Hi, I'm Bev, the face behind Hillcrest Cottage Press. Welcome to my journey into the wonderful world of letterpress.
Once upon a time I decided to become a letterpress printer.
What was the first step in becoming a printer... reading a lot of books? Maybe. Doing tons of research? No. The first step for me was to actually buy a printing press.
That is what I did.
I knew nothing about the press or how it would print. Some people may call me "impulsive". I call myself "adventurous".
I hoped one day soon to look back on this blog post and laugh... at my ignorance... at my newbie-ness. But... no matter what happened... I knew I would always pat myself on the back for moving forward... toward my dream.
Say "hello" to my 1893 Kelsey Excelsior 5X8 Letterpress.
I was looking forward to many happy days ahead with my Kelsey.
This is my print shop. If it looks a bit bare, it is because it was. Hillcrest Cottage Press had to begin somewhere; my garage is where I began.
Many great ideas have begun in garages...Mickey Mouse...Apple Computers...Hillcrest Cottage Press.
All the type I owned in the world could fit into this wooden cigar box. In high school and college I had collected old type; this was all I had left of my collection.
And this was all I could say with my type... not a bad message, I think.
Fortunately for me, one of the world's expert letterpress printers lived in my home town. He already had 10 apprentices, so he couldn't take me in, but he was gracious to allow me to ask a ton of questions.
This is as far as my story goes.
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