Signed, Sealed and Delivered

So many lovely/loving cards! So much fun at our very successful fundraising Valentine printing event.

It was hosted by Depot president Jason Wedekind of Genghis Kern and Depot board member Cara Jo Knapp of KnappDesignCo

With their help, and with Depot printers Tom Parson and Ian Van Mater (and with Bryan Dahlberg documenting it all), the guests printed their one-of-a-kinds cards. Here are just a few…

And also signed..sealed…our grant from the State Historical Fund! Their support is so important, and so is the 25% match we were able to raise from our donors. Thank you! Now major rehab work can continue on the upper historical level.  To get the rooms empty so our contractors can work, we have a storage pod in place (any strong arms want to volunteer to help with the move? Email info@letterpressdepot.org)

We truly are grateful for the $83,000 raised. But we still have a ways to go to reach our capital campaign goal so we can get the whole building finished and open for you. We always appreciate your donations. Any questions, call/text 720-480-5358 or write info@letterpressdepot.org

Watch for a printing event around St. Patrick’s Day!

GRATEFUL

Our capital campaign is chugging along, thanks to all of you who donated recently. And wow, with all our efforts this year, we have reached our first goal of $83,000 – that was the amount needed to activate our grant from the State Historical Fund! With these funds, construction can start on the deteriorated parts of our Depot home. We are beyond grateful for longtime supporters and new donors who made this happen. And to History Colorado for recognizing the importance of saving this iconic building.

But like the little engine that could, we can’t stop here. We now are pushing towards our overall goal—another $217,000 to finish the entire building and get occupancy. Once we have that, we will have workshops, exhibits, community events. We can welcome in everyone from kids to seniors, as they learn the joy of letterpress printing. We will show off presses that told the stories of the West.  So if you missed out on giving earlier, we always are open for donations. 

Questions? Ideas for others to ask for donations? Email info@letterpressdepot.org, call/text 720-480-5358. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, X and just now! BlueSky.

Giving Tuesday: An imPRESSive boost to our Capital Campaign

THANK YOU for the wondrous burst of activity and generosity!

But if you missed that day, no worries! The Capital Campaign continues. Colorado Gives goes through December 10; our campaign continues until we have enough to open the Englewood Depot building to all of you!

Even while we are fundraising, printing continues! Our press will be set up next to Santa during the Christmas Tree Lighting Holiday Market on Saturday, December 7 from 2-5pm. Stop by and say hello and come print with us! That’s at The Guild’s CitySpark space on Inca Street in Englewood CityCenter. HO HO HOPE you can join us!

It takes a community!

Lots of smiles when we printed recently at Cherry Creek High School with students and their families. Now we need your donation to help us open our Depot home to bring more smiles, more printing to the community. To achieve full occupancy and use of the Depot, we need $550,000 and we’ve already raised half that! The State Historical Fund has given us a grant for $250,000 to rehab more of the interior and our immediate goal is to raise $83,000 as a match for that grant. The Colorado Gives incentive program (now through December 10) is the perfect time to give us a special gift.

Your donations have already helped make it possible for us to accomplish construction milestones like a new eco-friendly HVAC system and electrical service.

Once we have this $83,000 match, we can: Fix the walls! Raise the floors for ADA access! Install plumbing! Repair plaster! Fix windows! Add fire safe doors!. We will be so much closer to opening the building, allowing people of all ages to participate in this historic art form. Please give before midnight December 10 to help us access the Colorado Gives incentive match.

Checks also welcome to PO Box 798, Englewood, Colorado 80151. Questions? email info@letterpressdepot.org or text 720-480-5358. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook. And check out the most recent episode of the Hot off the Press Podcast to hear from our board members Jason Wedekind and Cara Jo Knapp about the Depot’s mission and how your donation will make an impact!

Next up: Small Press Fest, Saturday, March 30

Letterpress Depot will be at Small Press Fest March 30th from 11-4 along with 70 zine, book, comic, print and other DIY makers at the Globeville Center. Our prints are still up this month at the wondrous Spectra Gallery. Thanks to everyone who came out to see us last week at Belleview Park and at all our Open Studios - from Englewood to Fort Collins! Here are just some pix of the inky fun.

Some more details: Globeville Center is at 44th and Grant; Spectra Gallery is at 1836 South Broadway. You can contact us at info@letterpressdepot.com or call 720-480-5358. Follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram. See you somewhere!

"Print Jam" March 16---and a whole lot of other printing going on!

Four different presses, historic prints, plastic building blocks and even some Jabberwocky - all will be part of the Letterpress Depot’s demonstration and hands-on events at the Arvada Center March 16, 11-4. We promise you will see presses and printing you’ve probably never seen before! Mo’Print, the Month of Printmaking, has been a busy time for us. But as always, we’ve also made time for the schools. At Cherry Creek High School, we tried out LEGO(tm) printing, inspired by Depot board member Dave Laskowski II. (You’ll have a chance to do this with Dave at “Print Jam.”)

We also printed with the kids at Cherrelyn Elementary, and loaned press and type to Colorado’s Finest High School of Choice for their “Wanted” project.

