OUR STORY
SMALL BATCH. PRINTED BY HAND. HIGH QUALITY GOODS.
Two climbers, a printing press and a detached garage-turned-studio on the CT shoreline. That’s how Slackline Press began in 2013. Since then we have acquired a few more presses, a good amount of knowledge and a whole lotta love for letterpress.
Slack lining is a balancing sport created by climbers. At Slackline, we balance old and new, paper and pixel, digital and analogue.
Creative ideas and hand drawn sketches come to life using modern tools for digital illustration. Our designs are then transferred to photo polymer plates and printed on 100% cotton paper.
We value quality over quantity. Our products are printed the good old fashioned way - by hand, one at a time and with great attention to detail.
Meet the Presses
Brumhilda
Brumhilda, named after the powerful valkyrie legend Brunhilde, is a Jobber #6, 8”x12” platen press made by Golding & Co. of Boston Massachussetts in 1896. Brumhilda is our first and largest press and prints the majority of our work.
Hugo
Hugo was named after the character in the illustrated book The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Slightly smaller than our Jobber, he is a Pearl #11 also made by Golding & Co. in 1913 and has a 7”x11” platen size. Hugo now resides in the window of our storefront and is used for small print jobs and in-store demos.
Hilde & Siggy
Little Hilde & Siggy were made by Sigwalt in the early 1900’s. Hilde is a Nonpareil, 5” x 8” tabletop press. Siggy is a Chicago #10, with a 2.5 x x 3.75” platen. They are both mainly traveling press. They makes appearances at craft fairs, art shows, pop-up shops and social spaces where people learn to make their own prints.
Meet the Makers
Lourdes Irizarry
Experience Designer, Printmaker, Sole Proprietor @ Slackline Press
From P.R. to Florida and currently the CT shoreline, Lourdes is a digital and analog maker funneling all her creative energy into shopkeeping & letterpress.
As a professional Experience Designer, Lourdes has worked with consulting firms, digital product teams, creative agencies, small and large companies and once drove a forklift named Chewy. In the tiny town of Cortona, Italy she learned how to bind books the traditional way while studying book arts, paper-making, photography and oil painting.
Nate McKenzie
Climbing Guide & Instructor, Climbing Gym Owner, Pressman
Nate is our #1 pressman. He lovingly and patiently restored all of our presses and can fix just about any mechanical challenge that pops up in our shop.
Nate owns and runs Ascent Climbing and Ascent Climbing Gym. He teaches indoor and outdoor rock, ice and mountaineering courses. He is an American Mountain Guide Association certified instructor, provider for the AMGA Climbing Wall Instructor (CWI) Certification and is the Northeast Program Manager for Paradox Sports, a Colorado based non-profit helping adults with physical disabilities achieve their climbing goals.