Interview with New Boston Handmade Member Pressbound

by Melissa of Pressbound.

BH: What is your background? (family background, education, former/current day jobs)

Pressbound: Sometimes I joke about how I’m a Boston lifer. Aside from the cold weather I’ve never found a good enough reason to leave. I grew up in Beverly and have since lived in Boston proper, Jamaica Plain and now reside in Somerville. I am also addicted to school! Since getting my BFA in writing at Emerson, I’ve gone back to school twice. First, at Mass College of Art for a certificate in graphic design and currently I’m in an MFA program for graphic design and illustration through Marywood University in Scranton PA. Thankfully it’s a low residency program so I am only in Scranton for two weeks every year. Aside from being a student I am also a freelance graphic designer and an adjunct at Emerson College.

BH: How long have you been doing your artwork/craft?
Pressbound: I’ve been letterpressing and bookbinding for four years. I took a course at Mass Art in letterpress and bookbinding and was addicted. I’ve since interned for a year at Albertine Press and took a few other courses, including a weeklong bookbinding course at The Center for Book Arts in NYC.

My first letterpress project (above). Later I turned some of the linocuts into cards (below).

BH: What handmade possession do you most cherish?

Pressbound: Two hats that my grandmother knit for me. They are very simple but she mailed them to me as a surprise. It was the sweetest gift I’ve ever gotten and even more precious to me now that she has passed.

BH: What inspires you? Where do your ideas come from?
Pressbound: Lately, much of my work has been inspired by Wycinanki (vee-chee-nan-kee), the Polish version of paper cutting similar to that of the Dutch. But I’m also really inspired by colors and textures I see in nature and generally a sucker for anything that’s got a folky/60s retro look.

2009 Holiday card design.

BH: What do you love most about what you make?
Pressbound: Getting off the computer and getting my hands dirty. Though sometimes I wish I could Command-Z some of my mistakes on the press.

BH: What are your most and least two favorite films?
Pressbound: Favorite, Willy Wonka and Goonies. Least, Volcano and Forrest Gump.

BH: In ten years I'd like to be...

Pressbound: Maybe I’ll finally be done with going back to school! Or maybe living somewhere warmer. Somehow, I doubt either though.