My name is Minna So, and Minna May Letterpress Studio is a project of mine that i've been dreaming of for quite some time! I am currently a graphic design student living in Washington, DC, and I am also a freelance designer and illustrator. My hope is to have a letterpress studio of my own where I can create beautiful handmade paper goods for the public, and design unique invitations for weddings and events. I often create illustrations that I post on my blog, or portfolio, and I always receive requests to create prints of them!

Here are a few examples of my most requested hand-drawn prints that I wish to make into letterpress prints: ( you can see more here )

What is Letterpress Printing?

When I purchased my beautiful refurbished tabletop press, I fell in love, and was so excited to get started on the printing process. It is over 100 years old, and still works perfectly! Presses are scarce in the world, which is why I want to share the works of this great machine! What is letterpress you ask? Well, it is a relief printing method where a raised surface, like a polymer plate, or wooden type, is inked and pressed onto paper, creating an impression that only presses can create. Each piece of paper is hand-fed, one by one, and takes a lot of time and patience! You can see and actually feel the quality and craftsmanship in each printed piece!

The Funds

The money raised, will be used to help start up my business and will go towards the process of printing all of my products. Having a printshop can be pretty costly, so the funds will definitely help with supplies such as: ink, paper, wood type, shipping supplies, photopolymer plates, a large paper cutter, and of course your rewards! Hooray!

Don't forget to check out all of the rewards that are available! I wanted to make sure that there was a variety of options for you to choose from!

All letterpress cards and prints are made of 100% cotton, heavy card stock from Savoy Reich Paper. Screen print posters are printed on heavy stock paper from the French Paper Co.

Additional Funds

I am also a huge fan of screen-printing, and I eventually wish to expand my letterpress shop into a place that offers a wide variety of printing methods. If I raise more than my initial goal, I would love to create some limited edition screen print posters, such as this illustration of mine:

I will also use the additional funds to develop a website for my shop, purchase unique letterpress wood type, and maybe even purchase a bigger & better press that I can use to create huge posters and prints! Since I have a tabletop press, I am limited to the size of my prints, so having a larger press would be so helpful! In addition, I will use some of the funds to help set up my (currently empty) studio space!

Updates

Throughout the process, I will continue to update you all on how things are going, and I will post images of the printing process of the prints! Even when the project is completed, I will give updates on the printing and packing of the rewards, and a whole lot of other good stuff Along the way, I may even add some fun new rewards, so be sure to keep a look out! (:

A Final Note

I want to thank you in advance for your support! I am super excited just thinking about what the future will hold!