design + letterpress printing in Los Angeles, California
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Music and paper pulp collide with color.
This paper line is used often here at the studio. What an interesting behind-the-scenes look to how this paper is made. Now, where can I my hands on some Marrs Green? I'm already imagining foil stamping on that rich green.
I'm a letterpress printer.
He's a car designer.
I suppose you can call us a creative couple.
This past Valentine's Day Loeffler Randall featured us on their blog as a Creative Couple. I never really thought that we could be packaged together since our disciplines are like a Venn Diagram. Letterpress over here on the left. Industrial Design on the right and our personal lives are the blend of both circles in between.
I work solo while his work requires an army of creative forces. I work in print and paper while he can observe designs created in VR environments. We're on complete opposites of the design spectrum. Analog here and digital over there. But at the end of the day, I show him prints I'm currently working and he shows me phone pics of automotive related designs his team are working on. We get excited about each other's work.
I was going down memory lane while answering their questionnaire - we built a home together, a process that lasted five years; spent our engagement year living abroad in Germany; I started a small business (woohoo Presshaus LA!) and he's now heading up design at an automotive startup. Although we've been married for 5 years, a period of time that seemingly feels short and long at the same time, we've got a lot under our belts.
The photos feature not just our story also LR's HEARTLA heart sandals. Although the pictures were taken on a rainy LA day, Nicki Sebastian the photographer behind these images, did her magic to make these images bright and sunny No rain + puddles shown!
There are more pictures and more questions answered on the LR page. Take a look.
~K
And here are the HEARTLA Loeffler Randall shoes
Bagel, my camera-ready furry girl!
The spread of prints in the studio
Studio moodboard of inspiration + previous print projects
Thank you, Nicki, for making that rainy day look bright and for your ease of being in front of a camera.
I knew there was a time when newspapers were set in type by hand but this video shows the chaos of 140 Linotype machine operators pieces together the last issue of the NY Times newspaper set by hand all the way to print production. back then the plates were casted with 40 lb lead metal plates and the entire process is done under a tight deadline to ensure the paper gets out to the trucks and planes in time.
The main Lintotype operator interviewed in this coverted 16mm film says he's retiring after 49 years of printing experience. He retired after the last issue was printed. Another printer there says that all of his "...26 years of printing experience is now locked up in a box. It's inevitable to move onto computers."
Despite this being 38 years ago, I still see some of the tools used then used now in present-day letterpress printing. I still use a quoins to lock up a form on the letterpress bed and I too can read text inverted. The polymer plates used today are not right-reading and are inverted. The machine is also just as greasy to work with.
One of the best parts of working with designers is getting to know them as a person first and to see them create a brand that is an organic extension of themselves. I met Elise Joseph, a stylist + tastemaker now based in Nashville, Tennessee, a few years ago and back then she had the vision to create Goodwin but it was a vision at the time. We shared a long coffee in Venice's Abbott Kinney area and even then she was longing to be in Nashville. She was outgrowing her blog Pennyweight and was looking ahead.
A few years later she reached out for some collateral for her new adventure, Goodwin, a curated capsule online shop based on the foundation of mindful women's wear. Her shop carries clothing from independent designers for a conscious buyer. I too have been trying to buy clothes with this ethos and ask myself "Where is this made? How and where was the fabric created?" As someone who works with my hands, I try to value the time and quality put into each garment. The effect of wearing a piece made with intention makes me feel beautiful and gives me a sense of pride knowing that I helped to support a fellow creative. I know the piece will last longer and plus there'll be no one else around wearing the same thing.
Elise partnered with Julia Kostreva to create her branding and logo. For her printing, we selected neutral toned papers milled in Germany. Her business cards are duplexed to about 200# and letterpress printed. The hangtags are also letterpress printed and triple-mounted with a black paper sandwiched in between for an extra thick tag.
These projects are my favorite kind- there's fulfillment when unique prints are sent off to a place with heart.
I'm grateful to be a part of Goodwin's circle of designers even if it's only through paper.
