This print is a collaborative effort between Jenna Vanden Brink Ceramics, Abbie Adams Studio, and Meshwork Press, with 15% of all sales going to benefit the excellent work of 412 Food Rescue. Thoughtfully designed and expertly handmade, the colors, paper, and pressing all come together to create a piece that has incredible texture and so much integrity in its creation.
8x10” size, fits a standard frame size. Frames pictured are Fineline Frames. Print does NOT come framed.
The people:
-Designed in collaboration with Abbie Adams Studio. Visit abbieadamsstudio.com to see more of her amazing work.
-Printed by Meshwork Press. Based out of a tiny storefront in Wilkinsburg, PA, Meshwork Press is Haylee Ebersole + Kyrie Bushaw, together making up the heart and head, brains and brawn of a very special small business. Meshwork Press is an artist-run print shop that uses letterpress and screen printing expertise to empower youth, connect with community, and create beautiful objects. Visit https://meshworkpress.com/ to support their work!
-15% of sales of these letterpress prints will be donated to 412 Food Rescue. Driven by the belief that good food belongs to people, not landfills, 412 Food Rescue launched in Pittsburgh, PA in March 2015 to redirect healthy food from the waste stream to households and nonprofits that serve people experiencing food insecurity. In the United States, 40% of food produced is wasted while 1 in 5 people go hungry. The only organization in the Greater Pittsburgh Region focused on food that would otherwise be discarded, 412 Food Rescue addresses both hunger and food waste by mobilizing volunteers to bring surplus food from retail locations to nonprofits serving people in need. The growing team of 10,000+ volunteer drivers, mobilized by the Food Rescue Hero technology platform, has redirected more than 15 million pounds of food in western Pennsylvania, equating to 13.2 million meals and mitigating 8.6 million pounds of CO2 emissions in the process. Locally, the organization works with 800 food retailers and 600 nonprofit partners.
The process:
-Letterpress printed with polymer plates made by a family-run business in New Hampshire. They last for a few years and then are sent back to the manufacturer to be recycled.
-Created with soft, double thick cotton paper that can be written on without the ink bleeding through. The luxurious, fluffy feeling material is called Lettra, a 100% cotton paper created for the letterpress industry. This paper is made with tree-free cotton paper and created from the byproduct of the textile industry that may otherwise be discarded and end up in a landfill.
-Individually hand fed through a Chandler & Price platen press that is over 100 years old. In the letterpress process, each color is mixed by hand. The inked plate is then pressed into the paper leaving a textural impression that pops off (or rather, into) the page. Each color is a separate plate, set up and press run, so each print was carefully fed through the press 2-3 times (depending on how many colors you see) with spot on registration each time. Letterpress printing is incredibly time consuming but the result is a printed piece that is equal parts artful, personal & soulful.