Rustnstuff: Letterpress bookmarks

Showing posts with label Letterpress bookmarks. Show all posts

Sunday, December 13, 2020

Bookmarks and patinated leaf-forms

It was one of my days in the studio yesterday. I used it to emboss a few sets of bookmarks I had printed last week; and I printed a couple more. The couple I printed yesterday were more for younger folk - so Micky Mouse and a butterfly. A close up of the detail of the butterfly ornament is above.

Today I got back onto progressing the leaf forms I started on Friday. I did a test on riveting one of the leaves to aluminium rod - a change away from rusted iron rod I have used in the past. The prototype is below - wedged in the drain outlet in the workshop floor. Overall it measures 70cm from tip to tail.

A few more photos of the process: opening folded and hammered forms with an oyster knife; then fully opening them using a brass cube and soft hammer; and then the 18 were ground and patinated today.

Weather permitting I will use a fixative on the patina and then rivet the leaf forms to the rod.

Sunday, December 6, 2020

Printing with ornaments

In our collection of ornaments we have one of a rat with a topcoat and top hat. I have been asked a few times whether we would sell it. I had not printed with it and so did not know the quality. On Saturday I decided to use paper I had cut to make a series of smaller book marks using three ornaments that had not been printed with - rat, bird and two women. The end result is in the photo above. All three ornaments are fine quality and give fine detailed prints. I don't think we will be selling any of those ornaments.

As you can see from the photo below I made 20 bookmarks of each of the ornaments. I used a number of different paper offcuts hence the different coloured bookmarks.

We also had some business card size cards cut from offcuts. We have set these aside so that people can have a play with a press if they want. To this end I have locked up three 3x5 chases with: hope, love peace and a Mickey Mouse ornament.

So I printed some of the rat in a top hat on to business cards and love-heart-peace also on cards. Quite a bit of fun.

Today (Sunday) I have been working on a couple of small sculpture commissions in the workshop - secret so can't blog on them. I must say it was very hot in the workshop with the current heatwave.

Sunday, May 24, 2020

Some production can be playful

Fiona and I spent Saturday and Sunday morning working in Deckled Edge Press studio-workshop-gallery. We are continuing to make product for sale; and test the set up of the space, systems and equipment before we open in a few weeks. Of course the opening will have to be done in accord with the Covid-19 requirements including numbers.

One of the fun pieces was the card below - it could be a birthday card; but could also just be an everyday card for folk who love riding bikes. We loved the joyful play on words.

I finished a few more book marks.

I packaged up the gift cards - a stash as you can see from the photo below.

The isolation time is not being wasted.

Sunday, April 19, 2020

Multiples can take some time

Over the last few days Fiona and I have spent a few hours each day in the letterpress studio. I had committed to doing an alphabet of bookmarks using 24pt Excelsior font - a cursive font surrounded by very old and slightly worn border ornaments you see in the photo above.

To produce 180 bookmarks it probably too me roughly 9-10 hours. What took much of the time was changing over the 26 capitals of the alphabet; and making sure they were centred properly and held firmly with different sized spacers. Each time I would do a test run and adjust the location of the letter if necessary - you can see in the photo below my tests - both sides of the paper was used to minimise waste.

I used a formula for each letter of the alphabet that I found on the internet - advice given by a jewellery maker regarding the letters that sell in a hierarchy from Hot down to Quite Rare. See the pages of my work book below - I needed to print about 130 bookmarks but building in extras for possible blemishes I printed 180.

Anyway the photo below shows the 180 completed.

And because I had the ornaments set up, ink on the press and 12 blanks I decided to put a 24pt ornament in centre and print a few decorative bookmarks - Fiona suggested I print both ends that way folk could put them into a book either way and still have a decorative end showing.