In the aftermath of 2020 I started a letterpress design studio.
And miraculously it started to work.
After 14 years in a creative field that I absolutely loved,
I lost my career in 2020.
The organization I was with was struggling, and another round of layoffs were announced in late 2019 - and this time I was on the list. With six months notice I had plenty of time to land something else, right? …Until the shutdowns started in 2020 and my industry saw a nearly 40% reduction, leaving next to no positions available for someone with my education and skill set.
We were running out of time and options. At what felt like the last moment my wife was offered a position to return to teaching and simultaneously my grandparents’ home became available. We relocated back to the 5th generation farmland I had been raised on to entirely reboot our lives.
Unsure what to do with this unexpected new season in life, my side-hustle freelance career had been waning and I needed a way to stay creative, be available for our young family, and bring an income. And I needed a challenge: the layoffs, and 2020 in general, had done a number on my creative confidence.
I had been nurturing a growing interest in typography, which naturally led to an interest in letterpress design and printing. Though I had never worked in that method before, it would build upon my education and skill set and perhaps provide a way to work from home that didn’t depend upon constantly recruiting clients, which I was struggling to do.
So, I made a very short-term plan as an experiment: I started carving giant 5” letters out of linoleum block and crafted a make-shift lockup in my basement to hand print a short series of 3x4” prints. It was incredibly hard work, but surprisingly they sold!
With that encouragement, and a serendipitous gift of a small press with some type from an old friend, I began making smaller and more manageable prints. And as my skill and sales increased, this little homebrew design studio continued to grow and expand into custom letterpress prints for digital layouts, custom editions for businesses & organizations, and in-person and virtual design talks across the country.
All from a little studio, nestled in the middle of farmland in rural Indiana, because of 2020.
There is still a long ways to go - lots to learn about design and printing, and even more about how to grow this into a regular and predictable source of income, but we are beyond thankful for the blessings thus far.
Thanks for all the support, shares, and sales. Every interaction is noticed!
That very first print! So many things were learned along the way but I absolutely loved that it turned out! It was difficult to carve the letters and even harder to print, but sometimes we all need to do hard things.
This print was the very definition of “perfectly imperfect” but I’m so glad I took the risk to make it and put it out there for the world to see.
Those very first sales and social media reactions were just the encouragement I need to keep going.
I had no idea how many more prints I was about to make!
Ink, Paper,
Sweat, & Hope.
Although I absolutely love being back on the farmland I grew up on, starting a letterpress studio from scratch and without the ability to bring in foot traffic has its own challenges! Fortunately for us the internet has leveled the playing field in many ways and allowed connections to happen far beyond what a normal brick-and-mortar store would bring.
I’m just so happy that I have found such a supportive community that values analog, slowly made things.
It seems fitting: small, hand-made objects made in a small, rural community.
After a few years my schedule looks very different. I’m not only designing and printing for myself, but also I custom print type for digital designers, and lend my letterpress skills to help organizations and causes I believe in.
In addition, I now regularly give in-person and virtual presentations on letterpress, the creative path, and typography for colleges, universities, and design organizations across the country.
I had no idea that this little operation in the back of a garage and a spare bedroom, would grow to find some many of you that like all the new things I am making in old ways! I never would have guessed I would have been so busy making, showing, and shipping these letterpress prints made in my tiny rural studio.
I’m incredibly thankful for the path God has provided, and for the continual support you all provide in tangible and intangible ways. There’s still a long way to go, but I’m eager to see what the future holds!
Let’s Keep Going!