The Beast, and other News

Whew! Our blog is in serious need of some updating for 2010 and what better way to begin than with the latest news: in the last few months we've acquired 2 Chandler & Price presses and have found our first official workspace.

The first of was an old series - pat. 1885 - of which we've spent (eh hem, mostly John) the last few months or so taking apart, cleaning, painting, reassembling, and oiling. And then another few weeks to retrofit it with a new motor.

The second is a newer series - early 1900's - which we've aptly nicknamed The Beast for its freight train sound when running, and sheer mechanical size. We're in the process of replacing a few old parts and then we'll give it a good dust off and be raring to go.

Some may be interested to know that we will be 100% Wind powered, and we'll take a shot at using soy based inks with a biodegradable solvent on our presses.

We're very excited at getting our hands dirty with print and working with these amazing old machines and hope that you will be too. We are still in the process of getting ourselves organized in the space, but will be sure to add an update when we are more officially settled in.

Enjoy a few sneak peak photos!

What's On My Desk: May the nerd be with you.

What's On My Desk today takes a turn into the wild, the wooly, the nerdy.

While recently going through some old boxes at my parent's house I made a startling and welcome discovery, the likes of which I would place on par to finding Jimmy Hoffa's body in the pantry next to the Oreos. In an innocent, and on first inspection quite mundane, cardboard tube I found the gathered paper ephemera which comprised my ....wait for it.....STAR WARS FANCLUB membership!



That's correct. Let me say it again: Star Wars Fanclub. The most holy brand of nerdom which states "I am not just a Star Wars fan. I feel so strongly about the trilogy that I must, dare I say need, to mail away a self addressed stamped envelope to profess my love."



So what benefits dare you ask does membership entail? An awesome ID card, exclusive offers to fanclub goddies like jackets, tees, etc, and most importantly the bimonthly "Bantha Tracks" newsletter. Additionally it would appear upon initial sign up you recieve a sweeet Empire Strikes Back pencil (which I still have somewhere), an amazing art decoish ESB Darth Vader decal, and a spectacular selection of posters and glossy mini posters.





The mini posters included the usual oft seen variety of "Millenium Falcon fleeing Star Destroyer" and "Yoda staring pensively into the sunset" ilk but additionally had some different, almost thrown together varieties seemingly culled from stills and unused promo shots which were, inevitably, my favorites.





This only scratches the surface of the find. There were numerous other pamphlets, mini posters, and forms all of which I will hopefully photograph and share with our loyal fans post haste. In the meantime enjoy the pics, use the force, and DON'T try to pass my membership ID number off as your own.

The Diver in the Dark Cave

We've got more exciting new products in the works than you can shake a stick at. Case in point: a new aquatic print currently being illustrated featuring a diver exploring the depths of a dark, submerged cavern. Enjoy the photos and don't forget to hold your breath. It's a long way down.