PHX Design Week & Handset Type

This week kicked off the inaugural Phoenix Design Week. The designers we talked with are so excited to have this event in the valley. We had fun letterpressing hundreds of envelopes and coasters for the event.

We wanted to use some of the banged up wood type we acquired to print the envelope. I'm not sure what I was thinking because using all the different faces that had slight variations in heights made the make-ready on 600+ envelopes really insane. We love wood type and typically use the faces that are in great condition. But it was fun to cobble together a bunch of different faces, shapes and sizes. Of course it would have been easier to make a polymer plate and get the layout and kerning perfect but we figure there is enough perfection out there--bring on the banged-up, wood type! The flower is a wood type ornament (in pristine condition) and then we handset the envelope flap with gorgeous metal type.

Here's a photo of one of our boxes of mixed wood type. Look at the "t" that is at the middle top of the photo. I think someone bit in to it! Ouch!

For the coasters, we found a really old cut of a bird and metal cut of leaves. If you come to the wayzgoose, you can print your own coaster. It will most likely be a different design.

Gary handset the metal type on the back of the coaster. The one nice thing about using old metal type is that lots of the fonts are not digitized--the only way you can use them is if you have the actual typeface. Plus the old foundry type is really hard metal that can withstand the test of time and most types of paper. Printing these two pieces alone were over 3500 passes on our press that we hand-fed. Gotta love our C and P press from the 1890's-- it is a workhorse.

Wayzgoose - Oct 31, 2009!

The first annual Arizona Wayzgoose - a celebration of letterpress! We've been working like mad getting ready for this very fun event. Come and join us!

The term Wayzgoose originally referred to a late summer feast hosted by master printers for their apprentices. Since Oct 31st should be near the end of our Arizona summer (we hope!), we decided to have the first ever (that we know of) Arizona wayzgoose! The day will be chock full of fun!

If you have letterpress equipment that you would like to sell at the event from 11 am-1 pm, contact us letterpress@paperstudio.com so we can reserve a spot for you.

October 31, 2009--11 am - 4 pm
The Paper Studio 520 E. Southern Ave., Tempe

11 - 1--Letterpress Equipment Swap Meet--Chat with Letterpress Printers and buy some printing type & equipment!

11 - 1--Ginormous Letterpress Magnetic Poetry--we are making a huge magnetic poetry board with letterpress words--come join us!

12 - 2--Coaster Printing--we're inking up a couple of presses so you can see what it is like to print your own swanky and functional coaster!

1 - 2--Papermaking--we are always up to our elbows in pulp, now you too can experience wet pulp with without making a mess in your kitchen!

1 - 2--Envelope Making--experience one the most popular YouTube videos we ever made and make your own envelope with your very own hands!

1 - 2--Bookmark That--we are setting plates for a bookmark so that you will have the joy or printing it yourself as well as have fond memories of this event every time you are reading your favorite book!

2 - 4--Tee Shirt Printing--This isn't topless event so please be sure to wear a shirt and bring one on which to print. Make your own statement by printing your shirt with some wood type!

3.- 4--Pochoir on Letterpress--bet you wonder what that is. Well come, see and do this fabulous French technique! (ooh la,la, the intrigue!)

Fun Posters

My friend Steve told me there were some cool vintage-looking posters in the window a forthcoming restaurant in Tempe. He was right, these are fun posters! New restaurant coming called Suckerpunch Sally's. The funniest one is the vintage contraption advertising free WIFI. It was hard to get good photos since windows are very dusty window and the sun was glaring right behind me!

Snake in the Fireplace!

Living next to a desert wash brings the most interesting critters our way. Unfortunately, sometimes they make it into the house.

Sounds that roust you out of a sound sleep in the middle of the night are never a good thing. Our two cats were clattering about on the rocks in our fireplace around 2:00 am--something they never do since they hate walking on the rocks. I thought maybe they found a pesky scorpion. I never would have thought in a million years it would be a snake. Gary got them to drop it and then the snake slithered back into the rocks. Two half-asleep people trying to get a very fast snake out of the fireplace with an assortment of tongs, oven mits, jars and sticks I'm sure looked quite amusing.

It was a baby snake--looked like a long worm.( I think the type point size in the orange is 24 pt to give you size perspective.) We were able to wrangle it into the special little animal habitat that I have just this type of occasion. I always have to have a good look at whatever comes our way. I looked online and it appears to be a desert night snake. Only slightly venomous--SLIGHTLY? Not supposed to be dangerous to humans at all. I read you should release animals where you find them but I decided to release it down the a few blocks down in the desert rather than back in the fireplace

Here's the dynamic duo on the lookout for their next catch.