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The Letterpress Collective studio visit

Spike Print Studio recently visited The Letterpress Collective at Centrespace in Bristol.

Nick Hand, founder of the collective, showed us around and explained how the studio started.

The Letterpress Collective spent 2013 gathering beautiful wood and lead type as well as collecting amazing printing presses including a lovely Heidelberg Windmill Platen (winched out of the store MShed by dockside crane), a Stephenson Blake proofing press and a set of nice little Adana hand presses.

Silently, and without anyone really noticing, the last commercial letterpress printer shut its doors in Bristol in 2012 after maybe 600 years of continuous work in the city. This is our chance to learn from the last of the printers and compositors in the city so that a new generation can understand and learn the thrill of working a small press and seeing your creation in ink on paper.

 

Nick will be teaching a letterpress course at SPS starting on 22 September.

Watch this space to learn about new projects and courses by Nick Hand at SPS.

This course will teach students how to work and compose lead and wood type and how to print with lino or wood engravings.

For designers, it is time away from the computer, a chance to learn hands-on skills and revive the freedom of creativity that many of us leave behind at art college. For others, it is an opportunity to learn new, versatile skills and make beautiful printed objects, such as posters, folded cards, bookmarks, or recipe cards.

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