GRAND PALACE
Grand Palace is a screen print and design shop based in Nashville who print totally rad apparel and posters (check out their shop for their own range of awesome screen printed merch) They started out screen printing using the facilities at Fort Houston but are now based in The Hill Creative Community which houses other creative businesses such as Original Fuzz who make custom guitar and camera straps. There was a real sense of community and collaboration about the place with Grand Palace screen printing material for Original Fuzz straps as well as working with other local businesses and creative organisations like Hatch.
TURNIP GREEN
Turnip Green is all about "fostering creativity and sustainability through reuse". They have four main areas of operation: a donate what you can retail store, an eduction / outreach programme, a green gallery and an artist support programme. In the past 2 years they had educated 45,000 people through their recycling and zero waste workshops in schools and workplaces. It was a truly inspiring to visit this organisation and hear about all the brilliant work they are doing.
ISLE OF PRINTING
Isle of Printing is the brain child of Bryce McCloud and their philosophy of using the "positive power of creativity to make our world a more interesting place" is something that shines through on all of their projects. They work a lot with other local community business such as Noelle and Pinewood Social to make engaging public art and their HQ in the Pie Town district of Nashville is a veritable treat of creativeness for the eyes - a Willy Wonka's factory of print!
ELEPHANT GALLERY
Elephant Gallery was the last place I visited in Nashville and I am gutted I didn't find it earlier as it is such a brilliant and inspiring space. The gallery puts on group and solo shows in any medium or style throughout the year. I visited when their 'Clown Show' was on - an open submission show about you guessed it - Clowns! I just loved how the work on show almost took over the whole building allowing you to get totally submersed in the subject matter and feel the passion of the artists and the people running the space. In the back of the building is Anteater, a shop run by the gallery also well worth the trip!
FORT HOUSTON
Fort Houston describe themselves as being "like a gym but for people who build stuff with their hands" They are a true makerspace and membership to their facilities gives you access to a full scale wood shop, metal shop, photo studio, screen print station, office space, co-working space as well as the onsite cafe, gallery and shop. Josh, one of the owners, showed me round and explained how the space has grown over the years and is used by different creatives, often to start up a business, very inspiring to find such a well equipped, accessible space!
PLATETONE
Platetone is a community print studio who believe in empowering artists through studio access, workshops and exhibitions. I visited them after they had just moved to a new location - they have facilities for etching, relief, plate lithography, screen printing, book work and paper making. Studio members have access to these facilities as well as a community of fellow artists and craftspeople. They are very in touch with the local community putting on events and open days as well as offering artist in residence and internship opportunities.
VANDERBILT
I was very lucky that when I was in Nashville, Carlos Hernandez and Bill Fick were passing through town as part of the Speedball Roadshow. Hosted at Vanderbilt University's Department of Art, I got to see Carlos and Bill talk about their work then take part in a brilliant printmaking workshop which is best described by Carlos as a 'Print Orgy' where we combined screen-printing, mono printing and lino printing. A truly inspirational couple of days - was so great to meet and chat with Carlos and Bill and thanks to Mark from Vanderbilt for being so welcoming! Hopefully see y'all in the UK soon!
FRIENDLY ARCTIC
Friendly Arctic is a print and design shop based in East Nashville. They are (as their name suggests!) super friendly, not only to visitors from the UK, like myself but in their eco-friendly business philosophy and community mindedness. Nowadays they print all kinds of things for clients across the US but they started out 10 years ago, in true DIY fashion screen printing t-shirts for local bands out of their garage. I had a great time looking round the space, shooting the breeze with Brendan and checking out their awesome gig posters - head over to their online store to grab yourself one or something from their merch range.
STUMPTOWN PRINTERS
One of my last stops in Portland was Stumptown Printers and it was definitely a case of saving the best till last! Stumptown Printers grew from Portland’s DIY music scene, specialising in the design, manufacture and printing of album covers, custom packaging, cards posters and other superbly-crafted paper goods! They have been doing their thing since 1999 and their aim is to “produce quality printing that will be cherished for generations” by honouring “the traditions of the golden age of print.” Speaking to Brian, Rebecca & Eric who founded and run the shop, their passion about everything they do and all things print is evident – thanks for showing me around and hope to see you in the UK some day!
