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We were proud to participate in a print exchange to honor the first 100 years of Vandercook printing presses. Organized by Paul Moxon of the ever-so-helpful Vanderblog, 100 printers pledged to each design and produce an 8.5×11″ broadside celebrating the Vandercook Centenary (1909-2009).
The deadline was August 16th, which happens to be R.O. Vandercook’s birthday — and funnily enough — our own Vandercook’s birthday! According to the records, Ephemera’s Vandercook SP-15 test press was originally shipped on 8/16/1966 to the National Printing Company in Buffalo, NY.
A drawing of what our press looks like. Ok… this one is a lot shinier.
Above is our submission to the print exchange. Get it?! No??!! Then you must never have had the pleasure of printing on a Vandercook. When printing, you continually switch between its “trip” and “print” settings. I know, I know. It’s a real knee slapper. We used a combination of wood type and photopolymer plates, and printed it in 4 runs on lovely gray Magnani Pescia paper with a deckled bottom edge. I absolutely love deckled edges.
The best part about having participated in the exchange is that sometime soon, I’m going to get a set of all 100 prints in the mail. Paul has been updating the gallery on his web site as the submissions roll in. Here are some of my favorites:
From top, left, submissions from: Uno in Los Angeles, CA ; Pellinore Press in Baltimore, MD; Studio 204 in Dallas, TX; and Parallel Press in Fairfax, CA.
You can view all the submissions here. I am so excited to see them all in person, and have tons of new artwork for framing.
Yay, Vandercook!
Tara
Every day I walked into my little office this month, I’ve been greeted by these cheerful cherries on my wall calendar. And wow has this July been all about the cherry! We’ve had a record crop here in Washington, and I have definitely been taking advantage. Cherries are my absolute favorite fruit. The little open air produce stand near my house has had amazing sweet red cherries and Rainiers for a steal. I’ve bought between 2 and 4 pounds a week for the last month! And Dave does not eat cherries (what is that about?). It’s all got me very full and feeling inspired to make some cherry-themed stationery in time for next cherry season.
The calendar is one of my favorite things in our house. I picked it up at a book arts festival several years ago. It’s a gorgeous collaboration of several designers and artists from the School of Visual Concepts in Seattle. It’s actually a perpetual calendar, so it’s great for keeping track of dates that never change — birthdays, anniversaries, etc. — and you can leave it up forever. It’s page after page of complex, hand-cut linoleum block prints. Every month is interpreted beautifully. I have never actually been able to bring myself to write in it, of course!
July by Tracy Guza; Cover by Jenny Wilkson; June by Kerrie Satava
Happy summer!
Tara
Awhile back I finally got ahold of a font of wood type — it was in great condition and a serious steal. They are pretty large — about 3 inches high — so they work well for monogram cards or invitations with a bold look.
It was fun playing around with the type and remembering how to lock everything up so that it prints just where I want it to. There is definitely more planning required and more limitations imposed than printing with photopolymer plates, and I definitely felt a little out of practice.
But I just love the worn out left edge of that capital “A” and the funky texture of the type — especially the overprinted areas. If you love it as well, let us know — we can certainly design a project for you that uses our antique wood type. I’m always looking for more to add to the collection…
Goodbye!
Tara
Have you ever seen anything as beautiful (and smart) as these foxy new valentines by Hello Handmade?
Hello Handmade is a collaboration between calligrapher Betsy Dunlap and artist Shanna Murray. Would you believe they have never met in real life?
Simply pop on over to their Etsy shop, and order one for $10. You submit the message you would like hand-written in Betsy’s unique calligraphy, and your beloved’s address, and they will send out all the valentines on February 7th. I am seriously considering sending one to myself.
–Tara
I yelped out loud the day I saw the trailer for the new movie Seven Pounds. Will Smith and an intriguing story was enough to hook me, but then I caught a glimpse of a Heidelberg Windmill press in action and I immediately went a-Googling.
