Meet RED

Today we are excited to report that we are now the proud new owners of a beautifully restored 1940s Adana letterpress machine. Let us introduce you to RED! 

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Some few months ago we entered a NotOnTheHighStreet competition. The prize, £1000 to purchase an item that will help our small business grow. We entered. We won!

After careful research (and eBay browsing!) we found Caslon Ltd. They bought Adana in 1987 and set up a refurbishment programme to  restore these wonderful machines back to their former glory and pass them on to eager crafters wanting to immerse themselves into the world of letterpress. I love the way these old techniques and machines have come full circle.

Today we went to pick up our nifty little machine and we were lucky enough to get a demonstration from Roy. Roy is brilliant. He is the descendant of William Caslon I who set up the original type foundry in 1739. He showed us the ropes, taught us some tricks of the trade and gave us a full run through of our machine. Roy got his first Adana for his 8th birthday so it is fair to say he is an expert.

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Old machines ready to be bought back to to life! 

Old machines ready to be bought back to to life! 

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We are super excited to get printing and add letterpress to our ever expanding range of hand crafted goodies.  

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We absolutely loved the opportunity to go into the factory and see the engineers at work and gawp at all the shelves full of letterpress and type set paraphernalia.

Our first item off the press... First of many mighty fine things!

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Lucy Glen