delivery, even as the spirit of each design remains the same. It’s my favorite piece to create for the Club each month.

I get chipboard from Andrews Paperboard, the same place that supplied Fireproof back in the day. Again, I like to keep it local, and my delivery driver pal, Steve, always brings a laugh when he shows up with a pallet of fresh, newly recycled chipboard. It’s not the fanciest paper, it’s not high class, it’s often inconsistent in appearance and wasn’t designed necessarily for ‘lofty’ letterpress. But chipboard is the great equalizer and when it moves on from my shop, either in the recycle bin or for finished projects, it has every opportunity to become a fresh, new project for another lover of the mighty, humble chipboard.

All Types Are Welcome Here - Extra! Extra! No. 2

Thanks for checking in with the Second edition of Extra! Extra!

Two recent prints collectively address the idea of documenting life. The first features a quote from Dan Sinker, a pal from way back when he was leading the charge with Punk Planet magazine. I love the approachability of his blog writing and asked to print this recent piece. I often say that I’m in therapy every day I work with my hands; the hand-to-brain connection is a powerful antidote to whatever awfulness the world might be spewing in your direction. It’s probably why I started printing over 25 years ago and never stopped.
The camera design was an experiment in creating a recognizable shape; it originally appeared on a Print Club postcard a while back. Because of its popularity, I recreated it as a slightly larger piece that everyone could enjoy. It’s modeled on a few point-and-shoots, including some in my collection, and printed in 4 shades of black and silver.

Write it Down

$30.00

Dan Sinker has the uncanny ability to use simple words to paint a vivid, thoughtful picture. This text is pulled from an essay he wrote that you can read here.
The print measures 8×10” and is a heavy, recycled gray chipboard. The type is both wood and metal and printed in two colors (dark gray and muted green).

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Camera

$15.00

The camera is back by popular demand. It’s printed with metal ornaments and a large, wood ‘lens’. Four colors make up the image and it’s printed on soft Italian cardstock. Measures 7×5”.

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Just prior to the pandemic, I created a few posters for a show that featured the visual language of the women’s suffrage era combined with modern issues and text. I hoped the satire would start and end there, but it continued for a fourth print in the wake of the fall of Roe v. Wade.
It has become clear that the current administration is taking many pages from the Nazi handbook, boasting attacks on the weakest members of society, including disabled children. From crippling limits to healthcare access to attempts at eliminating 504 plans, the aggression is unbearable. This print addresses many of these issues. You can read about it and the organization benefitting from its sales.

Disabled Children of America!

$50.00

This poster is the latest in a series using the combination of wood and metal type for a historical letterpress design while satirically highlighting current issues. It’s meant to showcase how this type, some of which is 150 years old, is still a viable tool for disseminating ideas. Disabled children are the subject as they’re the next target of the current administration (as are adults, but kids are the focus here, given recent attacks on 504 plans and other services). It references a number of issues:

• Equal is in quotations as the disabled don’t necessarily have full equality but have, until recently, had the protection of the judicial system and the ADA. ‘Pay no attention’ is a nod to the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz, who is the all-powerful man hiding behind a curtain.

• 504 plans meant to assist children with disabilities with basic amenities (vision and hearing aids, physical accessibility, etc.) are under attack in many states. They help to level the playing field and offer protection when needed. Greatly diminished grants through the NIH will also curtail research into many health conditions and diseases affecting children.

• Insurance companies routinely fail to cover aids and therapies that help the disabled thrive.

• With diminishing services and court protections, more disabled kids will need to rely entirely on a caregiver, usually a parent, who must make choices between work and full-time caregiving, often having to do both.

• ‘Undue burden’ is used in 504 plans to reference the removal of obstacles to learning. In this case, it’s turned around to mean the disabled are the burden, which is very much the feeling of the current administration.

• Discrimination has always existed but legal protections and support services have minimized stigma and presented opportunities. That is now shifting in a detrimental way.

The poster is a limited edition of 50 and measures 10×20”. Much gratitude and love goes to Thrill of the Chase Press for research, brainstorming and ideas, as well as Jo the printer’s devil and their insight into the disabled community, of which they are a part.

$25 of each print goes to Disability Rights Advocates, working tirelessly to promote the well-being of those with disabilities who deserve to live as fully as those without.

