Gingerly Press
About the Maker:
Hi there! Welcome to the Gingerly Press maker page for Handmade Arcade 2023. My name is Lindsay Schmittle and I am the creative brain behind all the original letterpress printed wall art & products here at Gingerly Press!
I began practicing the old-school art of handset letterpress printing using vintage metal & wood type with antique printing presses back in college, over ten years ago. As a graphic design major tired of an abundance of screen time, I immediately fell in love with the hands-on medium of letterpress printing and I was off to the races learning this antiquated medium.
Shortly after school I began Gingerly Press in half of my parents’ garage in eastern Pennsylvania. I honed my skills and developed my uniquely modern & colorful style within the medium before moving my studio to the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh in 2019.
Inspired by both my big & small adventures in nature, I create colorful & playful original wall art, handbound journals, greeting cards, reusable produce bags, recipe cards, bookmarks and more that share nature’s simple stories. I have collections of letterpress printed wall art inspired by my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, my artist residency working with an Indigenous community in the Peruvian Amazon, as well as the most simple of strolls on trails local to Pittsburgh. I create to share nature’s small beauties, even while on the biggest of adventures, to encourage others to slow down, be mindful, and soak up the simple joys nature has to offer all around us.
About My Products:
Letterpress printing is one of the oldest forms of printing, dating back to Gutenberg in 1440 and even a good 1000 years prior in China. Up until the mid-20th century, everything from books, to newspapers, to police tickets to election posters was letterpress printed. I honor this traditional printing method by continuing to use the vintage metal & wood type in my original artworks and art products today, handsetting every individual letter, dot and line in a composing stick just like job printers from hundreds of years ago. I compliment these vintage elements with large hand-carved geometric blocks made of oak plywood or MDF board for large swaths of color, and I print all of my products on my vintage Vandercook SP15 Press from 1962 or on my antique 10×15 Chandler & Price Press from 1915.
Instead of printing newspapers, I am giving new life to this antiquated medium by printing colorful, modern artworks and art products. My wall art brightens your homes and empowers you to explore the outdoors more, appreciate nature’s beauty, and adopt more sustainable living practices for a healthier planet. Each Gingerly Press product is printed on 100% recycled paper and plants a native tree through a Small Business Partnership with the National Forest Foundation.