I don’t think what I’m about to write is giving away any of the story, but this is fair warning in case you don’t like any spoilers, and haven’t seen it yet.
1…
2…
3…
Ready…?
Ok:
Will fixes Rosario Dawson’s printing press for her. Aww… I elbowed my sister-in-law in the theater and whispered, “Now that’s a man.”
It’s a really sad movie. And to be honest I have mixed feelings about it. But if you are in the mood for something heavy, it’s definitely worth watching.
I must say it’s going to be handy to have a pop-culture frame of reference now. When people ask me what I do for a living, I don’t have to stammer, “Well… it’s kind of weird… uhhh…” Now I can just say, “Did you see the movie, Seven Pounds…?”
But really, you need a lively distraction or a comedy chaser immediately after watching this movie. May I suggest:
?
That oughta do it.
Did you see the movie? What did you think?
–Tara
Well that took a dark turn, didn’t it? Not to worry.
I think I’ve figured out what to do with all my ephemera, but I’m still mulling it over a bit. Stay tuned.
***
When you’re feeling a bit low, there’s nothing better than getting a little lost. As luck would have it, Dave’s company’s holiday party was Saturday at Maximilien downtown — it’s a sweet little French restaurant right inside Pike Place Market. I am a sucker for pomegranate martinis and good company, so plenty of that plus a lovely 3-course dinner made me feel lots better (and only a little fat).
Dinner was amazing… French charcuterie, foie gras, fromages and other things I don’t pronounce properly. Dungeness crab cakes, fresh salmon, fall vegetables, crème brulée, chocolate, and plenty of wine.
To make it even more of a treat, we got a room at the boutique-y Inn at the Market for fun. May I just say that the Inn is totally AWESOME? If you are visiting Seattle and can swing it (pricey), or looking for somewhere fun to spend the wedding night, I highly recommend. At just one block uphill from the hustle and bustle of our world-famous public market, the location could not be better.
The market is always cool, but this time of year there are lights strung everywhere. There’s a Christmas tree vendor, another selling evergreen garlands, and this one booth that had these gorgeous herb wreaths with lavender in them. I really should have gotten one… I’ll have to go back. Plus, about a million great gift ideas.
Then on Sunday, we hit the Hatch Show Print exhibit at the Experience Music Project in Seattle Center. We’ve been here for almost 7 years, and I had still never been to the EMP. Oops! It was good to learn more about the Seattle music scene — particularly the grunge I was so into in high school. I think I may have worn some flannel shirts. (Yeah, I totally did.)
I just loved the Hatch Exhibit — there’s a pretty big Chandler & Price platen press on display inside. (I don’t even want to know how they got that thing up to the 3rd level of the building… moving mine from one ground level garage to another was enough drama for me.) Nashville is now on my list of cities to see — a road trip around that area is definitely in order. It would be so cool to visit the Hatch shop and splurge on a monoprint. I’m especially digging this one:
“Type” (source)
And then it was north on the I-5 to Edmonds! Twenty minutes later I was at home, refreshed and relaxed. Back to my messy studio, weddings, printing my Festivus cards, getting ready to go home for the holidays, blogging. It’s good to be back. 
–Tara
It’s no secret that at Ephemera, we mainly use a computer and photopolymer plates to create and print our designs. Photopolymer letterpress plates are wonderfully efficient, clean, and in and of themselves, a literal example of this modern/vintage idea that so many of our clients seem to be embracing.
But if I’m being totally honest, sometimes it feels just a little too easy.
There is something very concrete and satisfying about spending time quietly setting metal or wood type, and something very organic about the way it looks in print. One of my ultimate goals is to find a way to incorporate movable type and vintage cuts into some new designs. (Of course I’ll need to somehow find more storage space in the studio first!)
In the meantime, I wouldn’t mind getting my hands dirty with these. That’s right… someone’s done it. Movable Type made of chocolate !
Typolade: Text aus Schokolade
via Typography.com’s Gifts for Designers series
These I can make room for
–Tara
