i titled this post "aficionado" thinking it meant official, but not according to merriam-webster online which states afi·cio·na·do : a person who likes, knows about, and appreciates a usually fervently pursued interest or activity : devotee ; aficionados of the bullfight; movie aficionados. hmm.. so i guess the title makes sense after all since i would like to consider myself an aficionado of letterpress, among other things. back to the subject at hand.... it's official, penelope's press is now officially official! in the mail today arrived my certificate of ownership- penelope's press is a registered business in the state of IL. when i held the piece of paper with the gold foil emblem, i had such an exhilarating feeling! strange though because in my former life as a real estate agent, i also had an "official" piece of paper stating i was licensed in IL to practice real estate, yet that little paper never gave me the goose bumps. something about truly being my own boss.. ownership of something completely and utterly my own... gets me really, really pumped (hmmm and really, really scared at the same time). oh well.. i either succeed in my pursuits or fail miserably trying to succeed in my pursuits. win-win situation i suppose! below is said certificate of ownership along with the legal business notice that was printed in the local paper. note to self: must frame and hang certificate with fancy gold emblem and must scrapbook newspaper clipping. tee hee. i'm giddy, can you tell?

more ebay purchased type (36pt goudy and a mystery font) arrived in the mail! the seller of the "mystery" type didn't know the name or size of the type, so i was pleasantly surprised when it arrived! if anyone can identify the type name, leave me a comment please, i would appreciate it. i'm excited that i have a few projects scheduled for two good friends of mine that will be keeping me busy.. 60th birthday invites for my friend's mom and save the dates for a wedding that i'm also a bridesmaid for. i'll be sure to post pictures of the end product. i also might have a retail opportunity.. my husband's cousin has a retail gift shop and asked if i want to sell some of my cards there.. yah! below are the newest ebay purchases, vintage and all- if you look real close at the curvy type, you can even see vintage dust!

i had magnesium plates made of my logo and business card from owosso graphic arts and ups just delivered them! it's surreal seeing my little logo made up in magnesium, it looks so official! and in the mail, my business license registration from the county arrived. it outlined a few more steps for me to take and then penelope's press will be officially official, ta ha! exciting stuff! now, i just need to find the time to ink up penelope and print some business cards. can we get a yee haw!

lately i've been addicted to ebay for purchasing type and vintage cuts. i've snagged some good deals.. i watch the item and right when there's only seconds left, i pounce on the other bidders and put my bid in! it's a rush as i wait for the last few seconds to wind down hoping other bidders don't beat me to the deals! the only bad thing about getting used type is that it's usually vintage and with the age, sometimes comes layers of paint, oxidation, and a lot of dirt. to clean the type i googled and found that you can mix together a solution of lemon and vinegar. i bathed the type in the mix for a few days and some junk came off, but not enough. so i dunk the type in another bath of mineral spirits over night. after cleaning each and every piece of type with a toothbrush, it didn't come out as shiny and clean as i want, but clean enough. for weeks, the pied type sat until the other day when i finally decided to separate and organize. the type has been sitting on the kitchen counter for days.. so now i just have to figure out where to put the type in my little workroom.

not only did the kind mr. patrick hogan sell me his beloved letterpress and goodies, he also drove to my home and gave me a one-on-one, hands on tutorial! sure, i didn't learn everything there is to know about letterpress in one day, but i got my feet wet and printed for the first time! he went through the basics of measuring type, quads and spaces, how to set type and create a forme, make-ready, registration, how to pull a print, how to ink up, clean up, and more. it was information overload in only a few hours, but interesting and fun. after he left, i successfully removed the chase, handset type, and pulled my very first print completely on my own. it was exhilarating! i am hooked!