Of Paper and Ink

History of Typography Class

Posted on October 29, 2018November 1, 2018 by BookLifeStudio

This year's California Rare Book School course was on the history of typography, taught by Paul Shaw, designer and design historian, with Grendl Löfkvist, printer and Education Director at the Letterform Archive.

Platemaking for Letterpress

Posted on November 20, 2020 by BookLifeStudio

I added a photopolymer platemaker for letterpress printing to the studio.

Progress During the Pandemic

Posted on July 2, 2020July 1, 2020 by BookLifeStudio

The pandemic has come with some unusual changes in routine that have had many benefits in terms of making progress on my first book project.

Vandercook Universal III Repairs

Posted on July 1, 2020June 30, 2020 by BookLifeStudio

Learning more about mechanics has been one of the surprising and wonderful aspects of working to get my printing press operation up and running. If I'm not actually able to practice printing, I'm at least learning how to repair and maintain the presses.

New Leather Belt for the C&P

Posted on June 30, 2020 by BookLifeStudio

My C&P press had an old car belt hooked up to the old motor, and the previous owner had put a ton of black electrical tape on one end of the motor to keep the belt from migrating off as it ran. In addition to replacing the motor and getting rid of that tape, we added a leather drive belt this week.

Quarter Leather Binding Class

Posted on January 11, 2020January 10, 2020 by BookLifeStudio

Over the holidays I took a course at the San Francisco Center for the Book with teacher Juliayn Coleman to create a quarter leather binding.

Update on the Print Studio & Bindery

Posted on January 10, 2020 by BookLifeStudio

The rainy season in the Bay Area has slowed down construction of the house and the studios temporarily. However, the first phase of the cabinetry was installed in the upstairs print studio last week.

Polymer Plate Making for Letterpress

Posted on December 3, 2019November 30, 2019 by BookLifeStudio

This month I completed the Polymer Plate classes taught by book artist, Lars Kim, at the San Francisco Center for the Book.

Bodleian Library at Oxford

Posted on December 2, 2019November 30, 2019 by BookLifeStudio

One of the highlights from the trip to the UK was visiting the Bodleian Library and receiving a behind-the-scenes tour from rare books curator, Dr. Francesca Galligan.