The Garage Press

do you mostly have your Adana presses mounted on wood and then clamped to whatever surface you are printing on?

We went to my livery company, The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers,to take part in an exhibition of fine books & hand bookbinding held as part of Open House London. The brilliant Tania Hurt-Newton,my partner in print, designed a miniature Matchbox Almanack containing a potted history of the Stationers’ Company relationship to this wonderful part of publishing history. We printed the various pages in the 17th Century hall for our hundreds of visitors to take home to assemble themselves.

I wondered out loud to one and all whether we were the only people ever to have printed in the hall itself - I guess we will never know but it is a nice thought nonetheless! It was a wonderfully relaxed event and we even had time to present a copy to Paul Wilson - the present Master of The Company.

OF COURSE we couldn’t resist being photographed in front of the stained-glass window that shows William Caxton with his press and his assistant Wynkyn De Worde. We liked the thought of WC and WdW looking down on our Adana 8x5! Bell House Tania Hurt-Newton Stationers' Hall

An early customer at Cobbs Corner Cafe this morning.

I’ve got the whole world in my hands

I bought this mystery object in the charity shop because it is a thing of beauty and I couldn’t resist it. What is it?

This is very exciting - we are just going on sale with a new workshop I am running with the brilliant Tania Hurt-Newton in leafy South London. SIGN UP NOW!

Buy tickets – NEW COURSE! - DESIGN AND HANDPRINT ONTO FABRIC WITH SIMON AND TANIA – Bell House FABRIC PRINTING FOR BEGINNERS Spend three hours in Bell House’s newly-opened vintage print and bindery getting to know our hi...

If anyone has a working Adana TP48 looking for a new home where it will be loved and used to inspire new generations of inkers then I might know just the London-based organisation to connect you with.

If so….watch this space….

A great final day
and had a welcome red dot on an unframed variable edition of the Mansplaining piece.

This framed one (as per below) is still available via the Online Edition
until 05 November.

https://woolwichprintfair.com/curated-hang

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I love anything that does but I especially love the sentiment behind this piece currently on display

I felt so well looked-after by Simona Cassano and Mark Camilleri, Director and Executive Chairperson of the National Book Council of Malta respectively in my lightning post-Frankfurt trip there at the weekend. This was my second year taking part in their Festival was a real joy and it felt like the bar had been raised even higher this year on every level. It was terrific to renew friendships and make new ones across the absolutely thriving Maltese writing community. Great authors, great design, great publishing - all supported by a stellar team at NBC.

This is my hotel. I have been telling everyone it is called the ‘en-how’. Everyone looked blank. I am clearly an idiot. Just discovered it is called the NOW with a silent H.

My first ever order from the new Holly&Co site has just been despatched with many extra treats as a big (pink) THANKYOU. Link in bio - of course. I like given random presents so this may not be the only order to get extra treats!

Another classic sign today. No story with this one - other that to say that every couple of weeks I order a small cod with NO chips for my friend Mr Tumnus and every couple of weeks the lady at the local Fish and Chip Shop looks slightly aggrieved when I refuse her offer of salt, vinegar and, of course, chips. Every two weeks I tell her that they are for Mr Tumnus and that Mr Tumnus doesn’t have a sophisticated palate or, frankly, a desire for fatty carbs. I dare not tell her that he even demands that I let the fish cool before removing the batter very neatly. I think I might be banned from the shop if THAT ever came out. All I did do once was tell her that Mr Tumnus had very simple tastes. She tutted like I was insulting her entire family. One week she gave him chips anyway ‘on the house’ in case he ‘came round the idea’ and I just shook my head and lowered my eyes. I suppose one day I should just tell her the truth but she would never believe me if I told her Mr Tumnus was a cat.

Just spotted this beautiful old sign in Balham. It got me googling…. Apparently the name came about when Haloid (a company working with the inventor Chester Carlson) wanted something memorable and catchy to describe their revolutionary process of ‘electrophotography’. After consulting a professor of classical language at Ohio State University, Haloid and Carlson changed the name of the process to “xerography”, a term, coined from Greek roots, that meant “dry writing.” Haloid called the new copier machines “Xerox Machines” and, in 1948, the term “Xerox” was trademarked. It eventually suffered from what is known as ‘genericization’ - the process in which a trademark or proprietary name becomes widely perceived as a common noun or verb describing the type of product or service. As is often the case with brands that go on this journey (Hoover, Sellotape, Elevator, Biro etc) they then eventually lose their brand identity entirely as they become applied to their competitors.

I ‘hoover’ my house with a Dyson etc and my dad always used to talk about ‘xeroxing a manuscript’ - regardless of the name on the side of the machine. And I was, of course, ‘googling’ this information using Bing. No of course I wasn’t - I WAS actually ‘Googling’.

Although maybe one day…..

I like being part of communities as they give you support, stretch your mind and give you strength when one needs it most. The inspirational Holly Tucker has been working secretly since 2022 on building an astonishing new marketplace for makers and I am proud to be part of it - even if it does make my impostor syndrome flare up!
Come over and say HI!

The Garage Press My name is Simon Trewin, Founder and Chief Inkoholic. My prints, books and cards always start out with me scratching my head and thinking, “I wonder what would happen if I...." and then I am away!