FRUIT SALAD CLUB
I went to the dreamy Fruit Salad Club and met with the lovely Jillian Barthold one of the founders. They describe themselves as being “an unapologetically fun and silly studio, gallery, community and education space, shop and friendly little art clubhouse.” This definitely comes across in the vibe of the space and they are very open to collaboration and using their space in different ways. When I visited they had a brilliant exhibition by Letra Chueca Press on and I managed to nab myself this beauty of a letterpress print.
PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART
I was lucky enough to squeeze in a visit to PNCA (Pacific Northwest College of Art) and boy was I glad I did – their printmaking facilities are out of this world – made we totally want to go back to school! Heather, the studio manager, showed me round the Printmaking Centre and explained their ethos of immersing the students in both traditional and contemporary processes & ideas while emphasizing high standards of craftsmanship and professional practice. As a student at PNCA you can explore intaglio, lithography, relief, screenprint, monotype, letterpress, bookmaking, risograph as well as digital and 3D printing.
SCOUTBOOKS
Scoutbooks was founded in 2009 with the belief that little books cam make a big impact. Chloe gave me a tour of their factory where they print, bind and ship custom-designed Scout Books to clients around the globe. They believe in using their business as a force for good and have recently been certified as a B Corp (the business equivalent of what Fairtrade is to coffee) and walking round you can really see that in action in how efficient and happy everybody is and how little waste is created. I have been brainstorming what we could do as a custom PTTP notebook …. ideas on a postcard!!
OUTLET
Outlet is the studio of Kate Bingaman-Burt but the space also houses a shop & zine library as well as hosting workshops and pop up events. It is also home to 4 Riso printers (Barbara, Jolene, Marge & Lil’ Tina) which people can come and use to work on their projects once they have been on a workshop. As you can see from the photos the space is a visual delight with treats for your eyes covering almost every surface!
OBLATION PAPERS
Oblation Papers has some of the most beautiful paper products I have seen, in their store. Whether it’s their own range of designs or items sourced from other talented makers – I just wanted to pick up and examine absolutely everything! At the back of the store are big windows that you can look through to their paper mill where they employ traditional techniques to make sheets of cotton paper by hand using recycled remnants from the garment industry. On the other side of the shop you can look through to their Letterpress workshop where they print their own range of designs as well as custom invites, business cards and other correspondence.
MISPLACED SCREENPRINTING
Misplaced Screenprinting are “dedicated to making the world a better place one screen at a time” and they totally do that – printing all kinds of extremely awesome things for bands and other creative types as well as printing their own range of kick ass goods they sell in the shop at the front of their studio (I nabbed myself a bandana – pic to follow!)
RADIUS ART STUDIOS
Radius describe themselves as "a community space offering workshops, facilities and services for anyone serious (or curious) about art" which I love as a mission statement and the space itself feels very welcoming and safe. Upstairs they have a multifunctional space which is mostly used for Painting, Drawing and Printmaking classes, then downstairs they have a large ceramics studio. I met with the talented Jolyn Fry (she has a show of her paintings opening at the Ford Gallery at the end of September - check out her Go Fund Me page).
MAGNETIC NORTH
Magnetic North houses 15 of Portland’s most talented creatives as well as a screenprinting and woodworkshop. Its an awesome space and I met with the equally awesome Walker Cahall one of the managers of the space (and a very talented illustrator to boot!) They all work on their own individual, creative practice, as well as coming together for various communal projects. Some serious positive vibes floating round this awesome community and space!
Grand Palace is a screen print and design shop based in Nashville who print totally rad apparel and posters (check out their shop for their own range of awesome screen printed merch) They started out screen printing using the facilities at Fort Houston but are now based in The Hill Creative Community which houses other creative businesses such as Original Fuzz who make custom guitar and camera straps. There was a real sense of community and collaboration about the place with Grand Palace screen printing material for Original Fuzz straps as well as working with other local businesses and creative organisations like Hatch.
TURNIP GREEN
Turnip Green is all about "fostering creativity and sustainability through reuse". They have four main areas of operation: a donate what you can retail store, an eduction / outreach programme, a green gallery and an artist support programme. In the past 2 years they had educated 45,000 people through their recycling and zero waste workshops in schools and workplaces. It was a truly inspiring to visit this organisation and hear about all the brilliant work they are doing.
ISLE OF PRINTING
Isle of Printing is the brain child of Bryce McCloud and their philosophy of using the "positive power of creativity to make our world a more interesting place" is something that shines through on all of their projects. They work a lot with other local community business such as Noelle and Pinewood Social to make engaging public art and their HQ in the Pie Town district of Nashville is a veritable treat of creativeness for the eyes - a Willy Wonka's factory of print!
