In an age in which anyone with a computer can create digital graphics for posters, invitations, and anything else, letterpress might seem anachronistic.
But Shannon Vindiola has more work than she can handle.
From her Yozo Studio on Kings Highway South– surrounded by vintage machines — she painstakingly sets type by hand. Then, using a hard raised image under pressure, she prints a wide variety of handsome items.
Stationery, envelopes, Christmas cards, and everything wedding-related — from save-the-date cards and printed vows to seating placards and menus — are her stock in trade.
The rise of do-it-yourself design lets us all pretend we’re graphic artists. We think we know fonts.
But we are to Shannon what comic sans is to calligraphy.
Shannon Vindiola, surrounded by samples of her work. (Photo/Tadd Myers)
The Dallas native pivoted to fine arts when she tired of her work in advertising. A grad school professor at the University of North Texas suggested she take a bookmaking class.
Shannon fell in love with letterpress printing. The process is both historic (dating back to the Gutenberg Bible and colonial newspapers) and tactile (a chest holds dozens of font trays, in a variety of sizes).
A small portion of Shannon Vindiola’s font tray. At the top, she holds the type for “Dan Woog.” (Photo/Dan Woog)
She had always enjoyed making invitations and cards, as a hobby. Now she could print them.
Every day is different. Her work ranges from weddings and stationery to business cards (yes, people still use them — primarily creative types, like architects).
Shannon enjoys the process of working with clients. Many have a vague idea of what they want. She shows them shapes, colors, fonts, different types of paper, then provides at least 3 options to choose from.
A few of Shannon Vindiola’s creations. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Letterpress involves more than printing. She is a stickler for kerning — the spacing between letters — and pays attention to details like envelope liners.
She’ll seal envelopes herself, and if necessary take them to the Port Chester post office. (Sometimes local post offices follow her request to hand-cancel wedding invitations; she doesn’t always trust them though, and tries to avoid canceling machines. The PO just over the border always hand cancels.)
In her 7 years in Westport — they moved here for her husband’s job — Shannon has made a great word-of-mouth name for herself. She’s often asked to donate (and always says yes) to fundraisers and local store events.
Letterpress is not cheap. It’s time-consuming, labor-intensive, and maintaining her 1950s and ’60s-era machines is expensive.
Shannon Vindiola, with one of her vintage machines. (Photo/Tadd Myers)
But she loves seeing the physical result of her work. And her clients love feeling the heft of the paper, and the inked indentations in her creations.
It’s a world away from your home printer.
And comic sans.
(Click here for the Yozo Studio website.)
(“06880” covers the local business scene, at all levels. To support this hyper-local blog, please click here. Thank you!)
It’s wonderful to see someone still using hand set type. There’s something special about it and the fact that it takes more time send a message that there are people who truly care.
It’s also fun to see where terms we use everyday on our computers come from. From fonts themselves, to the measurements of them such as points and picas. Even things like rules, leading, descenders, ligatures and other typography terminology. Even the terms upper case and lower case come from the physical location of the loose type where it’s stored.
Good to see this part of history being kept alive. Maybe a show of typography at the Westport Museum of History and Culture to let more people know about and appreciate it?
How about not at the Westport Museum of History and Culture, but another venue.
Dan,
I’m an always-tyro book repairer (the real simple things), so a letter-press story is up-lifting for me. However, can you amend story with a LINK to her biz, as you do so many other UPBEAT items? I now save some of those items under SHOPPING, not WESTPORT (too much stuff). I’m not sure there is an LP outfit in the greater Portlandia so it would be nice to have a resource that I did not have to Google. Thanks, as always.
P.S. AI will never be able to do artisanal.
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Thanks. I thought I included the link — not sure what happened. I’ve added it to the story. Here it is: https://www.yozostudio.com/
I love reading these posts highlighting our local businesses, Dan. We have a lot of artisans here! Shannon makes such beautiful cards and stationary… hoping to stock some in my chocolate shop.
What talented person. Very interesting article.