15 and Counting

It would be hard to believe that Starshaped is celebrating 15 years if it weren't for the mounds of printing equipment and type I'm surrounded by in the studio every day. And while I don't often remember where it all came from, I can say that most of it has been incorporated into the flow of work on a daily basis and earns its keep. Below you can see the italicized, angle bodied Bernhard Gothic that made its way to the studio by way of the Platen Press Museum.

Given that it's been the year of creating ornamental letterforms, I thought I'd try my hand at figures too, hence the '15' on both the postcards (below) and posters for the annual open house. Postcards don't always make it onto the schedule, but this year they did so that they could be included in the swag bags at the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum Wayzgoose.

This is a nice, chunky typographic '15' that I was very pleased with. It may be the start of something...

For the poster, I wanted to create a circular seal-like image with a subtle pressure print. The chipboard '15' was added to the makeready. I cut a piece of linoleum for the round base; you can see the ghosting of the ink on the linoleum since I printed the red and gold before the final transparent white.

I also made a pretty weak attempt at setting larger type on a curve with this hackneyed piece of plywood. But it worked.

The final poster!

The annual open house has happened since filing for my dba back in 1999; the first few years at the old studio were more of a gathering for friends and family and took place during the day on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. After moving to our current location in 2003, the open house turned into an extremely well attended event on a Saturday night in November. That's when I started creating posters to advertise; below are the last 11 years worth of prints.

While there is always a bit of type out for every event, this year there was a LOT of type out, both because of so many recent acquisitions as well as just not having the time to get things organized and distributed. So everyone was able to see beautiful new and unused metal and wood type, as well as many forms from recent jobs.

All the presses are rolling for the open house, and this is the form that everyone could print this time around. It's the start of a series of fantastic Chicago quotes that I intend to set with some of the finer wood type in the studio.

We also set up some of the new tiny snowflakes done with Moore Wood Type so that everyone could print a wintery greeting card.

Prior to the mob scene, my incredible interns all showed up to get things moving. Cathy and Emily came with these amazing new aprons! What a sweet surprise. Now we all look like a force to be reckoned with. Because we are.

Look at Emily go!

Fine ladies representing the School of the Art Institute! Janice, Cathie Ruggie Saunders (an incredible instructor that everyone in letterpress should know), and Cathy. They do letterpress right at SAIC.

Jo also set up a print for the kids to do on her little galley press.

And after printing the kids went bonkers, running around the studio and hall like wild banshees.

It was very humbling to have so many talented folks from the neighborhood come by. Here we have the Favorites, Amber and Tom, snuggling in with Emily 'anything less than the best is a felony' Orange Beautiful. A few of my favorite designers.

For all the time we spend in Beans and Bagels, it was wonderful to have Sido and Will come by. Two others that spend a lot of time there are screen printer and illustrator extraordinaire Dan Grzeca and fantastic photographer Jookie Jill.

Also got a visit from my hero Deb of the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative. They are celebrating 25 years of awesome printmaking and I was thrilled to be a part of this in the form of creating their show posters. These were then turned into wine labels, which Deb brought by. And of course she brought a little treat for our printers devil.

A real treat was having the Upchurch family come out. One of the best times of my life was working at Fireproof Press... all the printing, fun and fellowship without the hassle of running the business! Lori and John have always been family to me, supporting Starshaped throughout the last 15 years.

And of course John showed up with the traditional Fireproof Press offering of root beer.

Just a few of the many faces of friends, old and new, that made it through the studio.

Also had a nice visit from Abby Woods, a current Columbia College student, who's working on a project about... me! Here's a sneak peek of what she's up to.

It was both an exhausting and exhilarating evening. I came in Sunday to clean up the fall out and found this guy hanging out by the typecases. I suppose the mess that was left behind was a good sign that the party was a success. I made no little plans when starting the studio 15 years ago and given the support of the community I feel confident the studio has another 15 in front of me.

Good Wood 2014

Every year we look forward to the annual Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum Wayzgoose, which attracts type nerds (i.e., all of our best friends) from around the world. And while the 'Goose usually only lasts about 3 days, this year, for us, it stretched to a week and spanned the distance between Two Rivers, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois. A few days prior to heading north, Jo and I set up and printed our pieces for the print swap (more on that later). I was thrilled to work with Moore Wood Type to design a series of snowflakes to be both laser and pantograph cut. Having just received my batch to print with, and knowing that Scott planned to take them to Hamilton to share, I put together this poster to showcase how fantastically well they look and print together. They'll be available for sale soon.

While I played around with snowflakes, Jo went straight for the stars and put together this great little number:

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It was such a treat to have longtime friend and printer David Wolske swing by on Wednesday. I put him to work, we shared some laughs and I got a sneak peek of what he'd be presenting at Hamilton. His work is stunning in its thoughtfulness, exploration and expert technique.

Thursday we welcomed Geri and Matt of Virgin Wood Type. Obviously, we had some fun. These folks eat wood type for lunch, so I took them out for pizza before it got ugly. Matt wrote a great post about the 'Goose that you can read here.