ELEPHANT GALLERY
Elephant Gallery was the last place I visited in Nashville and I am gutted I didn't find it earlier as it is such a brilliant and inspiring space. The gallery puts on group and solo shows in any medium or style throughout the year. I visited when their 'Clown Show' was on - an open submission show about you guessed it - Clowns! I just loved how the work on show almost took over the whole building allowing you to get totally submersed in the subject matter and feel the passion of the artists and the people running the space. In the back of the building is Anteater, a shop run by the gallery also well worth the trip!
FORT HOUSTON
Fort Houston describe themselves as being "like a gym but for people who build stuff with their hands" They are a true makerspace and membership to their facilities gives you access to a full scale wood shop, metal shop, photo studio, screen print station, office space, co-working space as well as the onsite cafe, gallery and shop. Josh, one of the owners, showed me round and explained how the space has grown over the years and is used by different creatives, often to start up a business, very inspiring to find such a well equipped, accessible space!
Platetone is a community print studio who believe in empowering artists through studio access, workshops and exhibitions. I visited them after they had just moved to a new location - they have facilities for etching, relief, plate lithography, screen printing, book work and paper making. Studio members have access to these facilities as well as a community of fellow artists and craftspeople. They are very in touch with the local community putting on events and open days as well as offering artist in residence and internship opportunities.
I was very lucky that when I was in Nashville, Carlos Hernandez and Bill Fick were passing through town as part of the Speedball Roadshow. Hosted at Vanderbilt University's Department of Art, I got to see Carlos and Bill talk about their work then take part in a brilliant printmaking workshop which is best described by Carlos as a 'Print Orgy' where we combined screen-printing, mono printing and lino printing. A truly inspirational couple of days - was so great to meet and chat with Carlos and Bill and thanks to Mark from Vanderbilt for being so welcoming! Hopefully see y'all in the UK soon!
FRIENDLY ARCTIC
Friendly Arctic is a print and design shop based in East Nashville. They are (as their name suggests!) super friendly, not only to visitors from the UK, like myself but in their eco-friendly business philosophy and community mindedness. Nowadays they print all kinds of things for clients across the US but they started out 10 years ago, in true DIY fashion screen printing t-shirts for local bands out of their garage. I had a great time looking round the space, shooting the breeze with Brendan and checking out their awesome gig posters - head over to their online store to grab yourself one or something from their merch range.
STUMPTOWN PRINTERS
One of my last stops in Portland was Stumptown Printers and it was definitely a case of saving the best till last! Stumptown Printers grew from Portland’s DIY music scene, specialising in the design, manufacture and printing of album covers, custom packaging, cards posters and other superbly-crafted paper goods! They have been doing their thing since 1999 and their aim is to “produce quality printing that will be cherished for generations” by honouring “the traditions of the golden age of print.” Speaking to Brian, Rebecca & Eric who founded and run the shop, their passion about everything they do and all things print is evident – thanks for showing me around and hope to see you in the UK some day!
FRUIT SALAD CLUB
I went to the dreamy Fruit Salad Club and met with the lovely Jillian Barthold one of the founders. They describe themselves as being “an unapologetically fun and silly studio, gallery, community and education space, shop and friendly little art clubhouse.” This definitely comes across in the vibe of the space and they are very open to collaboration and using their space in different ways. When I visited they had a brilliant exhibition by Letra Chueca Press on and I managed to nab myself this beauty of a letterpress print.
PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART
I was lucky enough to squeeze in a visit to PNCA (Pacific Northwest College of Art) and boy was I glad I did – their printmaking facilities are out of this world – made we totally want to go back to school! Heather, the studio manager, showed me round the Printmaking Centre and explained their ethos of immersing the students in both traditional and contemporary processes & ideas while emphasizing high standards of craftsmanship and professional practice. As a student at PNCA you can explore intaglio, lithography, relief, screenprint, monotype, letterpress, bookmaking, risograph as well as digital and 3D printing.
SCOUTBOOKS
Scoutbooks was founded in 2009 with the belief that little books cam make a big impact. Chloe gave me a tour of their factory where they print, bind and ship custom-designed Scout Books to clients around the globe. They believe in using their business as a force for good and have recently been certified as a B Corp (the business equivalent of what Fairtrade is to coffee) and walking round you can really see that in action in how efficient and happy everybody is and how little waste is created. I have been brainstorming what we could do as a custom PTTP notebook …. ideas on a postcard!!
