original receipt for the letterpress that tif smith saved - click to find out more

There is a true sense of joy that we feel when we are creating something from scratch. It’s the feel of it and the way that finished product looks when it is complete. It is something that all creators feel.

But sometimes we don’t need to create something new to feel that, we just need to find something that needs our love and attention to bring it back to life. A big part of crafting is in finding a new purpose or renewing life to something.

We as creative people have the vision and the ability to create and restore things so that they are both beautiful and useful.

Sometimes we can call on our community when we find these special objects that need our love and attention to ask for their support and assistance to help make these things the powerful and beautiful objects they were once before. Letterpresses are one kind of object that are often found right at the moment that they need to be saved from scratch. It is an art form that is both beautiful and functional and deserves to be saved.

Tif Smith, a graphic designer and lover of all things print, found a letterpress that was just one week from being turned into scrap metal and she knew instantly that she needed to do whatever it took to save that machine. She and her husband have formed Stubborn Press & Co to turn that machine back into a working press.

There is something about handmade that just cannot be reproduced through mass production; it has its own magical quality.

That is something that Tif is hoping to create with her old letterpress. Letterpress is something that we love to touch and something that allows us to feel connected to the way things were. She is working to restore it to its former glory and is hoping, with some community assistance via a Kickstarter project, that she will be able to make that dream a reality and to bring more beautiful letterpress into this world.

I truly think that a piece of machinery like this is worth saving. It’s a piece of history and something that led to how the world is today. I love to feel a connection to our past and to feel a community coming together to save something that deserves to be saved.

Do you feel that way, too?

The Kickstarter project has just started. You can find out more about this awesome machine and donate to the project here.