Letterpress dream come true

I've just returned from an awesome weekend in Portland, Oregon where I attended the northwest premier of Handmade Nation and cavorted with some of the most awesome crafters for three days. It was heaven. I'll have a full report on the Craftgasm (as it was called) weekend, but for now I have to share one of the most special things that happened while I was in Portland.

On Saturday, my friend, Sarah, took me up to the Pacific Northwest College of Art where she's taking a continuing education class on letterpress. You see, I've had an obsession with letterpress for almost 20 years, yet I've never been able to actually get my hands on type and a press to try it myself. Sarah was kind enough to take me up to the print studio and I was able to watch her work on her awesome project, and then got to create my own very first letterpress project.

Wowza. I have to say that digging through drawers of wood and lead type, going through ideas of what to print and managing the logistics of actually getting the typeset was .... amazing. It felt like something I've been meant to do my whole life. Not to sound to profound about it, but it was just an incredibly zen experience.

I have to give huge thanks to Sarah for helping me fulfill this big dream of mine. I can't wait to get my hands on more type and a press very.very.soon.