first big steps

Robin setting up the rollers.

We took some first big steps this weekend. After taking some time to learn how our new press works, we took the plunge on Sunday and pulled our first prints!

L-R: our workspace, locking up the letterpress heart in order to print.

It might not look like much, but it's taken us a little over two years to get to this heart, our first print on the Heidelberg Windmill Letterpress.

L-R: Our bottleneck press in our living room in Koreatown, in our booth at Artisanal LA in November of 2013.

We started working together on a line of paper goods, just over two years ago. In that time, we started by printing with our fingers, moved on to printing with a spoon and a baren, then built our bottle jack press. We relaunched as Ink+Smog Editions a year ago in March. We only dreamed at that point, of having a dedicated print shop and mechanized press. 

L-R: our very first print on the Heidelberg Windmill, Rosemary holding our first print and bursting into happy tears.

A lot of work and time and effort has gone into that little heart. So much so, that moments after we first realized that we'd successfully made our first print, Rosemary was so happy, she burst into tears. The future seems so bright right now, and we couldn't have gotten here, without all of the love and support we've gotten from our friends, our family and our followers. We are so appreciative. And we can't wait to work our fingers to the bone. Thank you.

Best,

Rosemary+Robin

and they're in!!!

The printing end of our studio space with the press and paper cutter installed.

After many weeks months of preparation and a lot of planning, we finally moved our new machinery into our new studio space this week! As many of you may know, the new machines arrived before our new studio was ready to receive them. So they've been in storage in our building since their arrival. It's been such a tease to have the press and paper cutter almost within our reach but unable to use them!

L-R: Our press guy getting the Windmill ready to move into our space, our press guy and the machinery movers getting ready to move the paper cutter into it's new home in our studio space.

It took our press guy and two machinery movers almost all day to unpack, partially disassemble and then reassemble our Heidelberg Windmill Letterpress and Chandler&Price Craftsman paper cutter. We were happy to provide donuts and coffee but other than that, we pretty much stood back and watched with bated breath as they worked away.

L-R: Moving the paper cutter along the hallway into our space, the press crosses the threshold into our studio.

Luckily both machines were in really good shape and everything went really smoothly. We were exhausted by the end of the day, but so so so excited and relieved to finally have everything in place and ready to go. We still have a little work to do, mainly we need to get an electrician in to do a little work, but we're nearly there! 

L-R: The paper cutter in its corner next to the composing table, the press on the other side of the composing table next to the window.

We're so ready to jump in now and get to work! Take a look at the video we took of the press when we first plugged it in this week, the rollers went in a few seconds later. It finally feels like things are moving along now, we should be up and running in no time now!

We hope that everyone is having a happy start to March,  for us it's brought our machines and some much-needed rain in the southland. Here's to more progress and hopefully more rain! 

Best,

Rosemary+Robin

we're funded! thank you so much!

Thank you to everyone who has helped us in ways big and small! Every little bit has helped tremendously! We are very grateful! 

Now the real work begins! We're getting ready to install the new equipment in our studio. We still have to have them checked out to make sure that everything is in tip top shape. Then we'll be off to the races, getting everything ready to start printing! We're hoping to get our rewards into production and shipped out some time in March or April. We've also started planning our launch party and of course the start of the Danielle DeMers residency. We're ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work!

Thank you again, we really appreciate all of your help and support, it has meant the world to us!

Best, 
Rosemary+Robin

our Kickstarter has less than 48 hours to go!!!

It's hard to believe that we're getting ready to wrap up our Kickstarter project! Thank you to everyone who has generously contributed to our project, your support means the world to us!

With less than 48 hours to go, please help us bring it home with a bang, we may have reached our goal, but every little bit still makes such a difference.

Our equipment has arrived safe and sound, but it's really just the beginning! We still have to make sure everything is in perfect working order so that we can get into production. And we still need to finish setting up the shop. There are bound to be bumps in the road! Your generosity and support have helped us lay a pretty strong foundation for the future.

Please keep sharing our project with your friends and family and followers! Every like, share, tweet and favorite has gotten us where we are today! Let's keep this going, we're nearly there!

Best, 
Rosemary+Robin

we have some exciting news to share

We are very excited to announce that Ink+Smog Editions is expanding! Over the summer, we found out that good friends of ours who run L'appât, a small print shop in Rosemary's hometown of Montréal were moving to Europe and would not be able to take their equipment with them. After much deliberation, we decided to buy their 1960s Heidelberg Windmill letterpress, industrial Chandler&Price Craftsman paper cutter as well as their lead type and tools. Basically, we bought their whole shop!

The Heidelberg Windmill and C&P Craftsman hard at work in the L'appât studio, run by Rebecca Rosen and Quentin Pillot (photo from their website).

This will be a complete game changer for us, it will allow us to function as a print shop for other people's projects as well as continue to offer our own line of urban paper goods. We'll also be able to run community workshops, and start an artist residency program for emerging artists in collaboration with The Pretty Gallery here in Los Angeles. The Danielle DeMers artist residency will give an emerging artist the opportunity to work with us in Los Angeles each summer in order to produce a special editioned work. This project is near and dear to our hearts, in memory of our dear friend who passed away recently. She was a printmaker and artist who herself would have benefited from this residency.

L-R: The moment we decided to take the plunge and buy the press, the beautiful beast of a machine we can't wait to start working with! 

We're very busy looking for a new larger location, organizing the transportation of their studio from Montreal to Los Angeles, as well as getting ready for the events we'll be participating in this fall and winter! If everything goes according to plan (fingers crossed!) we should be receiving delivery in our new location shortly before the holidays!

L-R: Our current bottlejack printing press in our living room studio space, we will be launching a Kickstarter campaign very soon so stay tuned!

But we can't do it alone! We will be launching a Kickstarter campaign over the next few weeks to help with some of the transportation costs as well as some of the costs of getting properly set up in our new larger workspace. Your help and generosity mean the world to us as we work to grow our business in an intelligent and responsible way. If you believe in what we're trying to do but can't contribute financially, the best thing you can do is share our project with your friends, family and followers on social media, every little bit helps! 

We really want to thank all of you for all of the encouragement and support you've given us over the past year, we couldn't have done it all without you! 


Wish us luck!
Rosemary+Robin