Friday we hit the airport to pick up this guy and head up to Trivers.

Once we made it to Hamilton, Jo immediately sought out her besties, Chelsea and Laura, who made her a very special badge this year, the only one with fancy hand lettering.

New this year is a wall featuring a mashup of Hamilton-related prints from just about everyone. Jo even found her Turtles print from the June 2014 APA Wayzgoose.

To keep a 7-year-old going all weekend I gave Jo my digital camera and unleashed her on the museum. She had a blast documenting everything and took dozens of charmingly blurry photos.

Also new this year is the substantial type wall which proved to be extremely photogenic (it's like they planned it).

I joined Erin Beckloff, mover and shaker extraordinaire as well as daughter to Scott Moore, in taking some great shots of David Shields and Rich. Wonder what their photos look like.

Later in the evening we heard from the chiefs: Stephanie, Jim and Bill. These three, along with a slew of eager volunteers really knocked it out of the park this year. Screens! Lighting! Backdrops! Sound! All pro.

Their intro was followed by Charles S. Anderson. If you've ever ordered paper from French Paper or pretty much just lived in the world, you're familiar with the work of CSA, so there's not much I can add!

After the image overload, I got a moment with Nick Sherman to check out the new book published by Tipoteca Italiana about their incredible collection of wood type. Needless to say, one of these came home with me.

Saturday's schedule was too packed to see and experience everything. I sat in on David's formal presentation to get a chance to see his lovely work again.

Following that was a rousing discussion by Clint Harvey of Design College Australia and The Bacon Factory in Brisbane, Australia. They're doing amazing work to collect and preserve letterpress equipment Down Under, as well as present it to the next generation of designers.

Clint brought a number of sample prints featuring Australian slang. Then he challenged everyone to decipher them and write their ideas directly on the prints. Did anyone get them right, CH?

Meanwhile, Jo stationed herself with our Isle of Printing buddies from Pie Town (some people call it Nashville) and their Our Town portrait project. Throughout the weekend folks could sit down at a mirror and use clever stamps to create their own likeness which is then documented.

Jo's Cindy Sherman-esque self portrait.

After an evening banquet of chicken and milk (if you were there, you know), we headed back to the museum for a presentation from Tipoteca about the creation of their museum and the collection it houses. Let's just say we were all convinced to spend some time on the prosecco farm that serves as guest quarters for visitors to the museum. More of their incredible type porn below.

The last event of the evening (given that this is the censored version of the weekend's activities), is the annual type quiz hosted by Nick and David. This year, with the addition of the Hamilton Smokestack costume, a volunteer was needed. Guess who jumped in? Jo stood on a chair for an hour and pointed out those that raised their hands to answer the somewhat dubious questions in order to win typographic prizes.

Sunday morning brought an impressive display and discussion of artistic watermarks from Greg Walters (is there anything he doesn't collect!?), as well as the entertaining giveaway of door prizes by Dave Peat. But by far, the most popular event is the print swap. So much good work to share with everyone.

Here's Geri of Virgin Wood Type with her beautiful layered wood type prints, as well as the newest typeface set out to tease. Thanks to Virgin, wood type can be everyone's passion. Looking on is Jason, otherwise known as Genghis Kern, or #thebeerisforscale in social media circles.

Jo signed just a few of her prints and took them around to share.

Meeting of the wood type minds! Scott and Matt, all business. What secret wood type schemes are they hatching?

Erin's print this year was so lovely. Look what you can do with her dad's beautiful type! And she made me promise to show this photo and not the one of her getting into the whiskey. Like I mentioned, this is a G-rated blog.

I took the opportunity to grab a few shots with others wandering around. Selfie with the Morans!

With David. So love this guy.

And this lady! Mary is the killingest lady printer I know. New York attitude with a midwestern accent.

Jessica Spring... not content to push the boundaries of daredevil printing, she's now offering Daredevil Furniture for letterpress printers, meaning we can all create fantastically nutty lockups. A lady after my own heart, and the only one to make Hobo look brilliant.

Jo got a lesson in sign painting from the incomparable John Downer, who is responsible for the sign on the front of the building. What a treat for mom and daughter, as well as everyone that looked on.

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As promised, here's Silvio from Tipoteca signing my new book. Many of their stunning prints were on display. Are you ready for the type porn?

It's always sad to leave on Sunday, knowing that it might be another year before we see a lot of the people that make this trip so special.

Before checking out we got a stamp on our Letterpress Trail map.

But this year was different! Because of Chicago's central location, a number of printers were still around to explore the city or have a little downtime before jetting off home. So Monday welcomed the Aussies, Clint and Tahlia, into the studio. Here's CH groveling at my feet!

Along with Clint and Tahlia, Michael from Clawhammer Press also came for a visit, securing his status as Friend by bringing really nice coffee. We talked letterpress for quite a while before I caught them escaping with type!

