Happiness & Hard Work

I have been working toward this day for a couple of years now. It started with a magazine. There was an article about making your own printing press. I'm not sure how other people reacted to the article but I was smitten. Head over heels in love with everything about it. It appealed to all of my senses and my brain went into overdrive with ideas. I just knew it was something I would love doing. I turned to my friend who brought me the magazine and I said, "Hey, I could do this." And she said, "Oh, yes you could!" And I haven't looked back.

It didn't take long (a day, maybe because I didn't stop thinking about it) to figure out that a hand-made press wasn't going to cut it. I was going to need a serious machine to do all of the things I was imagining. I acquired a few presses, took some classes, talked to people, ordered books and researched for hours and hours online and at the library. I played with inks, stripped machinery, replaced parts, got my hands dirty, experimented with the presses and just generally learned as much as I could wrap my head around.

So, here I am. After years of preparation and after months of taking pictures and designing and tweaking this website, I'm making my first post and it makes me unbelievably happy. This blog is going to be a place that I share what's going on in the shop but also what's inspiring me in other ways. If you've seen what I was doing over at red belle then you'll have a good idea about what to expect here.

If you have a minute, snoop around a little. Meet a fewoftheworkers and look at some of the projects we've beenworkingon. This is just the beginning. I hope to see you again soon.