OUTLET
Outlet is the studio of Kate Bingaman-Burt but the space also houses a shop & zine library as well as hosting workshops and pop up events. It is also home to 4 Riso printers (Barbara, Jolene, Marge & Lil’ Tina) which people can come and use to work on their projects once they have been on a workshop. As you can see from the photos the space is a visual delight with treats for your eyes covering almost every surface!
OBLATION PAPERS
Oblation Papers has some of the most beautiful paper products I have seen, in their store. Whether it’s their own range of designs or items sourced from other talented makers – I just wanted to pick up and examine absolutely everything! At the back of the store are big windows that you can look through to their paper mill where they employ traditional techniques to make sheets of cotton paper by hand using recycled remnants from the garment industry. On the other side of the shop you can look through to their Letterpress workshop where they print their own range of designs as well as custom invites, business cards and other correspondence.
MISPLACED SCREENPRINTING
Misplaced Screenprinting are “dedicated to making the world a better place one screen at a time” and they totally do that – printing all kinds of extremely awesome things for bands and other creative types as well as printing their own range of kick ass goods they sell in the shop at the front of their studio (I nabbed myself a bandana – pic to follow!)
RADIUS ART STUDIOS
Radius describe themselves as "a community space offering workshops, facilities and services for anyone serious (or curious) about art" which I love as a mission statement and the space itself feels very welcoming and safe. Upstairs they have a multifunctional space which is mostly used for Painting, Drawing and Printmaking classes, then downstairs they have a large ceramics studio. I met with the talented Jolyn Fry (she has a show of her paintings opening at the Ford Gallery at the end of September - check out her Go Fund Me page).
MAGNETIC NORTH
Magnetic North houses 15 of Portland’s most talented creatives as well as a screenprinting and woodworkshop. Its an awesome space and I met with the equally awesome Walker Cahall one of the managers of the space (and a very talented illustrator to boot!) They all work on their own individual, creative practice, as well as coming together for various communal projects. Some serious positive vibes floating round this awesome community and space!
INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING RESOURCE CENTRE
The IPRC is very much at the
heart of Portland’s DIY scene and has been providing open access facilities for
print and publishing to the community for 20 years! A really inspirational
space with an amazing zine library, it was also great to stay on and see the Portland Correspondence Coop
in action!
C.C STERN TYPE FOUNDRY
For those of you that are familiar with the John Jarrold Printing Museum in Norwich, the C.C Stern is set up in a similar way: it’s a working museum, staffed by volunteers all passionate about keeping the machines going and passing on their knowledge. Their focus however is on metal type and casting equipment – when I visited them I was lucky enough to see Joe & Jeff using their Monotype ‘Orphan Annie’ Sorts Caster to cast using molten lead which I have never seen before!
www.metaltype.org/ccstf
NIGHT WATCH STUDIOS
I happened upon Night Watch Studios by happy accident when wondering around downtown Portland where I came across Upper Playground, a shop & gallery showcasing local & national design talent, with work from Night Watch Studios as their current exhibition.
The exhibition featured sketches, screen prints, riso prints, prints on wood and giant tapestries. It was great to see the process, with the original drawings next to the finished pieces and work on different materials and at different scales. If there was one word to describe it - it would be RAD (or wicked rad according to Tallboy!) Its vivid, humorous, playful with an edge of psychedelia and a masterful use of fonts & halftones - when I got home I looked them up to find out more.....
Turns out a couple of days later - Night Watch were taking part in Pop Up Crop, a travelling creative conference. Tickets for the main event were sold out but the launch party was free for anybody to go to so I headed along to say hi.....
The event took place at Lincoln Design Co. a Portland based Creative Agency who had just moved into new studios which were very awesome and was great to see the work they do showcased on the walls....
I was able to grab a quick chat with Krusty & Tallboy the couple behind Night Watch Studios at the event. They work from a home studio - sometimes collaborating on pieces, sometimes working on individual designs. Tallboy used to do their printing at local print studio Fight 64 but now they like to focus on the design work and use other local printers to get their work made up. They are not originally from Portland but say they were just visiting here so much it made sense to move. They have a large online following and sell their work and events and through their website as well as undertaking collaborations & commissions. Thanks for the chat guys - I know your stall was mega busy! Make sure you head over to their website and give them a follow to keep up to date with the radness!