Later that evening I was able to organize the swag from Hamilton that Jo and I collected. Talented folks.

Tuesday night, Rebecca of Rar Rar Press hosted a printer dinner and made stew for everyone. What an incredible group, and no one had to feel bad about talking type and presses all night. It's the one kind of party where print-themed alcohol shares a place on the table with actual type. And Rebecca's apartment is a veritable museum of letterpress awesomeness.

Unbelievably, I convinced new friend Jessie Reich of Punky Press to stay all day Wednesday and work in the studio. Huzzah! She set one of our cityscapes for a series of cards and learned how the platen presses function. We swapped stories, metal & wood type and fist bumps. Here's to all of our new and old friends that made the 'Goose (as well as the before and after gatherings) so memorable this year. See ya in 2015. Hopefully before.

15th Annual Open House

It's that time of year again, when we ink up the presses, throw open the doors and invite the public to come on in to celebrate our anniversary. This is a special one, as the studio is celebrating its 15th year. Starshaped has seen a lot of ups and downs this year, and I'm looking forward to having a great night of sharing stories, pulling prints from our 15 year history and geeking out on beautiful type. Join us! Kids are most definitely welcome.

Saturday, November 15th, 7-10 pm

4636 N. Ravenswood #103 · Chicago, Illinois

Metal Type Class is Back!

We're pleased to offer two Master Metal Type Classes this Fall! This is a great opportunity to learn a bit about the history of metal type as well as get your hands dirty with it, as we'll be making a project as part of the class. Choose one of these Saturdays and contact us asap as space is limited! [contact-form][contact-field label='Name' type='name' required='1'/][contact-field label='Email' type='email' required='1'/][contact-field label='Comment' type='textarea' required='1'/][/contact-form]

Printing in the D

Right before the Letterpress Trail took over life, I spent two days at Signal Return, located in Detroit's Eastern Market, hanging out, printing and enjoying the company in their incredible space. When you see a giant manicule, you know you're in the right place. And when you understand their mission to create a vibrant printmaking studio that seeks to 'Teach, Connect, Serve, and Produce', then that's even more rewarding.

Their open and airy retail space literally invites people to come in and browse. So many beautiful prints and cards from all over, as well as pretty sweet aprons and shirts. I'm happy to say that Starshaped's cards and prints are in good company here. Need an awesome gift for someone? This is the place to go, Detroit! Stop on over after you hit the markets on Saturday morning.

They had recently acquired a few new banks of incredible wood and metal type. Here you can see Meg going through it to gauge what was lurking in these cases. I can tell you, there were some real treats there, buried under decades of dirt and dust. And mouse poop. Because all old type comes with complimentary mouse poop.

Here's Bryan Baker, SR's printer-in-residence, going through some of his own new type.

And Bryan's dog Isabelle! I point her out here because she's an absolute doppelganger of my own dog.

This is 'proof press row', with 3 presses lined up and ready to print. Lynn Avadenka, the artistic director, is at the end, pulling prints of the Detroit type I brought with me.

Joel is moving in for a close up shot!

The beauty of this Vandercook is that it was actually large enough to set all of our ornamental letters in a straight line. So we took advantage of that and printed quite a few new Detroit prints. These are for sale at Signal Return and all of the cash goes directly to them to support their workshops, outreach and all around awesomeness. If you're in Detroit Friday, September 19th, you can attend their fundraiser, Type-Oh!-Rama, which looks to be a pretty fantastic evening of letterpress activities.

After printing, eating and fraternizing on Friday we went to Shinola for an Art Crank poster show. What an incredibly beautiful place this was. Here's just a tiny shot of the bike I coveted all night. If anyone wants to donate this to Starshaped, it would see a lot of use.

Their storefront is virtually a museum, and you can see the posters in the background here. Many of the prints were sold as a benefit for Back Alley Bikes, a cause we can really get behind. The community support and brisk sales of prints was heartening, not to mention the overall enthusiasm for the print community in Detroit.

After my time at Signal Return on Saturday, I headed over to Kennedy Prints to hang with Amos and see how Detroit was treating him. He has a lot of space for his vast collection of prints, type and presses. Not fully unpacked since moving from Alabama, he's got plans for a grand and glorious new space.

This is a hand lettered print Amos picked up from a school while in Alabama. Gotta love lead paint!

And a classy ampersand discovered in his wood type collection.

Amos also picked up a few cases of beautifully detailed, hand carved wood cuts with African and African American themes. These came from Italy. What a journey.

And here are a few of the prints Amos sent me home with. He's doing a lot of fantastic work for the city, as you can see.

Of course I had to go here. It felt like a pilgrimage, and it's hard to believe I felt my heart flutter when driving by. So modest. And so earth moving at the same time.

It was such an inspiring 36 hours in the D. Everyone I had the opportunity to work and chat with was filled with the midwestern gumption that makes me proud and assured of the fact that they will succeed with whatever ventures they choose to take on. Go Detroit!