The Incredible Massive Letterpress Giveaway!

Howdy from Chicago. My name is Kelly and I have a little letterpress shop called Paper Stories. Back in December I decided to organize a letterpress swap, thinking I would be lucky if I found 10 printers to participate. After putting the word out and sending emails to some of my favorite printers, I ended up with a HUGE print exchange with a wonderfully diverse group totally 38 printers. With a little trial and error on my part trying to figure out the best way to exchange everything, the basic premise was this: Everyone creates an original letterpress art print, make enough copies for everyone in the swap, & send them all to me with a few bucks for shipping. The printers had until March to complete their prints and it wasn't until just a few weeks ago that the massive undertaking of sorting, arranging, packing and shipping the prints back to everyone was complete.

photo courtesy robin dubin

Involved in the swap are not only some well-known seasoned veterans but first-time printers alike. Yet regardless of their experience behind the press, everyone participating took the time to create a well thought out and unique piece and as the organizer of the swap, I couldn't be more proud. I think the best part for me was the opportunity to meet some amazing folks. Quite a few of us actually met up at the National Stationery Show in May and have become cyber pals since. I have already been getting requests from folks about next year's swap or even the possibility of a holiday letterpress ornament swap. Hmmm. We shall see.

prints by Green Chair Press, Paper Stories & Night Owl Paper Goods
photo courtesy Eva Jorgensen

Now to the part you really want to know about... The Incredible Massive Letterpress Giveaway part! All of the printers were kind enough to include a few extra prints for giveaways and Jan was kind enough to let me share our giveaway with the lovely Poppytalk readers. So here is the scoop; We have not one, not two, but THREE prizes to give away to some lucky readers. You will have until the end of the day on Thursday to enter. Winners will be chosen on Friday.

Prints by Hijirik & Bon Vivant Press
photo courtesy Eva Jorgensen

1st Prize
a COMPLETE set of all 38 prints from the swap
-with a value of over $800-

2nd & 3rd Prizes
each get 1/2 a complete set - 19 prints each
(the half-sets will be evenly divided for a good mix)
-with a value of about $400 each-

So here's what you need to do. Below is the list of participants. Visit the websites from at least two of the participants whose work you really like. In the comments below, let us know your what your two favorite works are.

Participantsa. favorite designAlbertine PressBespoke PressBirdDog PressBon Vivant PressDelphine Pressenjoy designFront Room PressGreen Chair PressHijirik StudioJulia JulietteKissing-Bug PressNight Owl PapergoodsOlive-routePaper StoriesParrott Design StudioReservoir PressRobin BethRoll & Tumble PressSeeSaw Designs (Angela)Zara GonzalezShimmer Studiostarsahped pressAmy StockleinSycamore Street PressThree Red HensCindy Tomczyk12 FifteenvisualchemistElizabeth WestonYee Haw Industries (Julie, Adam, & BJ)

For a full peek at all of the prints/printers involved in the swap, visit this Flickr page complete with photographs and names (documented by Bon Vivant Press) . Many of the prints were limited edition runs and several of the printers have a few copies left for sale on their various websites so if you aren't a lucky winner, you can still pick up some kick-ass art.

GOOD LUCK!

Editors Note: We are honoured that Kelly and the swap participants have chosen Poppytalk to share this wonderful giveaway. Safari browsers note: You many not be able to comment using Safari after the list gets to 80 comments or so. If this is the case, please use another browser such as Firefox to leave a comment. If you do not have Firefox please email us at poppytalkblog[at]yahoo[dot]ca and we will enter your name for you. One comment/entry per person. Comments/entries at this post only. We are so stoked about this! Good luck to everyone!