We were thrilled to be featured on one of our favorite websites, in a countdown to Halloween. We love any excuse to print holiday products and this spooky selection are the perfect accessories for a party on October 31!

Thank you Angela at Shelterrific - check out the post here.

Sesame Letterpress have been featured in Charlotte Rivers' new book, "I Heart Stationery". We're thrilled to be included alongside lots of other artists and designers who we really adore.We rushed out to buy a copy of the book hot off the presses (so to speak) and we wanted to share a few photos:

We love the pattern printed on the front and end papers of the book...isn't it pretty?

And here are a few pictures of the pages about Sesame Letterpress:

Each year, we take part in the Dumbo Arts Festival and we sell off lots of our stock at great prices. Our "Bags of Mystery" are always really popular: sandwich bags filled with a whole range of stationery - you don't know what you've got until you buy it and open it up!

This year, we have had loads of comments about the bags themselves so we are printing up a very limited edition for purchase! Here are some photos of Naho printing them on our Vandercook printing press...

- Jana

 

We are gearing up for the Dumbo Arts Festival and our presses have been working really hard! Today we printed in twelve different colors and each time, I took a photo of the press, inked up! A whole rainbow on our Golding Jobber Printing Press...

- Kate

If you are in the Brooklyn/NYC area this coming weekend, September 29th and 30th, please stop by and visit us! We are participating in the annual DUMBO Arts Festival, which is an amazingly inspiring event.  The neighborhood will be filled with art and music and cool surprises.We are at 55 Washington Street, suite 608, Brooklyn, NY 11201. We will be open on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6pm and will be selling lots of letterpress goods, including our ever popular Bags of Mystery.

We love the gorgeous glass work of artist Dale Chihuly so we were thrilled to be given the opportunity to print coasters featuring Chihuly's drawings for the new Dale Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum at the Seattle Center.

We printed four designs and these are packed together and sold at the museum's shop as a set of 8 coasters.  It is such a treat to be able to collaborate with artists we admire to create letterpress pieces.  If I ever make it to Seattle, this will be my first stop!

-Breck

Over the last dozen years, we've been lucky to collaborate with really cool people involved in interesting projects. I love meeting other entrepreneurs and getting to learn about their creative ventures. We often work with people as they are launching their businesses and then get to collaborate over and over as their business grows and evolves. One of our favorite collaborations these days is with Jenny Capano and Tara Gilson of The Sporting Project, a new creative agency based in Paris. With roots in NYC and a love of Paris, they are bringing the two cities' lively cultures together through exclusive events, exhibitions and consultancy.  This month they are hosting a "Pop-Up Dinner" and bringing New York's, The Fat Radish, to the Marais. We wish we could attend! For more information, check out the nice press they have gotten through Go Go Paris and check out the sweet letterpress invitation.

One of our favorite photographers, Sarma Ozols of Sarma and Co. Photography sent us a link to this wonderful story by Maria Popova, titled Anaïs Nin on Self-Publishing, the Magic of Letterpress, and the Joy of Handcraft.

In 1942, Anaïs Nin moved a printing press into her studio at 144 Macdougal Street and taught herself how to set type and operate the machine. In Volume 3 of her diary, she describes her experience printing the limited edition of her book, Winter of Artifice, which was self published in 1942:

"The relationship to handcraft is a beautiful one. You are related bodily to a solid block of metal letters, to the weight of the trays, to the adroitness of spacing, to the tempo and temper of the machine. You acquire some of the weight and solidity of the metal, the strength and power of the machine. Each triumph is a conquest by the body, fingers, muscles. You live with your hands, in acts of physical deftness."

We love the perfect description of the satisfaction that comes from working with such an amazing machine.  I wonder where her press is now...the laptop just can't compare.