commission letterpress printing and private instruction
My study of the craft of letterpress printing began at the Pacific Northwest College of Art (on a proof press in a closet) and Oregon College of Art and Craft (in a bonafide classroom), supplemented by an internship at cCrak Press in 1996. The Independent Publishing Resource Center was founded in 1998 to support small press publishers, and included a small print shop where I designed workshop curriculum and offered letterpress open hours for nearly 10 years. Then in 1999 I co-established Firefly Press in Portland, Oregon, which eventually grew into Stumptown Printers Worker Cooperative and offered commercial printing services to musicians, writers and small businesses. In 2019, we shut the doors of our job shop and now print commissioned work under the moniker of Craft Printing House. My continued study of the craft has included Monotype University and active participation in the American Typecasting Fellowship. I am also a founding member and volunteer at the C.C. Stern Type Foundry, a non-profit organization dedicated to the art and industry of metal type.
“Keen on letterpress printing, I am grateful that I was introduced to Rebecca Gilbert. Seeing her impressive printing skills was all it took for me to enroll in a term on flatbed press fundamentals. She taught a comprehensive course from history to hands-on printing and met each of us at our ability. Her guidance throughout provided the confidence and desire to learn. Left with wanting more, I followed up with private sessions offering additional techniques for printing on my own platen press. The discovery continues and I count myself fortunate to have absorbed a portion of her knowledge and a heap of passion for ink on paper.” —Joyce Lovro Gabriel
private Letterpress Instruction:
Private tutoring in your shop or mine, hands-on letterpress print instruction, or technical assistance for specific projects. I have over 25 years experience with various models of proof presses, platen presses, and tabletop presses. I can also offer assistance with curriculum building for beginning letterpress instruction, maker spaces or community print shops.
Commission letterpress Printing:
Letterpress printing and design for special projects such as literary broadsides, chapbooks, ephemera, posters, memorial and commemorative event materials. I am happy to collaborate with individual artists, non-profit organizations, community groups and small businesses on bespoke printing projects.