Wayzgoose Keepsake Envelopes

We have been organizing like maniacs getting ready to host the APA Wayzgoose. We had a good logistics meeting today and then got to impromptu collaborate on printing the large keepsakes envelopes. (Conference registrants get a variety of letterpress keepsakes!)

While the brain trust was composing a very cool idea for the wayzgoose envelopes, my contribution was printing a blue stripe as the first layer. Will post the final envelopes once the wayzgoose starts. Gotta have some surprises!

Letterpress Revival in Arizona

The New Times, Claire Lawton did a cool article about Sky Shipley and the Skyline Type Foundry! We had fun printing the cover for them.

Here is a link to the story:

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2013-05-09/news/letterpress-is-all-the-rage-and-an-important-part-of-its-history-is-being-preserved-in-arizona/

Here is a link to a slideshow with tons of letterpress related photos:

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/slideshow/skyline-type-foundrys-sky-shipley-is-on-a-mission-to-save-letterpress-39515001/

Photos from printing the cover.

 Lots of wood type.

Favorite Holiday Images

So behind on posting! We tend to keep our facebook page a little more current. You can see us on facebook at Letterpress Central.

https://www.facebook.com/LetterpressCentral

Here are some of our favorite images from this past holiday season.

Happy 2013!

Printing holiday wrapping paper.

Donna and Mike's fabulous book tree!

Jingle all the way!

Sam's "Define Naughty" holiday cards

Lisa's fun envelopes

Holiday Cards Class

Wood Type Word Cards - Noel

Wood Type Words - Merry Christmas

Letterpress Basics

Thanks to Sam who was in our letterpress class on Saturday and then wrote a fabulous blog post. Check it out! http://sammitt.wordpress.com/2012/10/14/making-letterpress-cards/



From 1960 to 2013

I printed this cool half-tone cut that works perfectly for the July 2013 letterpress calendar. It printed well considering that it must be 50-60 years old - looks like 1960 summer fun!

WHOA Book Release Reception & Readings

 A fun time was had by all at the WHOA book release party. Author Becky Byrkit and poet Cynthia Hogue did poetry readings and attendees got to letterpess print an excerpt from one of Becky's poems.

It was a full house at the readings!

Jerry Riopelle rocks!

AmeriCamera band was terrific!

Becky's dog Kamali is adorable and exhausted.

Poetry & Music and Letterpress Printing

Join us for a fabulous reception of Becky Byrkit's newest poetry book! Readings by Becky Brykit & Cynthia Hogue. Musical performances by Jerry Riopelle and AmeriCamera.


Becky will sign copies of her new book and letterpress broadside. You will also be able to letterpress a keepsake of the event!

Doors open at 4:00 pm on Sunday the 23rd. Free!

Letterpress Central to host National Printing Conference!

We are hosting the APA letterpress printing conference in 2013. Yippee!

Nothing says Arizona like pointy Tuscan Gothic wood type by WM Page as well as highlighting the fact that we do have AIR CONDITIONING and indoor restrooms!

Dive in to letterpress, Phoenix!

When you live in a warm climate, it helps to think cool thoughts! Plus, I love how letterpress is going along swimmingly in the Phoenix area!

What do a donkey, tomato & fish have in common?

I used this crazy cut to print a "food" postcard with lovely handset Paramount type. Now why would a donkey be standing on a tomato with a fish swimming by?

A Strange Kind of Sympathy

Anthony Velasquez is a local artist who creates amazing paintings. We worked with him to make a piece to go with his show at the Lisa Sette Gallery in Scottsdale. He was fun to work with because he wanted hand set type to go with the vintage images he paints. The show - A Strange Kind of Sympathy - was amazing!

Half Off Bacon - Mad Men Letterpress Class

After the Madmen inspired letterpress class, Lisa took her coasters with her to show friends at dinner. She said the wait staff were very intrigued but not intrigued enough to give them 50% off bacon!

Images from the class. Such a fun day!

Letterpress Central Open House

We are having an open house at Letterpress Central on April 21 from 10 - 2 pm. 

Come join us--you can make a print and have a snack!

Mike decided to make some signs using our enormous sign press. Great chance to use some super large wood type. The sheets he printed are 22 x 30 and the 3 signs almost cover an 8 foot table! 

Gary and I worked on the invites that would be mailed. We could have done a polymer plate but decided to do all hand-set metal type and ornaments. Then of course, I forgot to photograph the lock up. Hand-set type lock ups are almost a work of art by themselves. So much more interesting than polymer plates. We have such an amazing collection of old typefaces and ornaments that it can be hard to choose! We ended up with a reverse Gill, Trylon shaded, Brody, Packard and a french typeface - Le Moreau where the nick is upside down and it totally confused us!

 Wonder if the color of the clothes influence the ink color? Hmmm.....

We printed envelopes in three fun colors, chartreuse, aqua and kraft. I think I like printing envelopes as much as the invites because it is such fun to get surprising mail!

Photos from the Type Truck Event

We were overseeing the printing on the Vandercook at ASU for the type truck event so we didn't get out and about enough to take many photos.

 Lots of AIGA members attended!

There were so many people in ASU's type shop, it was like Grand Central Station. The vandy kept printing all night!

We loved seeing everyone wearing our printers hats! Made printing and folding the hundreds of them all worth it.  So cool!

 Wish we could have had a chance to talk with Kyle more about her Type Truck Adventures but there was a line outside her truck the whole time!

 I think this is my favorite sign of all time "This is not a Taco Truck". My friend Lisa bought one and is putting in her kitchen!

I did sneak in to say "Hi" for a second and buy some of her prints.  

That gal has really been all over the country in the type truck! Amazing! Check out http://type-truck.com/

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