OWOSSO customer Haute Papier is featured in the November/December issue of Post Press magazine. Haute Papier is a custom design and print studio. They utilize magnesium hot stamping dies for many of their award winning pieces, the most recent being a invitation suite for which they won a FSEA Gold Leaf Award.
Letterpress
Pic of the Week
I’ve been a printmaker for over 35 years and use a #Vandercook Universal I. My mediums are wood engraving and woodcut. Three years ago I designed a woodcut lamp shade featuring the Chickadee, next, the Pileated Woodpecker. Suddenly I had many requests for a print of the Woodpecker. Using OWOSSO’s services I was able to meet my customers wishes. www.siribeckman.com
New Ownership
Owosso Graphic Arts Is Pleased to Announce New Ownership —
Owosso Graphic Arts (OWOSSO) has transitioned ownership to Craig Ellenberg.
It has always been Craig’s goal to own OWOSSO and he finally achieved that goal on July 30, 2017. An employee of the company since 1982, and Plant Manager for the last 15 years the transition to ownership was seamless.
Owosso Graphic Arts was founded in 1949 by Ken Bentley. After Mr. Bentley died in a car/train accident the company was purchased by Jerry Voight in 1965. Over the years our strong management team has grown the company to be a leader in the industry by diversifying in many different markets, while never losing sight of our core values of quality, service, honesty and integrity.
The future of OWOSSO looks very bright as we welcome Craig’s two sons, Devin & Max, to the company. Both worked at OWOSSO previously and are excited to once again join the OWOSSO team. “They both have innovative ideas on new products and procedures. And they know the importance of building strong relationships with our customers by providing quality products and service”, said Craig.
Craig also added, “We have a great group of skilled and dedicated employees. I am excited about expanding our line of products and the continued success of OWOSSO.”
Pic of the Week
Inkery Road is a small business that focuses on calligraphy & hand lettering. Pictured is my Georgia greeting card from my “Home State Love” series. These are offered in greeting cards, art prints & tea towels. I plan to eventually make my way through all 50 states, & have completed a handful so far (Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida & Alaska).
My process starts out with a sketch where I get the lettering down first, then fill in the state with flourishes. After that, I take it into Illustrator to digitize it for printing. This Georgia greeting card is letterpressed with a beautiful gold ink & paired with a bright turquoise envelope. The greeting card version includes “Howdy from” and the art print & tea towel versions simply have the state name. My Home State Love series is meant to be a reminder of where your heart & home are.
You can find me on Instagram – inkeryroad and Facebook www.facebook.com/inkeryroad
The Letterpress Depot
“Great Art for a Good Cause: Local arts nonprofit The Letterpress Depot launches fundraising campaign to make the Englewood train depot new”
DENVER – On May 1 Denver arts nonprofit, The Letterpress Depot, launched their first major fundraiser to reimagine a historic 1915 train depot in the suburb of Englewood and transform it into a regional hub where students, artists, designers, printers and neighbors can come for inspiration, hands-on experience and, most importantly, discover the fun of letterpress printing.
The Denver launch party and subsequent Indiegogo campaign has raised $25,371 in ten days from a 165 individuals and businesses – 28% of the total goal of $70,000 with just over two weeks left. The campaign boasts an incredible assortment of prints and art produced by international artists and well-known letterpress printers including Tom Parson, Jason Wedekind, Brad Vetter, Firecracker Press, and the Hamilton Wood Type Museum. Workshops with Star Shaped Press’s Jennifer Farrell and Brad Vetter are also available. All proceeds from the campaign will go towards critical repairs and renovations to the Letterpress Depot’s future home.
The Letterpress Depot has a unique vision to create a “working museum” where visitors will have complete hands-on access to the organization’s vast inventory of traditional letterpress equipment and type – fifteen presses and two thousand cases of type – to allow the community to continue to preserve, reimagine and redefine this beautiful art form for future generations.
“You won’t find anything behind glass here,” says Tom Parson, Executive Director of the Letterpress Depot. “I have thousands of fonts of metal type, a large library and 15 presses. All of this should go somewhere and I want it to belong to you.”
“I teach typography and design to college students and incorporated letterpress printing as part of our curriculum since it is really important in helping students understand the foundation of typographic design,” says Peter Bergman, Board President of the Letterpress Depot and Assistant Professor of Art in Communication Design at Metropolitan State University of Denver. “Many of my students have gotten really into it and have produced sophisticated and complex projects. But, once they graduate their access to the equipment is cut off. It would be really great for them – and the entire creative community in the region – to have a place to go where they can have access to equipment and experienced printers who are there to help them realize their projects”
Funds raised will go to reconstructing the exterior wall to the basement, building an ADA accessible entrance ramp, installing an ADA accessible bathroom and completing electrical, plumbing and HVAC work. Once the work is complete, visitors and community members will be able to learn from master printers and book artists – many of which are on the Letterpress Depot’s board – through a roster of workshops and classes. The Letterpress Depot will offer a full range of educational programming for all ages and skill levels – there will be something for everyone from beginners to master printers.
The Letterpress Depot is located in Englewood, Colorado and is a 501c 3 non-profit with passionate volunteers and an active board of dedicated artists, printers, designers, creative professionals, librarians, writers, thinkers and makers.
“The Depot is going to provide something that doesn’t exist in this region. It’s a place where people can come and print, learn and study and that, to me, is what keeping this letterpress art alive is all about,” says Jason Wedekind, Board Vice President and Founder of Genghis Kern. “It’s sharing. It’s making. It’s getting our hands dirty. And I’m really looking forward to being able to do that in one central location.”
The Letterpress Depot is located at 675 West Dartmouth Avenue, Englewood, CO.
- For more information visit: www.letterpressdepot.com.
- To visit the fundraising campaign: www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-letterpress-depot-design–4#/
- Follow The Letterpress Depot on social media:
- Twitter: @letpressdepot / http://twitter.com/letpressdepot/
- Instagram: @letterpressdepot / https://www.instagram.com/letterpressdepot/
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/letterpressdepot/
Pic of the Week
Our “Pic of the Week” is from Jim Hellman — William Shakespeare, Sonnet 75 (side statements from Song of Solomon, Chapter 4, verses 4-7 and Decorum, J.A. Ruth and Company, New York)
For The Bodleian Library, the university library at Oxford for their exhibit on the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death.
http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/news/2016/nov-11
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Printed by Jim Hellman, The Ground Floor Garage Press
Illustration by Tim Ladwig
Pic of the Week
Our “Pic of the Week” is from Siri Beckman. This is one of my woodcuts. Originally I designed it for a lamp shade, but so many people wanted it as a print that I asked OWOSSO to make a “plate” suitable for letterpress printing. www.siribeckman.com
