question for Boston-area studios…

Hi all -

I am very interested in trying my hand at letterpress but I seem to have missed the fall round of workshops and am having trouble finding other ones happening before the spring. I’m wondering if there’s anyone with a studio in the Boston area (or within reasonable driving distance) who might be willing to negotiate a few hours of private instruction…I can pay you for your time, or enter into some sort of time-limited indentured servitude wherein I help with projects you’d be working on anyway (less tedium for you, more experience for me). Ideally, we could work something out where if I got the hang of things, I might be able to rent/borrow time on your press to make invitations for a dear friend of mine, but that’s down the road a bit.

I have zero letterpress experience but have done a fair amount of bookbinding (mostly Coptic) and I know my way around a piece of paper. I like to think I learn quickly, I rarely break things, and I tend to bring cookies when I go somewhere for the first time. If you’ve got time and a press you might be willing to share, please let me know.

Thanks!

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You should check out John Barrett’s Letterpress Things @ http://www.letterpressthings.com/. He’s got a whole warehouse floor full of equipment for sale, nicely labeled and displayed, and he has folks who run classes out of his facility. John is a very knowledgable and gregarious guy who would give you lots of tips and pointers while you visit. Springfield, MA may seem like a long way from Boston, but it’s worth a Saturday afternoon to drive out there. I’m in Indiana now and there are some days I would give anything to be just two hours away from John’s setup. Good Luck.

I’ll second that. Check out his site, there’s usually a schedule for the classes. John is a great guy to chat with. I could (and have) spend hours there just poking around at the what-nots he’s got there. About as close to letterpess heaven as it gets i guess… .

Oh, I would happily drive to Chicopee; I had checked out that site before but there are no workshops currently offered (hence this post). I will ask to be added to the mailing list in hopes that they start up again sometime soon, though. Thanks…

Nikita,

By all means, please go to Chicopee - Letterpress Things is a treasure trove of equipment and supplies.

You will also want to check the Museum of Printing (N. Andover MA) website - they are planning to start offering hands-on workshops, and will be announcing under the “Museum News” section, early in 2009.

The AS220 Print Shop in Providence has a beginners letterpress workshop coming up January 4th, 11th and 18th. The website to check that out is www.as220.org/printshop. I believe that you can also rent studio time there as well.

I totally agree with the praises of Letterpress Things and the Museum in Andover. We are fortunate here in New England to have those two treasures!

Dammit! Those AS220 workshops look fantastic but as luck would have it, I have a work commitment right in the middle of the first session. I will keep them on my radar screen, however. Thanks for cluing me in…

Nikita,
I teach classes and workshops at Mass Art where we have three (soon four) Vandercooks and over 350 cases of type. There will be a book arts/letterpress class running in the Spring and perhaps a full Letterpress class as well (evenings, TBD). Failing that, there is a summer intensive (7-week) course for book arts/letterpress and a weekend workshop in August. More details can be found at http://www.milkrow.com/letterpressclasses.html. You can also feel free to shoot me a message via this site. IF more workshops are added (I’ve been asking for a winter session class). I know your post was from last year, but perhaps you’re still thirsty for some letterpress?