Letterpress Studio Visit: Resurgence of Letterpress in Italy

I was contacted for an interview by thesis graphic design student at the Polytech of Turin University, Alessandra, about letterpress. She and her boyfriend, Lorenzo, popped in Friday for a studio visit. We first chatted about her thesis paper; her topic explores the resurgence of manual printing in Italy. I then introduced her to some of my metal and wood type and presses. I had some time to put together a wooden composition on the proof press which she got to ink and print! Good luck to her her and her studies.

LORENZO LOVES ALESSANDRA - ONE COLOR PROOF PRINT TO TAKE AWAY

A Studio Visit and 5 Star Pit Stop

This month I had Manolab visit Pirouette Press studio over a weekend.  We made a pit stop in the Langhe (wine hills) at Il Boscareto, a 5 Star hotel with an “L”, (meaning lusso or luxurious) near by. Lucky for us, it’s OK to just pop in for a glass of wine and take-in the beautiful landscape!

But, back to printing... Nora and Marco are new to letterpress, but that didn’t hold them back from composing a more complicated design.

Questo mese Manolab ha visitato lo studio di Pirouette Press per un weekend. Abbiamo fatto una fermata nelle Langhe (vino, colline) a Il Boscareto, un hotel a 5 stelle con una "L", (nel senso di Lusso o di lusso) nelle vicinanze. Fortunatamente per noi, va bene solo prendere un bicchiere di vino e l'adozione nel bellissimo paesaggio!

Ma, torniamo alla stampa...Nora e Marco sono nuovi a letterpress, ma ciò non li ha trattenuti dal comporre un design più complicato.

The design was one color (that’s what we had time for), hand-mixed and pretty darn close to the color scheme they use for their identity system. They chose to compose their tag line "Paper, Scissors and Heart” in vertical and their name in horizontal. We experimented on different paper, texture and this one was printed on the back of a postcard.

Il design era un colore, mescolato a mano e vicino alla combinazione di colori che utilizzano per il loro logo e identità. Hanno scelto per comporre "carta, forbici e Cuore” il loro pay-off in verticale e il loro nome, Manolab, in orizzontale. Abbiamo sperimentato su carta diversa, consistenza e questo è stato stampato sul retro di una cartolina.

It’s a Vandercook

Big changes at Pirouette Press! There’s a Vandercook to add to the studio direct from Holland today. Problem is when we tried to fit it in the door to the new downstairs studio space, (too heavy to go upstairs) it was a little too snug--luckily my husband isn’t afraid of machinery and will be working on the problem this weekend. The solution is to lovingly remove the handle and if that doesn’t work...

 

Pirouette Press Laboratorio :: Creative Event

To celebrate my first year at letterpress printing, I opened up the laboratory to friends. I thought it would be nice to involve other creatives too. It turned out to be pretty international affair. Italian dressmaker Francesca Ferrero of Kòrai displayed some of her romantic and somewhat retro inspired designs, French photographer Jèrome Poulaier showed his street photography, Charlotte Le Noxaic spoke about her travel photos to exotic lands like Peru and Vietnam (nice to interact with the person that experienced firsthand and hear their explanations and impressions was, I think, an added bonus). Illaria Panero inspired us with her talk on Symbology, and a married duo from Texas happened to be in town to add to the fun. As it turned out  Jessica had studied art and design not so far from where my parents live, and contributed some paintings on wood with salvaged cornices. Corey whipped up great finger foods with just enough spice to remind me of Texas! Guests had the chance to get their hands inky and work up their own lettering designs to print up on my proof press and take home.

Pirouette Press stationary presented at studio event

Printed works by guests

Kòrai  dress designs by Francesca Ferrero