Printshop Tour: The Firecracker Press
The Firecracker Press is a print shop in St. Louis celebrating their 10th anniversary. Happy birthday, ladies and gents!
Located on Cherokee Street, they specialize in woodcut, linocut, and letterpress. Last week I chatted with Eric Woods, owner and founder of The Firecracker Press, and shop manager, Matty Kleinberg. The presses never seem to stop rolling here, so I got to see them in action during the tour. Folks were printing, trimming, rounding corners, and my tour guide was interrupted more than once to quality check or critique some aspect of the process.
Some of you may remember visiting The Firecracker Press during the 2011 SGCI conference. They were out in full-force with events, demos, zines, and their on-site exhibition Typefoundries. Their band, Manual Feed, which incorporates press sounds alongside traditional instruments, played a set during the event.
The front of the shop is a retail space with presses and cabinets. Yep, that’s a luchador on the back wall. Frame it or cut along the dotted lines to use as an actual mask!
For ten years now, The Firecracker Press has used printmaking to revitalize Cherokee Street. They’ve created a number of prints highlighting St. Louis attractions that stylistically hearken to early and mid 20th-century design. They are also founding members of the Cherokee Print League. Together with other artists, galleries, and presses along Cherokee Street, they organize an annual December holiday sale to promote local artists. This year the event boasts not only printmakers, but also live music, a print exhibition, and purportedly a scavenger hunt.
Um, no comment.
Posters highlight St. Louis attractions. The balloon glow featured above is held annually in Forest Park.
A look into the back half of the shop.
Woodblocks are stored on the shelves above.
Notice the eyes on the back wall? They’re from a fallen billboard Eric scavenged after a rainstorm.
Print monster.
Here’s Maggie Filla driving their Vandercook Sp20 from 1961 or so.
Lauren Cardenas is on the Vandercook #4 from the early 1940′s.
Here’s a C&P 10″x15″ circa 1930′s. Up front they have another C&P 8″x10″ circa 1895.
Their steer magnet breaks into pieces according to cuts of meat. Fit it back together as you see fit.
Apparently this is an important scraper.
I can’t say enough about this shop: they’re printing beautiful posters, they’re involved in the community, and they have lots of enthusiasm. Here’s to you, Firecracker Press! If you’re visiting St. Louis, be sure to stop by!
Wow, so much work and amazing work. Can’t wait to visit my grandfather’s home town!
What a bright, colorful place. The prints have a beautiful quality that you just don’t get with digital printers. This is almost a lost art.