Two ways to help the Depot

Please support Letterpress Depot on Colorado Gives Day, December 7. We get extra funds based on how much we raise that day. And you don’t even have to wait until that day. You can now SCHEDULE your donation. Just make sure to click on the green Schedule for Gives Day button to make us eligible for that extra money. (Of course, we appreciate, love and accept money ANY day.)

If people schedule in advance, we’re entered into a chance to get an extra $2,000 too!  So go to https://www.coloradogives.org/LetterpressDepot/overview?step=step1  or just type in Letterpress Depot where it says “find a non profit by name.”  Enter the amount you’re donating and then click on the green button to schedule for GIVES DAY. You won’t be charged until then.

On a smaller scale…if you buy from Amazon, you can help the Depot. Go to Smile.Amazon.com (instead of Amazon.com), choose the Englewood Depot, Inc. as your charity, and then just buy normally.  The Depot then gets a small percentage of the sale amount - it’s small but it could add up. The trick is to remember to sign into Smile.Amazon.com whenever you shop. THANKS!

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.

2020 Donation Match Ticking Down/Work goes ahead at the Depot!

FIRST, Thank you for your support!

We have so appreciated all donations that came to the Depot through this website, Colorado Gives, Facebook and the mail. With a match from the Board, they have helped us meet the requirements for the grant from the State Historical Fund to begin interior rehabilitation of this depot. Thank you! We are on course to begin interior construction early in 2021.

But wait! There's more!

If you haven’t been able to donate yet, we welcome you now - all will be matched through year end. These funds will help make sure we make it through that first phase of construction (you know how construction costs go) and to help with continuing work to make the building fully functional for public use, Help us press our inky plans forward. All aboard, all welcome. Donate at http://www.letterpressdepot.com/marketplace/donate-to-the-depot

More type at the depot!

A glimpse of the recent move of 77 cases of type and other treasures donated from the Johnson Publishing Company, out of storage in Loveland, Colorado, thank you Janice!

George Phineas Gordon's Franklin press repaired!

John Major Jenkins saved this improved 1872 Gordon new style press from a basement in Wyoming but it was disassembled, broken and missing the shaft that pivots the bed. Ben Franklin told Gordon how it would work in a dream. The earlier Ruggles card press and Gordon's 1861 Alligator press can be seen at the International Museum of Printing in Carson, California. Gordon's Franklin jobbers became the model for platen presses by Chandler & Price and many other manufacturers, common in printshops in the late 19th century. Ours was known as the Brass Arm Gordon for its brass inking roller assembly.
Thanks to John Morse for machining and donating the missing shaft.

More, and best wishes for letterpress at the depot in 2021!

Intertype has a new home

The Denver Post Intertype #1, c.1965 has a new home, donated by Rob Barnes. It was expected last fall, but after some false starts, it had to make the cross-town journey to the Depot during the pandemic shutdown, where it was welcomed by pjysically-distant executive director, Tom Parson.

Great talk last night! Workshop tonight!

One slot left to learn how he does it! Call 720-480-5358 or email englewooddepot@gmail.com for special deal!

Year End News...Plus a matching donation to start 2020!

A year-end pledge of $2,000 is helping us kick off a continuing campaign for construction in 2020. Give through this website or ColoradoGives.org/letterpressdepot.

The Depot was featured three times on Channel 7 news, as part of its promotion of Colorado Gives Day.

We had a very productive December. We engaged with our old and new supporters through Colorado Gives Day, through two funding page campaigns on Facebook, and directly by mail and our website. 

THANK YOU!

We met our initial goal to raise our share needed for a grant awarded by the Colorado State Historical Fund for construction documents (architectural and engineering drawings) for the depot. $5,860.33 donated by sixty-seven members of our community (plus a Colorado Gives incentive donation from Community First Foundation) will carry us into the new year. Once we get the architectural documents finished, then it will be the moment for heat! lights! plumbing! and rehabilitation of the interior. A big moment indeed.

Happy New Year.

Come celebrate 2020 with your suggestions, talents, volunteer efforts, donations.

Recurring monthly or annual donations can be scheduled any time at ColoradoGives.org. One-time contributions are also welcome there or on our website or by direct mail to the Letterpress Depot, PO Box 798, Englewood CO 80151. We are a 501 (c)3 nonprofit community resource.

Channel 7 at the Depot!

For the first time, Letterpress Depot is part of Colorado Gives Day. That brought Channel 7/KMGH to the Depot to cover us as part of their story on the annual fundraising event. Special Programs Producer Kevin Krug interviewed Tom Parson and got to see some of the presses in action. It may air on December 3, which is Giving Tuesday, as a reminder to viewers that Colorado Gives is upcoming on December 10. Of course, you don’t have to wait until December 10, or even December 3, to give to the Depot! You can pre-schedule a donation for the Depot at ColoradoGives or give through this website on our Marketplace page.

Brats & Ink - What more could one want?

Over 45 people came to celebrate the Depot’s new paint job, share lunch with the Wrong Fonts printing group, check out our presses and look over @TomParson’s and @MarcSilberman’s shoulders as they printed keepsakes. @ElanorHarris made sure there was food, @IanVanMater cooked it, @travelinginkwell helped with everything, @JimFitzgerald fixed a press he was donating …and @BryanDahlberg took most of these pictures!

Ready for our closeup

The Depot is lookin’ good with its new coats of red, turquoise and tan paint. We are so excited to show her new face to the community. Come see for yourself at our September 28 picnic, 11-2 - all are welcome. Power washing and scraping by Depot board members, historic and paint research by board member Bryan Dahlberg, guidance from Richard Reck of @BehrPaints and painting by Tomas and his crew of hard workers of TLCPaintworks got us to this new place. Thank you!

Photos by @BryanDahlberg and @TomParson

Mother's Day Cards at Cherry Creek HS & Antique Tuscan Woodtype

Printing Mothers’ Day cards at Cherry Creek High School

Antique Tuscan woodtype sorts, c. 1854, newly acquired. What will you print?!