handcraft studio school

We first met our good friend Marie a little over ten years ago when we all worked together at Paper Source on Fillmore Street in San Francisco. As we got to know her over the years, we witnessed her incredible artistic talent grow and evolve.

from dot a tote and towel craft night

About a year and a half ago, Marie and her friend Aleishall started hosting ladies craft nights every few months. These nights brought women together to socialize, learn a new skill, and walk away with something beautiful that they had made. It came as no surprise to us that Marie decided to open Handcraft Studio School this September in Emeryville, CA to continue on and expand upon this wonderful tradition of teaching, promoting and preserving handcrafts.

Marie (on the left) and Aleishall

from the kachina dolls craft night

September classes at Handcraft Studio School include flower arranging, pom pom making, into to letterpress, tiny piñata making, calligraphy, and much more!! To learn more & register for a class click here. 

To outfit her space and fund the first month of classes, Marie has started a Kickstarter campaign. She's currently halfway to her goal of $8500, and with five days to go we think she's going to make it! Please consider supporting this exciting project which will benefit so many people in so many ways all around the Bay Area. 

Click here to become a backer of Handcraft Studio School!

the making of a giant linoleum block print

Last autumn we were asked to be a featured artist in an event called Roadworks, a fund-raiser for the San Francisco Center for the Book-- the place where we learned to letterpress print!

This entailed creating an original design and carving it by hand into a 36" square linoleum block. At the event the block was inked up, placed on the street with a sheet of paper on top and run over by a steam roller. Yes- a steam roller!!

It's an exciting event that draws a great crowd and we were so honored to be asked to participate. 

Here's a little "behind the scenes" on how the print came to be. 

What started as a sketch became a digital illustration that was scaled from a 6" square to a 36" design printed in 6 inch blocks and assembled in a grid. 

The fully assembled grid was then transferred on to the linoleum using a very stinky liquid solvent. 

We carved the block one quadrant at a time using these Speedball carving tools. 

I inked it up and took a proof:

Five of the prints sold at Roadworks to benefit SFCB and we have just produced a pair of editions that are for sale NOW in our Etsy shop. We have a very small number of prints available- 17 in black ink and 21 in red. 

The image area is 36" x 36" and the paper size is 40" x 40. It was printed on a flatbed french etching press on archival 100% cotton Arches Rives BFK.