Print Jam demonstration is in the Arvada Center’s Main Gallery, with hands-on fun in their History Museum. Other March events include the Spring Market, March 23 at Belleview Park, and the Small Press Fest, March 30 at Globeville Center. We look forward! If you need more details, info@letterpressdepot.com.

Fore? Four!

A different typeface for our countdown (we have thousands!) ,but the same message: Please donate! There are four days left to give to the Depot via Colorado Gives between today (Sat., Dec. 2) and Colorado Gives Day (Tues., Dec. 5). Of course, you can donate anytime (yes!), but this campaign gives us incentive funds based on the money we receive. This year the funds go towards getting heat into the building.

Many thanks to all who have already donated. If anyone wants to donate in a different way other than Colorado Gives, or to volunteer, please email us or call/text 720-480-5358. Follow our website, facebook, Instagram and X posts.

Today! Tomorrow! Colorado Gives!

You don’t have to live in Colorado to help us make the old new again!

Dave Laskowski II’s Lego printing and Bryan Dahlberg’s installation of restored Sanfa Fe sign

Rehabbing letterpress and our Depot building, with your help!

Click on image to donate

If you’d prefer to donate offline, email englewooddepot@gmail.com or call 720-480-5358. Any which way you can help…Thank You!

First $5,000 in donations matched!

Your donations have helped us do so much - roughing in of electrical and plumbing, removal of water damaged plaster, retrieving and restoring presses for our historic collection, all while giving us the support needed to print at fairs and schools…

Of course, there’s more to be done, with your help. Between now and December 6, please contribute to Letterpress Depot via Colorado Gives. Just click on the button, below. We will be so grateful.

Next up: Our main fundraiser--Colorado Gives Day!

You can schedule now for a donation to take place on December 7 or just go to www.coloradogives.org/letterpressdepot on that date and give what you can to make a difference at the Depot. Remember to click the green button that says Schedule for Gives Day if you give earlier so that the donation will be matched. Meanwhile….

The contractor’s team has begun work rehabilitating the main room of the Depot, thanks to a 2020 grant from the State Historical Fund and funds raised during last year’s Colorado Gives Day. This year’s Gives Day is just as critical to help us get closer to occupancy, so we can move forward with workshops, demonstrations and events. We know there are a lot of demands on your wallet, but please be as generous as you can.

Getting inky for the Depot

♻️Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Board member Elanor Harris is offering limited quantities of vintage oil base inks, 20 years young and in excellent condition! Over 45 Pantone colors available (and a small selection of process colors) all hand repacked into 8oz cans. Labels note the ink manufacturer from the original can. A few of the holiday colors now available:

A portion of your purchase will be donated to the Depot. For information on orderng go to https://tinyurl.com/x8zrjj8k

Elanor and Victoria mixing it up at the Depot

How is it almost November? A lot to catch up on!

We have been busy sprucing up the Depot and equipment as we have been waiting out the pandemic.  And now we are getting ready for Colorado Gives Day on December 7, our largest fundraising effort of the year. More info on that in my post next week.

The Depot lower level is filling up with (literally) tons of equipment (and parts)

And more are being rescued from basements

The upper level has been cleared and awaits the touch of our contractor in November. Thanks to a grant from the State Historical fund, we will have help getting the plaster fixed, bathrooms rehabbed and utilities roughed in. We are grateful for  donations to help in this effort –and to match other grants we are applying for.

Meanwhile…Bryan printed a quote from Dickens on the Washington hand press and Tom and Marc Silberman printed a tiny book in Yiddish and English  on a 3x5 Kelsey press. After taking lessons from Marc, Matt printed a poem on the sweet Curtis and Mitchell Columbian tabletop press. and Marc tied type.

Outside, Tom and Kirk took down the old chipboard Santa Fe signs, Alissandra painted new ones and then Bryan reinstalled them.

Tom also laid bricks to create paths around the building. The city is planting a pollinator/prairie meadow garden and we let them extend it onto our property. Trust us, it will look better when the seeds come up in the spring. Stay tuned for more to come! And stay in touch: englewooddepot@gmail.com 720-480-5358.

Getting to know us...

The Depot welcomes a host of new faces, experiences, and officers to our board. All of those involved are focused on community, art, design, history or printing.

Talking, planning, eating & more planning

Peter Bergman, an Assistant Professor of Communication Design at MSU Denver, who was been with the Depot project since the start, is our new president. Jason Wedekind, a stalwart board member and principal of Genghis Kern Design and Letterpress has taken on the role of Vice President. Brad Hammond, a Certified fraud examiner at CBIZ HMH, LLC, is our new treasurer. Other new board members include; Alexandra Jimenez, program director at the Platte Forum; Kim Morski, printmaker and artist book maker; Mike Ruberto, a Professor in the Multimedia Graphic Design department at Front Range Community College; Marc Silberman, a printer with strong philatelic bent; and Ian Van Mater, a MAC expert at Apple.

Staying with us are Alicita Rodriguez, Wilson Thomas, executive director Tom Parson and secretary Patti Parson.

We are forever grateful to those board members who are leaving – Lonnie Smith, David Ashley, Karen Jones and Jimi Bernath – for all the support they have provided and continue to do so.