Makin shit is cool.

So I would like to share something that I am pretty sure I invented.

If you are a printer and you have typecases, yer gunna wanna read all about this great thing that I brought to life, well, okay my brother Marty brought it to life but I was there.

So, I have aquired a new wonderful and beautiful case of type. I love getting new type, and I especially love new donated type, that is truely a great and wonderous thing. The Bruno Press shop no longer has room for much of anything. Luckily I have the otherside of the garage, however,  parking a car on this side is a valid request. That means that things can be added on that side but there must still be, at the end of the day, room for a parked car. The other hurdle is that, this is a garage, and cars with snow come into it and the floor sometimes gets wet. In addition to all that, sometimes things need to be moved around or someone needs to get into the attic.

With all of these things on the proverbial table, I had myself a situation to ponder.  When I have those, I often call upon my brother Marty. My (genius) brother designs machines in high tech cad drafting programs that cut granite. On his off time he builds, from scratch, things like 14' trailers that have hydraulic lifts and wood splitters that can be maneuvered by a skid loader.  So, I told him I wanted something that could get my type cases off the floor and make them easier to move round, anyone that has ever had to move a type case knows, this is a bitch of a task.

So it began. We took measurments and brother Marty was off to buy metal. I had to get wheels, paint and bolts.

I will say that learning to weld was very freakin badass, I could not get used to the fact that with that

welder hat on I could not see jack shit so I would always start midair but then I got it and it was awesome. 

  

Primer-ed and painted, now we were ready for the SWIVELLING wheels!!! I am so smart!

Finally, lets put that baby on the floor and hope like hell it fits. 

LIKE A FREAKIN GLOVE YO!

So here sits my wonderful invention. My brother is the master of the tool, and once we got all the drawers in  and we moved it around, I realized that I should share this, people are going to WANT THESE. We will make them.

Looogit this thing of beauty! 

Please contact me if you would like to place an order. We got this down and can kick them out!!!

Happy Printing!

Measuring shit.

Here we are, it's just another day, or is it? Well, for me, there is this thing that has been happening since my last birthday. This sort of pillow over my face with a decent amount of pressure kind of a self induced shortness of breath. This is a thing I do to myself that is sort of bullshit and sort of a reminder to stay the course, especially when I want to quit.

 I am coming close to a milestone-y type age. An age where most people, society, judge-y bastards, nuclear family, would say that a person must grow up. I am sort of panicked, because I think that there is some validity to that and I also think that there are plenty of adult style adults and not enough kid style adults.

That being said: I am not married. I do not have kids. I do not own a home. I do not have a retirement plan. I have no limits to how much I will drink, and I make poor decisions when it comes to men.

However: I am a hard ass worker. I am a crossfitter. I am healthy. I am fun to be around. I like kids. I am good to my friends. I have great friends. I have no limits to how much I will drink, and I make courageous decisions when it comes to my life.

Maybe I should cut myself a little bit of slack. Maybe I should "watch my own bobber" as an old friend used to tell me, and stop comparing myself to others. Maybe it ain't so bad being broke as fuck, so long as yer happy as shit.

Networking makes the freakin world go round. Period.

I got back into my Bruno Press routine today, not to mention, eating normal food. I don't know why but whenever I take a roadie I eat like a 21 year old frat boy. It is insane and takes me a week to undo the damage.

I just returned from Hamilton Wood Type in  Two rivers, Wisconsin. I badgered my printer posse gals to rally with me to keep the trip within a nice sized budget and to keep the 7 hour drive more entertaining. So Lisa Beth Robinson came from North Carolina, Kimberly Tschida Petters came from St. Paul, and Rachel Melis was a repeat offender that joined me from St. Cloud. It was the perfect combo of women, and women can be tricky. This was the most low maintenance group of chics I have ever had the fortune to travel with, it was awesome.

The trip itself was incredibly insightful, we talked about what chics talk about, guys, lack of good guys, the good guys, and sex or lack thereof. Serious bonding to say the least.

