Oh yeah, a craft fair

Things have been busy around the Hoffman manor, and we're really looking forward to the day when our studio remodeling is complete, our baby plants are in the garden, and the day when we can just leisurely print away under the glowing sunlight coming through our new window in our new studio. Until then, we will be cranking away at the previously mentioned projects.

As if our weekends weren't busy enough, this weekend will be just as busy with our first ever craft fair!! Come see us after you've visited Crafty Wonderland (or before you go). We'll be out in Milwaukie displaying all of our cards at the Spring Arts and Crafts Fair. Come say hello!

the new arrival

We have a new baby, and people have been asking for a story.

Several months ago, Alia and I began searching for a press in earnest. Every day I would search the internet for "letterpress", "letterpress machine", or "printing press for sale". I would log on daily to the Briar Press website and look at the same ads of the same presses in Michigan or Oklahoma that would take at least a grand or two to ship out here, making them pretty much unobtainable. One of the professors at work mentioned a press at Oblation that he knew of for sale, but by the time he told me and I called, the press had been sold.

Photo by Alice Carrier

Alia eventually found the one on Craigslist on a Saturday night that had been posted just that morning. It was in NW Portland, and we could afford it. She emailed him. We waited. No response. I emailed him. We waited. No response, but you know how Craigslist is. We emailed him again, we waited, and then he emailed us back saying, I'm surprised you didn't get my email! I gave him a call, and it turns out he was moving it from his old shop into storage across town. We were like, "No! Just move it to our house," but it was too late, the movers were coming.

Alia had to work that day, so I went alone down to the storage place to meet Roger and the moving trucks. Roger had all the equipment you could imagine, most of which I hadn't even heard of, but he showed me his embossing machines, his offset litho, his foil cutter, his photopolymer plate burner *gasp*. I got to see his Heidelbergs and finally, last off the moving truck, his old style Chandler & Price. It was beautiful! It had been in storage for thirty years, so the rollers were melted and fused to the inking plate. He said it had a motor, but that after thirty years he wasn't sure where the motor was anymore. It was covered in a thick layer of dust. It was beautiful. I said we'd take it, I would call him after I talked to the movers, and I walked out of there on cloud nine.

Photo by Alice Carrier

When it comes to moving heavy things here in Portland, pretty much everyone I have talked to has recommended "the Samoan guys," so I searched the internet for "Samoan movers Portland" and found Big Al's. Big Al is 6' 6'' and 325 pounds (of pure muscle), end quote, and Yes, he's from Samoa. We scheduled the movers to come today to load the press into the garage, which is perfect, because our friend, Chris, was scheduled to come over tomorrow to help us take off the garage door and install a window in its stead. Perfect timing!

Photo by Alice Carrier

Yesterday morning, at work, on a whim, I logged into the Briar Press website again and see a new listing for an old style C&P 10 x 15. Wow, where's it located? Portland, Oregon. Really? Where? At a place two blocks from my desk. I stood up, put on my coat, and walked down the street and into Oblation. It was the same press I had inquired about before. The store owner said that he had sold it twice before and that both people had flaked on him. It was just like Roger's, except it had rollers, extra rollers, and a working motor. This press was cheaper, it worked, and we wouldn't have to spend a thousand bucks refurbishing it before we could (someday) print our cards at home instead of an hour-by-bus away. I said, "We'll take it. The movers will be here tomorrow!" A few phone calls later, and now we have a working press in our garage. Can I also say that Alicia Carrier takes the best photographs I have ever seen? woot.

Photo by Alice Carrier

A good cause

A friend of mine, from Pigeon Toe Ceramics, posted on Facebook about her friend, who is also a printer and mother. She has a little boy named Liam (who is especially cute) who was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type II. She's remodeling her bathroom to better fit his needs and has started a fundraiser to support her remodel.

Since becoming a mother, I have become extra sensitive to heart warming or heart breaking stories of children and families. Touched by this mother's dedication, I'm going to donate as soon as my bank account comes out of it's overdrafted status (grumble grumble). And you should, too!

Her website, by the way, is lovely and inspiring. And, dang that lady can letterpress! Beautiful work! I will most likely find myself coming back her way in need of some refreshing inspiration.

Image by Satsuma Press

Satsuma Press everyone, go pay her a visit.

New exciting things

It's hard to reach your blog when there's so much going on in your life sometimes! In between our household gettting sick, a birthday, a birthday party, a birthday party cancelation (because of getting sick), gardening, and a few exciting projects around the house, it's hard to remember you have a blog!

Last September we got married, and a very handy friend offered to help out with any home remodeling project we might have as a wedding gift. As any home owner knows, there's always projects to get done! We live in a teeny tiny house (with a big yard) and we knew our garage needed to be converted into a room when we bought the place. Someday it will be a bedroom, leaving the two other bedrooms for the kids. Until then, the converted garage will be our studio. Our Mr. Fixit friend agreed to help us convert the garage into a studio, and the process is going to start this weekend! Walls will be replaced, insulation will be installed, and the garage door is going to get the boot in favor of a nice double paned window! Darling Press will soon operate in a studio rather than in our living room!

We also had a 330 gal. rain barrel (though, it's not a barrel, it's a giant plastic box in a metal cage) installed in our back yard! With some heavy mulching, we plan on watering the whole garden this summer with collected rain water. Last year we made this a priority when our water bill tripled! It's definitely an eyesore, but I plan on growing a pretty vining plant next to it, with hopes it will be covered in foliage and flowers.

A new card was added to our shop as well! Mother's Day cards! Actually, they also work really well as Earth Day cards. We're really proud of them, because we're getting used to registering many shapes and colors, and this was a challenge. I can't take much credit for them, however. Jason did all the designing and printing on his own! Good job Jason, they're beautiful!

Entitled "Love your Mother"

More exciting news! So exciting, I left it for the end. Our new studio is going to have a charming, hefty, over 100 year old letterpress delivered tomorrow!!!

This is big news for us! It means we don't have to print at the art school anymore! Since we don't drive, it takes us at least an hour on the bus to get to PNCA's studio, which means at least an hour long journey back. Usually we have to bring our daughter, who inevitably gets bored of the print studio and throws some kind of fit. This is the result, Jason printing while holding a toddler:

With a press in our studio, our bored little toddler can go into her own room and play, or at least we can just give her a snack.

It also means we can print whenever we want, at whatever time we have open! We don't have to sign in for a time period. Most of all, if we want to leave a big mess, we can. I'm predicting our business really picks up speed after this.

I just can't tell you how exciting this is! I promise to post photos of the press, she's a beauty!