We love getting updates on the success of Indie Craft Parade participants, so we can't wait to tell you about Beth Schaible who owns Quill and Arrow Press. She's an incredibly talented letterpress artist, and she's recently moved into a new studio. Beth was kind enough to share her move with us, so we asked her to tell us a little more about the move and about her work as a letterpress artist.
Indie Craft: How did you get interested in letterpress? When did you start doing it professionally? Beth: I got interested in letterpress when I was in college. As a graphic design major I felt like I needed to spend more time working with my hands. I completed a two year fellowship at the Penland School of Crafts where I learned the majority of what I know about letterpress and got a lot of time to tinker in their beautiful letterpress studio.
A shot of the front room and gallery.
Indie Craft: What kind of projects make up the bulk of your business? Do you have a favorite type of project (posters, business cards, etc?) Beth: As someone who does both letterpress and calligraphy, I find a lot my time being devoted to wedding invitation projects. While I enjoy that work, my favorite thing to print in the studio are postcards and paper goodies to send in the mail. I really love sending mail, so a lot of my letterpress work revolves around making stationary. In my "free time" I also love printing large monotypes on my press because the process is so much different and open ended.
View of the print shop.
Close up of Beth's press.
Indie Craft:
What prompted the move to the new studio?
Beth:
The studio is a dream come true. After three years of living at Penland and some time away in Virginia, I needed a place to call home. I am lucky enough to have a few lovely friends in Asheville who are also printers (Ele Annand :: Two Step Press, Bridget Elmer :: Flatbed Splendor, Kelly Kelbel :: Tiny Factory Story) and we decided to share a space. We moved into our West Asheville studio on January 1st and have been hard at work cleaning, painting, moving in all of our heavy equipment, and getting the shop in working order. Together we are 7 Ton Letterpress Collective, and I can't wait to see where it takes us! A grand opening is in the works for sometime this spring!
Thanks, Beth! If you want to see more of Beth's work, check out her Etsy page.