Letterpress Love Trip
/
For Sarah and Rosemary of S.R. Kissler Press, printing in new places has become a summer adventure.
Rocket launches are cool, but they haven’t been around as long as letterpress printing. In a new century of exponentially advancing technology, letterpress printing is very alive and largely unchanged. The familiar ‘ka-chunk’ of plate, paper and type colliding to make a print still happens, every day, in old and new places. For Sarah and Rosemary of S.R. Kissler Press, printing in new places has become a summer adventure. With their friend, Excelsior (a small but mighty press) 20 destinations will host the team, enjoy the art of letterpress, and make a unique postcard—scroll down for a few of our favorites.
How did we get so lucky to meet them today? In a word: community. Erin Beckloff, creator of the movie “Pressing On”, heard about Sarah and Rosemary’s tour and contacted Allison Chapman, Columbus’ Queen of letterpress at Igloo. Allison recommended Columbus Printed Arts Center as a venue for the tour—because she’s amazing like that.
Which brings us to this lovely moment, as S.R. Kissler Press spent the day at CPAC.
Rosemary (left) shows how letterpress printing creates a tactile impression in the paper.
If you haven’t seen CPAC’s space, it’s a maker’s dream. One of the first tenants to create a custom build out at 2000 South High, owners Elisa and Shawn Smith loved the genuine factory appeal of The Fort. They painted walls and ceilings white, installed new windows and mechanicals, and kept the floor raw, a historical tribute to the fire truck factory, Seagrave, that launched here in the late 1800s. Since CPAC opened in December 2018, the space has embodied what makes The Fort special: a community of modern and traditional makers in an authentic industrial setting.
See our story about CPAC here.
Rosemary and excelsior creating a unique postcard during their visit to CPAC.
Sarah and Rosemary with the card custom made for their visit to CPAC at The Fort.
Thanks to everyone who made this special day happen. You can follow Sarah and Rosemary’s adventure on their blog. And don’t forget to join Columbus Printed Arts for hands-on learning, making and special events.