Spent two days organizing, cleaning, setting and proofing new-to-me 6 point type. After a cosy lye bath, these revealed a rare Cincinnati Type Foundry pin mark on the sides, meaning they’ve clocked about 130 years of action. #letterpress
Starshaped Press
@starshapedpress.bsky.social
Celebrating 26 years of metal & wood type letterpress work. Love to share the process, forms and printing adventures. Jen & Jo. Starshaped.com
Cleaning up inventory of custom commissions and found all 6 cards printed for @pilsencommbooks.bsky.social.
Just finished hangin’ & printin’ with my favorite kids on the planet at We Rock! Chicago camp (formerly Girls Rock! but altered to include the gender expansive rock stars).
Fashioned a 7-color nod to the beloved Polaroid from modular metal type ornaments. Shipping now for the Print Club. #letterpress
Chicago dogs are the best dogs. Printed so many years ago before I had a saw for kerning type.
Beautiful new type cut by Virgin Wood Type (Rochester NY) that’s going to play well with old type. Building out a collection of complementary families improves design possibilities and is super satisfying; one is not better than the other. #letterpress
The one and only commission I’ve ever received for the Fourth, printed a few years ago. #letterpress
My kid got me the clock cleaning solution I wanted for my birthday and now every bit of brass printing rule in the studio is getting the business even if it takes a year. #letterpress
All new-to-me type and ornament coming into the shop is cleaned, identified & proofed for a visual record and so it can be put into action asap for print jobs. These are the two galleys of items ready to be proofed tomorrow. Lot of work but huge win for preservation. #letterpress
Made a window for a print out of borders cast on a Linotype, then filled it with plants. #letterpress
One of my fave quotes on a small print resting on my Chicago-made Vandercook press (c. 1962). #letterpress
‘Web’ ornaments by Barnhart Bros. & Spindler after a good lye soak and scrubbing. Almost new, 130 years later! #letterpress
I love my clients who commission work for other things I love, like the writing of @praddenkeefe.bsky.social. The prompt this time was ‘vintage typewriter’. Metal type challenge accepted. #letterpress
If ‘derp’ was a typeface. Caprice, offered by Barnhart Bros & Spindler in Chicago, around 1889ish. What would you use it for? #letterpress
CTA bus driver prints are back in stock. Inspired by an absolutely wild ride on a bendy bus a few years ago. #letterpress
Got a show Friday night at @dovetailbrewery.bsky.social. Come and support three small businesses at once! #letterpress
Ida music always feels like a warm blanket to me, hence the quilt patterns on this new poster for a series of intimate shows. Two large type forms, one on an angle, two colors each. #letterpress
Custom commission for ‘made with human intelligence’ cards, this time in shiny gold ink. The ornaments are a combo of sets from Barnhart Bros. & Spindler (Chicago) and Cleveland Type Foundry and Mackellar Smiths & Jordan (Philadelphia). #letterpress
On this anniversary of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, here’s a look at some prints made from an original plate gifted to me by Tribune Showprint. I added two linoleum cut colors to make them pop. #letterpress
Having a print show at @dovetailbrewery.bsky.social in collaboration with @midwestniceshop.bsky.social on June 5th. More details to follow! #letterpress
Absolute unit of a metal type form, sunning itself before my workout of getting it on press. About 12x18”.
I often set forms and pull carbon paper galley proofs to see how everything looks, especially when it’s complex 19th century type like these mortised initial caps. Testing how things play together here.
