A dear friend from high school moved up to the Seattle area and it had been years (years!) since we last saw each other. Being the socialite and foodie that she is, she invited my family to her last minute birthday party. I needed a last minute gift, so I quickly hand set some lead type I had laying around and pressed a set of notecards for her. I hope she likes them! Happy Birthday, Miss Almie!

*If you are interested in a similar or custom letterpress set like this, get in touch!

I love the vibe up here in the Seattle area, and the Spring season is super inspiring, but I was starting to having letterpress withdrawals. Since I was away from my equipment, I was itching to see what the local antique shop and flea market had laying around. I had a hunch I’d find some form of letterpress something or other for sale, so I visited the “rain or shine” Fremont Flea Market.

Among loose doll arms, vintage keys, and other etceteras, I found several cases of wood type laying around, but at a price I wasn’t interested in paying. In that sea of vintage wood type, I could not completely spell out “letterpress junkie” so I decided to pass. I wasn’t really planning on buying anything, anyway.

I came. I saw. I scratched the itch. The Mister would be proud of me.

Okay, that title sounds a little more dramatic than it needs to be. Well sadly, and happily, I just found out that my husband is going to temporarily be relocated to the Seattle area for a few months. That means I get to tag along, but it also means having to part with my presses for a few months. But not only do I have to part with my presses, I also have to say goodbye to my semester-long letterpress class that I have been taking with Rachelle Chuang, of the International Print Museum. Boohoo. Just when we were getting to know each other. =( I like her!

For my last session, I was joined by one of my old college instructors, Wendy Emery, who also happens to be a permanent fixture at the Print Museum. I was actually late to my last session because Wendy and I went to check out my next acquisition… a Challenge Advance 19″ guilloine table-top antique paper cutter! Woohoo! I’ll share more about that later… perhaps when I return from my trip.

I thought I’d share (part of) a class project. Disclaimer: It’s been years since I last carved into linoleum AND my prints weren’t coming out as solid as I would’ve liked. Maybe it’s an old piece of warped linoleum? Eh, better luck next time.

*And for those of you paying attention, yes, the “T” in that first shot would totally have shifted. I snapped the photo before the lock up was ready to go!