Letterpress, Design, and Steamrollers

The much anticipated Letterpress Wayzgoose and steamroller smackdown happened this past weekend and it was a very visual as well as interactive event. Hosted by the School of Visual Concepts, Seattle, where they offer various design and printmaking classes that teach the trade and preserve the art. Blushing Pearl had our first booth set up in the "marketplace" along side many talented letterpress printers. Bison Bookbinding & Letterpress, Tutta Lou, Visualchemist, and Keegan Meegan to name a few. All wonderful, inspiring artists!

One of the coolest activities I've seen is the steamroller smackdown, where large scale prints (designed by SVC design students and sold through a silent auction) are printed using a steamroller. The prints were later hung from the outside of the building, showing off a wide variety of talent! Throughout the day, there were food vendors, including an ice cream truck (yum!) and a life folk band. If you had equipment you wanted to sell, there were tables set up for that as well. I wish I had a chance to walk around and browse the sale... I could use another press or some shop equipment.

 The overall turnout was amazing! There were 3 classrooms filled with letterpress printers and paper stockists (such as Reich and Mohawk) with tons of sample swatch books. I was able to meet a few fellow bloggers, local printers, and designers...many with their own shops and tricks of the trade.

For more pictures from Wayzgoose, be sure to check out my Flickr as well as the Letterpress @ SVC group.

And for the record, this guy had one fabulous sushi costume!

*all photos by Blushing Pearl