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Jenna of Vichcraft is one of the coolest cats I know. We met way back at a Typeforce event and have found ways to work together since. She brings her lettering talents to all different media, including screenprinting, stained glass and sewing, but has really knocked it out of the park with chainstitching.
On Sundays, anyone can visit her shop in Chicago to grab prefabricated goods of all kind or request custom projects. You might even get a glimpse of her famous birds. Jo and I have both gotten great work done by Jenna, including Jo’s incredible pigeon jacket and my shop aprons.

Jennifer (Jenn) Graves is an educator, bookbinder, and letterpress printer in Los Angeles, CA. Her work has been exhibited both in the US and internationally. Jennifer teaches Book structures at Otis College of Art and Design and bookmaking and printing workshops at various entities, including the Printing Museum and her SCRAPScollective studio. She’s also one of my favorite printers to follow. From Jenn:

I was hooked the first time I set a line of metal type and printed on the printing press. It was magic, everything I’d thought it would be. Since then, I’ve fallen in love with all aspects of letterpress printing, with a special affinity for vintage wood type. I primarily work within the boundaries of vintage wood and metal type because of their strength and ability to tell a story. This allows me to tell new stories, avoid overthinking, and explore pathways that create a clear message. The message addresses life and social issues through a lens of love and hope. I believe whatever is being printed must serve a purpose for the greater good, no matter how big or small.

I started the Sunday Post as a way to share, encourage, and connect with others—a way for me to show up. With the busyness and messiness of life and the world, it’s nice to see and read something with no ulterior motive other than exactly what you see and read. Whether it’s a post about letterpress, bookmaking, birds, or a call to action, etc. it is what it is.

Thanks, Jenn! The Sunday Post is something I look forward to each week… a moment to unwind and enjoy someone else’s process.

Sometimes you have to cut corners… in a good way. That’s where the handy mitering machine comes in! This tiny tank gives you the chance to slice letterpress borders/rules to create a clean, mitered look, not unlike cutting wood picture frames and moldings. It’s a manual operation that involves adjusting for the angle you need then holding the rule/ornament in place while scraping along its side. The rules (lines) are a relatively soft metal so it can take some time but isn’t hard. See the video below.

These are a dime a dozen and easy to find in the letterpress community. I’ve used mine for many projects but one of my favorites is the Magic Hour print. I first sketched out what I wanted the type to look like; it’s a composite of ornamental pieces and rules that needed mitering to work as a pseudo-blackletter-style type. I digitized it as well to make a cut list of pieces needed.
You can see more images here. It’s incidentally the only type form I’ve left standing for posterity; all others are disassembled so the parts can be used for other projects.

sketch for layout

digital mockup

type form

final print

In 2023, I rounded out my little collection of News Gothic with some welcome additions. I didn’t have a lot of ‘workhorse’ faces in that mid size, between 36-72 point, that are great for making a statement on smaller prints and filling a gap on larger ones. News Gothic is that ‘old reliable’ American sans serif, dating back to around 1908.
When I get new type in the shop, I set and proof it so there’s a visual record of what’s available (and it’s added to a spreadsheet as well). These are proof cards of the News Gothic family that I now have. Keep in mind that every point size and style (bold, italic, etc.) is a separate font of type. Sometimes the proof cards aren’t quite correct or need to be adjusted over time as new type/info comes to light, but they’re a great starting point for digging in.

Whenever possible, I like to print something for the shop with new-to-the-studio typefaces. This gives me a feel for what it’s like to work with them. At the time, we were creeping up to the annual Ravenswood Art Walk, when the studio is open to the public; I like to have something on press for people to see. I set this print for people to pull; it shows a number of the new types in various sizes combined with a great cut of a Vandercook press made from bamboo.
Having a large run of a type family is desirable; I find you have a lot of flexibility in a design while maintaining coherence as the faces are formulated to play well together. I have a few of these in the shop and they see a lot of action because of their versatility. I often tell new printers it’s more worthwhile to invest in a family of something that feels a little understated than spend the same amount on one rare, 19th century typeface that only says one thing.

The current Print Club ended up more colorful than I anticipated this month, with dots, quilt-like patterns and a ‘brick’ wall. Check out all of the options here.

