These days, communicating in 140 characters or less has become incredibly popular. And, no one does it better than Egg Press. They may not have a Twitter account, but Egg Press has offered its followers succinct, meaningful sentiments for a decade. 2009 marks its tenth year of creating fine print—something worth celebrating!
Tess Darrow founded Egg Press in 1999. The former Nike employee wanted a quicker and more tangible way to realize her designs, so she purchased an antique printing press, rented a studio in downtown Portland and began printing. In college, Darrow studied textile design and earned a BFA in Fiber Arts, and says that her tendency has always been to design with a mind for textiles—i.e. repeat patterns—but, it's the more literal designs and messages that sell in the greeting card world.
When Egg Press began business, there were just a handful of letterpress printing companies in the greeting card world. Darrow's unique and refreshing designs brought new life to the art form and the long under-appreciated craft of letterpress began to flourish in the greeting card industry. Now, there are untold hundreds of letterpress studios in the greeting card business—many right here in Portland!
A Decade of Change
Over the past decade, Egg Press' printing methods have evolved somewhat, especially in the area of plate materials. Darrow began using polymer plates for the economic and environmental advantages. She had been using wood-mounted magnesium plates. When she first started letterpress printing fifteen years ago, Darrow says that she was turning away offers of free presses. Since then, many new letterpress companies have popped up and the tools of the trade are harder to come by.
Today, over 90% of the Egg Press greeting card line is printed on recycled content paper, its envelopes are made of 30% recycled content, and their offset printer is FSC-certified and uses soy-based inks. But, the changes haven't simply been in printing equipment. Initially, Darrow designed by herself, but now she designs with co-worker Kara Yanagawa.
"We collaborate almost every step of the way," says Darrow. Initially, she was concerned that the new process would be inefficient, But, as it turns out, she says "the side-by-side design process is a lot more fun and probably more productive than if we were each designing by ourselves."
The Design Process
Each season, Darrow and Yanagawa follow a very loose line plan—filling new product needs in different categories. "We allow ourselves to explore any theme that interests us," explains Darrow, "because the more excited about an idea we are, the more successful the designs tend to be." According to Darrow, "Sentiments and designs seem to happen all at once." She says that their designs are inspired by humor, Japanese craft books, vintage books, everyday objects, nature and children's books.
Typically, the Egg Press team prints about 500 to 1000 of each card style at a time, so there's efficiency in numbers. On average, a card will go through the press (by hand) four or five times. Each color requires one press run, as well as any die-cutting or scoring that needs to take place. From start to finish, paper needs to be cut down, then the press is set up to print each color, and after the printing takes place, the cards are scored and die cut if that is part of the design. So, each card is handled several times before it is checked for quality and packaged by hand.
What's Next for Egg Press
The popular Egg Press Sample Sale starts today and runs through April 11. At this sale, Egg Press sells seconds and discontinued products. They also create four sample sale exclusive designs for "tees while you wait": designs that can be screenprinted onto fabric or clothes that customers bring to the studio. The cost is $5 per design.
Darrow is also planning an Egg Press birthday bash later in the year, no date set just yet, but folks can sign up on their mail list at www.eggpress.com in order to received the announcement.
Egg Press is also working with local filmmaker Rob Tyler to produce a film short of Egg Press and the letterpress process. Filmed loosely in the style of Tyler's Novice Robots series , the yet-to-be-named Egg Press short will be available for viewing on the Egg Press website in early May.
Looking to the future, Darrow would like to see Egg Press partnering with others to help apply their designs in different ways. "Otherwise, as long as the company is healthy and its employees happy," she says, "I'm happy."
As long as Egg Press continues to produce their incredible designs, we'll all be happy. The only thing that would make me happier is if I could follow them on Twitter.
Happy Birthday, Egg Press!
View this slide show for more Egg Press images or visit our flickr gallery:
Check out this sneak peek inside Tess Darrow's home on Design Sponge. It's really cool, just like Egg Press!