Stab Binding Class

The Stab Bound book class is now open for registration! Come on over and learn how to make three different Japanese stab bindings.
Paper, thread and power tools = bookbinding fun.

Love Your Neighbor

A few months back I posted about Lift Up Nashville and the lovely work you could buy to support  flood relief in Nashville, Tennessee. I got the Ty Mattson print above which is currently auditioning for its place on my bedroom wall - the wall I share with a neighbor.

Now Pakistan can use any support you can muster. I diverted my usual Kiva donation to Oxfam this month, so if you've bought anything from my Etsy shop recently or signed up for the Case Binding class next weekend a percentage of your money went to Oxfam's Pakistan Flood Relief.

If you've ever wondered about the effectiveness of aid at home or abroad I suggest reading Zen of giving and receiving. Yes, there is a Buddhist flavor, but I hope that won't scare you away from a thought-provoking post with excellent links that take you deeper into the subject.

And now back to posts about buying carpet tiles for my new studio and how to protect the walls from ink splatter...

Friday: work in progress

reprint in progress, originally uploaded by Clementine Press.

'Hit Song' in production.
Phase One: typesetting.

Hit Song

Reinventing Letterpress by Charlotte Rivers

I'm thrilled to be included in Reinventing Letterpress by British design writer Charlotte Rivers. It's a wonderful book filled with work from printers around the world. Letterpress printers are doing inspiring work with this "dying" technology.

The book will be released in the US later this month by Chronicle Books under the title Little Book of Letterpress. To celebrate the US publication I am printing a special edition of Hit Song, one of the works featured in the book.

Hit Song by Clementine Press

This is without a doubt the most popular print I've ever done. I print it on my Showcard Signcard proof press on opalescent cover stock. The text is hand-set wood type in black and red. The type is hand-inked with a brayer with both colors printed in one run, sometimes resulting in interesting ink bleeds between the black and red. No two prints are exactly alike with these slight variations in inking throughout the run.

I'll be printing this special edition throughout August and shipping out orders on Saturdays.

the studio project

the new studio

I recently moved. It wasn't a big move - just across the garden into an apartment with some of the same charming features as my cozy little studio. But it was a big move because I gained a lot more space. Now I have room to teach and a dedicated press space!

I thought I'd share pictures and ideas here as I settle into my new printing studio. As you can probably tell from the photo, it's a little sterile and unorganized right now. The bicycle has been moved, but there is still a lot to do. I'm thinking about Flor carpet tiles and paper storage and inspiration wires and type cabinets and shelves and pegboards.

If you have any tips or suggestions I'd love to hear them. And I hope you'll follow along as the space transforms.

Case Binding

The August 21 Case Binding class is open for registration. Join me for a fun day of paper and glue in Koreatown.

I heart Home Ec.

coptic binding models

On Saturday I'm teaching my final class at Home Ec. in Silverlake. I would like to thank Jenny Ryan for asking me if I wanted to teach in her inspiring space. She created a wonderful environment to teach and to learn. I will miss the brick-and-mortar shop on Sunset Blvd, but I am really looking forward to Jenny's future projects!

So, this weekend I will end my tenure at Home Ec. where I began with a coptic class. But over the course of the past year I learned that I really like teaching bookbinding, so I will continue teaching to small groups in my own space. I will offer the three classes I taught at Home Ec: coptic, stab binding and case binding. Stay tuned for all the details on dates and registration.