I’ve had the pleasure to print a variety of items for Paul Gehl, ranging from personal to professional achievements and everything in between (including projects he didn’t know about!) I met Paul at some point along my journey in Chicago printing and the Newberry Library, where he headed up the John M. Wing Foundation print collection before stepping down. Printing for Paul is an exercise in pristine, often mid-century typography, based on his interests and writings (this is a favorite). Below are a few snippets of past projects.

Perhaps you’re already familiar with You Are Beautiful stickers and see them around town. They also promote community art engagement through a number of open call initiatives every year and we’ve happily participated (see some below).
But did you also know they offer free stickers by mail the old-fashioned way? Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope (the infamous SASE for the Gen X and older crowd) and they’ll return it with stickers. Let’s promote snail mail any way we can!

Wanna pitch in to cover the time of creating postcards, mailings and this blog? Starshaped is now at Buy Me a Coffee for easy, one-time contributions. Thanks, as always, for your support as we strive to preserve the materials of the past for both current and future use.

New Beginnings - Extra! Extra! No. 1

Thanks for checking in with the first edition of Extra! Extra!

What started as messing around with the idea of creating a quick panda print for a friend turned into a much more detailed and formal study of the form. I looked at some of the bamboo border images from the 19th century collection of MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan ornament and combined that with brand new ornaments cast by Bowerbox Press. After much sweating, its little roly poly body started to come together. The whole print was done on the C&P press that you can read about below.
The print is very limited and available on two different paper colors. Check it out!

Panda

$40.00

This panda was originally printed as a gift for a good friend who also loves pandas. I couldn’t decide which Fabriano Tiziano paper I liked best so the edition is split between a dark charcoal and musty, mossy green. The panda is created with a collection of metal type in two colors. The frame is made from a dotted border and lovely 19th century ‘bamboo’ pieces. The gold frame is very subtle; while more pronounced on the charcoal prints, it’s lighter and catches the light in more interesting ways on the green.
Measures 10×8” and is a very limited edition.

Color:

Select Color charcoal green

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When Starshaped moved into its current home on Ravenswood, a 1923 10x15” Chandler & Price platen press moved in, too. Purchased from Paul Aken’s Platen Press Museum in Zion, IL, it was picked up the morning of the big studio move and carefully placed alongside the existing presses and type from the old studio. Since that day in 2003 (the first and only day I saw Paul drink a beer), it’s been in action nearly every week of every year. Only one slightly cracked part has been replaced and new rollers have been added twice. It’s a champ I use for anything that fits on its bed, from postcards to packaging to stationery. It also kills fascists.

This ad is from the American Type Founders 1923 catalog, showing the press as new. Mine thankfully has an added motor instead of a treadle, though I spent one summer printing by treadle while waiting on a motor restoration. Can’t recommend that for commercial printing!

One of the prized collections in the studio is a nearly complete run of the typeface Elizabeth, designed by Elizabeth Friedlander. I purchased this from another woman in print, who received it from a former employer, where it was purchased new. I have spent quality time at the Newberry Library with a wonderful book from Pauline Paucker and Incline Press that provides a tangible connection with Friedlander and her work. The mailed postcard that possibly brought you here (image at top) features the Elizabeth typeface.

boxes of type at Starshaped

proof of the typeface

snippet of Friedlander's experience

pages from the Incline Press book

The Print Club is 4 years and 200+ members strong! This month, there are ways to stay in touch with the people that matter, as well as a print that highlights the tromp l’oeil effects that can be accomplished with letterpress. There are four levels of mailings to choose from and you can check them out here.

Inspiration for the print is below. I love the use of rules (lines) to create the idea of multiple printed pieces. These are to showcase borders and ornaments that were for sale. I added a linoleum block of translucent ink to my print to provide a subtle differentiation between paper and the fake ‘paper’.

Sometimes it’s fun to design things that aren’t printed in the shop. A few of those items are magnets, buttons and stickers, which we often send to the fine folks at Busy Beaver Button Co. right here in Chicago. The quality and attention to detail is great, as is their approach to running a business with an eye to the future via sustainability efforts. 10/10, highly recommend.

Westward Looking was part of The Almighty Starshaped, an artist book built to resemble graffiti writer’s piece books. It was inspired by looking west in the city as the sun sets and there’s a shadow of cityscape. The sky is built from multiple decorative rules cast on a Linotype. I’m down to just a few copies left!

Westward Looking

$40.00

Westward Looking is built to resemble the skyline at magic hour with a fading sky made from linotype border slides.