 Pulling into T'Rivers is an exciting thing, it is a small dinky town that seems lackluster until you pull onto Jefferson Street and you behold the Hamilton building. It can take your breath away, that 250 ft tall smokestack (I learned that from Wood Type Trivia).

Walking in is a mix of anxiety and a total thrill. First you smell the ink, the type, the paper, and the anticipation. Then you start to scan the faces for someone you recognize. I am lucky, I know a lot of the heavy hitters. I get hugs, kisses, high fives, and chucks on the shoulders from the likes of Bill Moran, Jim Moran, Amos Paul Kennedy Jr,  Jim Sherraden, Brad Vetter, Tracy Honn, and Rory Sparks. I am not normally a name dropper, but shit, that is impressive and I really truely love those people. I am one lucky sonovabitch and I know this.

The really cool thing is what happens next, people start to come up to me and introduce themselves and I have heard of them and I am interested in what they have to say and vice freakin versa. This is not your typical conference. This is amped up and laid back all at the same time. It is old school and supportive and curious and friendly.

I learned a lot this go around about everything from printing tips from the old geezers (which are worth millions I tell you!), that Hamilton Wood Type needs our help or it will not survive, and production is preservation (which feels good to be a part of). Turns out doing what you love attracts others that do what they love which puts a bunch of people together that love what they do and love to talk about it and love other people that are doing what they love,  and on and freakin on.

This, I believe is what they call the circle of life, and I am happy to be marching along the parameter.

My Time as a Letterpress Teacher at Elk River High School

Well, it always starts the same. I get asked to do something that I know I can do, it’s not like people are asking me to give lectures on Polynomial functions, they are asking me to teach letterpress and talk about me and my business. Simple right? How could I possibly mess that up? Well, I can’t but I still get wicked nervous and I strain and fret to get everything together for an awesome time. I think high schoolers are a tough crowd, or they get a rap for being such, even if they are not.

So I prepped and prepped with my old intern Nikki in the shop, packed everything up, ran through it and saddled up. I got there and I had no choice but to take charge and tell some kids that this is going to rock. They totally bought it, they did not know why but they were intrigued. Letterpress is a strange thing for young people, mostly what they know at this point in their artist careers is how to control things like drawing, painting, and clay. What they do not know is how to let go a little bit and lay ink on paper and make beautiful things that they have little control of. It is liberating and wonderful and I passed on this virus to 4 classrooms of kids. It was stupendous.

As I talked about my story, which is pretty damn interesting, I included many visual aids, and slowly but surely all eyes were on me. You cannot deny the stunning effect of a good letterpress printed poster, print, broadside, or card. You simply cannot. Well, unless you are a taste deficient moron.

The second day the ideas and thumbnails started to come to life and the ink was already flyin’, I of course had it across my forehead, on my earlobes, and from fingertip to forearm. I think they thought that was interesting, not many teachers actually get in there, up to their eyeballs in it. These kids want to stay clean, and I could give a shit.

On the second day they worked getting further and further sucked into the small poster press I borrowed from St. Bens Art Department. I also graced these oh-so-lucky kids with 2 full drawers of wood type. They also understood quickly that I love my wood type, love like the kid I never had, and they were to respect said type or all bets were off.

                                           


          

There was a week in between the second day and the third and in that time these kids really stepped up their game. Even though the “easy cut” was incredibly “super not easy to cut” cut, they did amazing blocks and were super stoked to print. 

 

                                                     

          

     

     

               

          

          

          

     

The level one class worked on something very different but with fantastic results! They did monoprints! These self portraits are haunting, hilarious, and like nothing I have seen before. At more than one point in the 53 minute class, the teacher and I noticed near silence and we all know what that means, getting 33 high school kids to concentrate on a project is a ginormous success.

Check out these pictures from some really talented kids…


          

          

          

          

          

     

     

          

          

     


Thank you students and teachers for a truly awesome experience, I would come back anytime and I hope you are proud of what you accomplished and please come visit me at Bruno Press anytime you find yourselves in St. Joseph!