EM SPACE - balustradeandbitters.com

EM Space - A New Generation Discovers the Art in Industry

Written by Holli Thomas Photographs by Coleen Rider

The revival and salvage of the letterpress has given birth to a remarkable collective in Portland, Oregon, founded by Rory Sparks, Katy Meegan and Iris Porter. While in the midst of a little cocktail research on a recent trip to find stories for B&B, a chance meeting with Sparks changed the course of our adventure. She quietly mentioned her newly completed space for book arts and we set up an appointment to see it. We were not so quietly blown away.

EM Space, a book arts center, is dedicated to the art of printing and book making the old fashioned way. It is open to artists in this medium and those who are interested in learning the craft, whose memberships sustain the space with information, equipment and dues.

Located in an industrial building in the southeast part of town, EM Space is distinguished only by the backwards lower case "e" above the door. This is a coy play on letterpress as the type is placed in backwards for printing. Once inside you can't help but notice the machinery and the smell. The scent of art and industry, ink and metal, paper and printing. It's like that sharpie you just can't get enough of. The printing and book making machines dispersed throughout the space are organized by their functions; i.e. book binding, printing, screen printing, and typesetting. The environment evokes the feeling of a working art gallery, flooded with natural light and high ceilings, elevating the machinery as industrial sculpture.

All of the machines here have been lovingly located, rescued and brought back to life. Proper storage and care of this equipment is essential; it will rust if not regularly lubricated. One of the most prized pieces of equipment is the board shear, located by Sparks in Vancouver. Other pieces include a foil stamper, paper drill, paper folder, job press, guillotine cutter and several Vandercook machines, including the Universal III, known as the Cadillac of letterpress. There are also several type cases filled with all sorts of fonts and images, from logos to products.

Just as important as the equipment is the spirit of EM Space. Its members help each other out with job referrals, opportunities, and knowledge. Membership requires studio dues and volunteering time at the space. Even though private studios are available, EM Space is very much a community.

Upon our arrival, Sparks had already prepared a sample type form of Balustrade and Bitters, using large wood type of an undetermined font, probably from the early 1900's. She set it in the press bed of the Vandercook SP15 and locked it up. Next, the application of the beautiful, effervescent ink, Red Pepper (color 199 from Van Son, to be exact.) After a few test runs and additional ink, the end result was a simple impression of unique beauty. Sparks prefers her impressions to "kiss" the paper with a barely-there, come-hither quality.

There's something unique going on at EM Space. Knowledge and machinery from past generations is being utilized and passed on to the future to make art. I was struck by the image of a young woman, Kyle, rifling through an old type case looking for images for her project. A perfect example of the EM Space ecosystem at work.

See below to contact the artists at EM SPACE for your custom bound portfolio, letterpress invitations, business cards, design and illustration needs.

EM SPACE

407 Southest Ivon Street

Portland, Oregon 97202

em-space.org

Rory Sparks

Bookbinding . Letterpress . Design

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Keegan Meegan

Bindery Services . Small Run Stationers . Design . Illustration

keeganmeegan.com

Iris Porter