This is one of the limited edition unbound prints from The Almighty Starshaped and is entirely built with metal type and ornament. It measures 16×10” and is printed on cover weight Mohawk Superfine white paper.

Ships flat in a clear sleeve.

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Another print from The Almighty Starshaped is this bumpin’ boombox print that’s been selling recently. It’s long been one of my faves, with the combo of simple ornaments to create the shape and the ‘flight’ ornaments to indicate sound. These were cast by Pat Reagh in California.

Boombox

$15.00

A bangin’ boombox with tunes taking flight.

This is one of the limited edition unbound prints from The Almighty Starshaped and is entirely built with metal type and ornament. It measures 5x7” and is printed on text weight Mohawk Superfine white paper.
Find it in card form here.

Ships flat in a clear sleeve.

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Most of the typefaces in use for Extra! Extra! were designed by Starshaped friend Steve Shanabruch, the guy behind The Chicago Neighborhoods project. They represent a slice of the vernacular type of the city and are free for all to use. Fun fact: I live in a historic Chicago bungalow and have a certificate signed by Steve’s dad, a force behind the Chicago Bungalow Association. Chicago is a very big small town.
Want to receive the postcard version of these posts? Sign up here. Print Club members automatically get a card with their regular mailings.

Announcing Extra! Extra!

The thing about print that’s always grabbed me, that’s always inspired me to keep pushing forward, is the tangible result of piecing together ideas. It’s the creation of a physical artifact that connects you to a moment in time. There’s a reason we delight in ephemera of the past, even if we don’t see the immediate importance of its modern counterpart.
I was drawn to the DIY culture of the 90s because it gave folks ways to find their voice outside of established, often inaccessible channels. I spent time with kids making their own zines, films, records, protest banners, movements, you name it. It was a great, messy time of figuring it out the hard way, in an environment where ‘social media’ meant meeting up at the local coffee shop.
When I first put Starshaped on Instagram 10 years ago (at the behest of a great intern), it was a lot of fun. The print community found each other quickly and relationships were formed. Projects were shared. Collaborations developed. Opportunities explored. In recent years I’ve seen this drift away in favor of non-content, the commodification of every little thing as well as the rise of nouveau snake oil salesmen. I, too, have drifted away from giving a s**t about what happens in this sphere. With the recent, full unmasking of Meta’s goals, I knew it was time to make moves.

Some of the first Instagram posts for the studio. Oh the filters!

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Owning the means of production prior to the advent of social media has given me at least a rudimentary understanding of how to reach people outside of this domain. There was a time when all correspondence with the studio was via print, in person or through marketing on hyper-focused blogs. While the shop is in the great position to not have to market aggressively these days, it’s important to me that the work is shared because it’s part of the history of print and design. Materials have passed to my hands from generations past and I hope to pay this forward.
Knowing that I don’t want to actively partake in systems that ultimately harm myself and those I love, I’m planning to move content to the medium I DO control. Extra! Extra! is a new series of postcards mailed throughout the year (working on frequency now) to anyone interested in receiving them. They’ll highlight type in the studio and point to blog posts right here that share the kinds of bits & bobs that would normally appear on social media. I understand this has less reach than Instagram (though that’s debatable with an algorithm that doesn’t care about actual followers vs. the idea of followers), but it gives me total control. And it’s free for everyone.

A screenshot of the front of the first card, about to head into production. These are designed to showcase type and ornament in the collection, reversed for easy reading and display-ready.

The postcards will be offset printed by my pals at NS Printers, a wonderful, women-owned union shop in Waukegan, Illinois. This method has two benefits: it’s cheaper and faster than letterpress-printing all of the cards and allows me to share images of the type with easy QR codes that point viewers to the site with more details.
Each will include items such as:

• Interesting type facts… including images of unique fonts in the shop

• Historical tools of the trade

• Shop life

• First dibs on new prints

• Retired/Limited Edition prints pulled from the flat files

• Printers, vendors and non-profits we love

• Sales and Last Call prints & cards

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If you’d like to receive postcards in the mail, please sign up through the link at the top! I’m happy to have you and look forward to sharing the studio in the ways I know best! If you’re a member of the Print Club, you’ll receive postcards with your monthly mailings. Thanks for keeping the studio vital for 25 years.

EXTRA! EXTRA!

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