Hi everyone! apologies for my absence at the end of the week- but i’m back and ready to introduce to you Bowerbox Press!

name: val lucas

company name: bowerbox press

hometown: ellicott city,md

how long have you been a resident of baltimore?: almost 6 years

where in baltimore do you live?: charles village

clubs/activities/affiliations: (soon-to-be) APHA (american printing history association), BEST (bookbinding etsy street team)

how long have you been crafting?: forever! i can remember making little projects of various crafty natures since i was a kid. i’ve been doing letterpress printing for almost 3 years.

can you describe your creative process? i usually start with inspiration from nature- birds, leaves, colors and patterns, and work with woodcuts and available lead type to create my cards and books. my recycled map books are all found in used atlases, and i look for the patterns and colors in those as well. most of my work (carving, setting type, sewing books) is very meditative.

when you are not in the studio, what can we find you doing?: searching through old junk for gems like old presses, type, and printing equipment, cleaning up those old presses, painting on the beach, or curled up with my cat pica and a good book.

favorite baltimore craft resources and inspirations?: the book thing, for old maps and book design; the baltimore museum of industry

favorite local crafter/craft business?: jennifer of cotton monster- i keep missing her updates!

3 links we should check out:notcot.org,

io9.com, and

tastespotting.com (makes me hungry every time i look at it)

3 books we should read:

snow crash by neal stephenson,

dune by frank herbert, and

le morte d’artur by mallory

3 movies we should see:sunshine,

watership down (the old animated one),

and the science of sleep

3 baltimore places we should check out:

golden west cafe,

housewerks (architectural salvage co),

the visionary art musuem

anything you would like to add?: thanks for the feature! i’m happy to see such a great craft community in the craft mafia, and hope to be part of it, or at least its craft fairs, in the future!

 

pictured here: “i have a lot of heavy equipment- the press is a 1901 Colt’s Armory letterpress” pictured at the top of the post, “. . . and I also have a copy press for bookbinding, a guillotine papercutter, a small Kelsey letterpress, and a cabinet of lead type.” Thank you Val!!

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