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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 19h

Trinial goes hard… two sizes with mortised alt characters to mix and match. The dream of the 1890s is alive in the shop today (well, every day). #letterpress

Straight shot of metal typefaces in wooden tray.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

@dansinker.com out here saying what we’re all feeling. Here’s a gem of his from last year. Thanks, friend. #letterpress

Print with Dan Sinker quote: Write it down. I mean that literally. Get a pen get a notebook use your hands. There is something visceral about using your hands and nobody can delete ink on paper with a keystroke. Write it down.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Sweated through five colors of this print, The City is My Religion, an homage to Chicago and its architectural history. Entirely made from metal type & ornament, with a little help from linoleum and wood. More here: www.starshaped.com/blog/2026/9/...

Print entitled ‘the city is my religion’. Multi colored image resembling a church but made from buildings and structures indicative of Chicago.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Another poster for Liz & Dan’s (Ida) duo tour of living rooms & intimate spaces this fall. Entirely printed from metal type & ornaments and meant to resemble a warm quilt. Which is how one feels hearing them play in these settings. #letterpress

Poster resting on typecases for Ida Duo Living Room Tour. Meant to resemble quilt patterns.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

9/18 is Type High Day in the letterpress world as .918” is the height of metal & wood type. Print Club members who’ve been in the club for a full year (Sept to Sept) get a piece of type designed by me. This year it was laser cut by Moore Wood Type.

Wood type shooting stars sitting on top of packaged ones that say ‘print club type high day’.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Took these ‘web’ ornaments out for a run, combining them with a corner kitty and unique catchword. All 19th century metal type. #letterpress

Metal type form showing a frame around text that says ‘it’s the most pur-felt time of the year’. Little cat ornament in the corner.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Come print with me today, Chicago. 11-6, and Sunday, too.

Holding a print by press with list of adjectives from Carl Sandburgs ‘Chicago’.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Little sneak peek of The City is my Religion print, available this weekend at the Ravenswood Art Walk. The form is also still set to see. #letterpress

Close up of reprint of City is my Religion print with multiple colors resembling stained glass and architectural snippets of Chicago.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Designed these letter ornaments that were then cast by @bowerbox.com. Love seeing them lined up like a little army of snail mail. #letterpress

Close up of metal type ornaments that look like the back of envelopes.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Printing a small project (to be trimmed) and loved this piece as the Arches watermark is top notch. #letterpress

Hand holding a small, printed piece of paper that’s held up to show the Arches watermark.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

No type foundry cast ornaments directly inspired by Louis Sullivan which is a crime in my book. Maybe someday I can con @bowerbox.com into collaborating with me to rectify this! 10 years ago, I designed a set cast by a friend to honor Chicago’s ornamental architecture. It’s a start.

Flat lay shot of boxes of ‘the Chicago Collection’ of metal type ornaments sitting on top of a galley filled with said ornaments.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Back on angle duty again. This form is about 14x18” and weighs a whole lot.

Angled overhead shot of large metal type form on press with pale green ink.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Registration for WORD, a new Chicago-style wayzgoose for printers, opens Tuesday Sept 1st at noon. Wayzgooseord.com is the site if you want to check out details.

Reversed image of inked wood type in a composing stick that says WORD with a Chicago star and colors.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Who wants to go down a rabbit hole of type foundry specimens from 1890s Inland Printers today?

Ad for Mackellar Smiths & Jordan in the Inland Printer c. 1890 showing artistic printing.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

5 nights of awesome William Castle films at @musicboxtheatre.bsky.social has not only made August bearable but taught me questionable doctors have been saying this for a long time.

Black print with silver text that says ‘it’s all in your head’ with wood type and circles in the shape of a skull.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Happy National Dog Day to the smallest breeds in the shop, these 12 pt 19th century ornaments from the Cleveland Type Foundry.

Close up of 12 pt metal type ornaments with dog faces in them.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Printing the key layer of my ‘The City is my Religion’, a church built from depictions of meaningful spaces in Chicago. There are 4 more colors that’ll give it stained glass vibes; these are translucent enough to print after the black as they don’t compete with it.

Type form for ‘city is my religion’ on press bed with printed paper running through it.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Setting and reprinting something I never wanted to set and reprint again. This one makes me beg for mercy from the printing gods.

Large metal type form resembling a church made up of representations of Chicago. Shot at an angle.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

In love with this copper cut of a ship and finally had a print for it.

Letterpress type form with copper cut of a ship at top with wood type below that says ‘don’t give up the ship’.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Cleaned decades off this wood star, which revealed how the block was actually pieced together, as well as its grain.

Close up of wood star for letterpress printing.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

This postcard features the typeface Parsons, designed by Will Ransom, in 1918. It has a few extended ascenders & descenders for discerning use. This card is paired with the lantern ornaments that were designed to play well with Parsons. #letterpress

Chipboard postcard, front and back, that says Light up the night in blue, with red hanging lanterns and gold circles around them.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

These 19th century ornaments represent about 5 different foundries. Since I don’t have complete sets of any, they are now proofed and housed together in a sort of chosen family based on similar characteristics. #letterpress

Metal type ornaments in a form for printing alongside a printed proof of the ornaments.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Spent two days organizing, cleaning, setting and proofing new-to-me 6 point type. After a cosy lye bath, these revealed a rare Cincinnati Type Foundry pin mark on the sides, meaning they’ve clocked about 130 years of action. #letterpress

Close up of side of metal type along side a ruler. ‘Cincinnati’ is cast into the sides of type.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Cleaning up inventory of custom commissions and found all 6 cards printed for @pilsencommbooks.bsky.social.

6 large postcards with various quotes from authors, commissioned by Pilsen Community Books.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

New collab between Moore Wood Type & @threecheerspress.bsky.social and I’m here for it.

Box of laser cut wood type showing fists and megaphones and laurel wreaths.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Just finished hangin’ & printin’ with my favorite kids on the planet at We Rock! Chicago camp (formerly Girls Rock! but altered to include the gender expansive rock stars).

Wood type inked and magnetted to a printing press that says in reverse ‘we rock Chicago!’

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Fashioned a 7-color nod to the beloved Polaroid from modular metal type ornaments. Shipping now for the Print Club. #letterpress

Angled close up of a print on Kraft paper made with metal type ornaments to resemble a Polaroid camera. Says SMILE in rainbow colors at the top.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Chicago dogs are the best dogs. Printed so many years ago before I had a saw for kerning type.

Light blue long skinny print with blue text about hot dogs using Chicago aphorisms. Sitting on a printing press.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Beautiful new type cut by Virgin Wood Type (Rochester NY) that’s going to play well with old type. Building out a collection of complementary families improves design possibilities and is super satisfying; one is not better than the other. #letterpress

Both old and new wood type in a similar style, next to a line gauge.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

Working today is the most American thing to do. #letterpress

Type form locked in chase, ready to be moved to press.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

The one and only commission I’ve ever received for the Fourth, printed a few years ago. #letterpress

Card with the Wendell Berry quote: Rats and roaches live by competition under the law of supply and demand; it is the privilege of human beings to live under the laws of justice and mercy.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

My kid got me the clock cleaning solution I wanted for my birthday and now every bit of brass printing rule in the studio is getting the business even if it takes a year. #letterpress

Wooden box of brass printing rule and lines and shapes for printing.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

All new-to-me type and ornament coming into the shop is cleaned, identified & proofed for a visual record and so it can be put into action asap for print jobs. These are the two galleys of items ready to be proofed tomorrow. Lot of work but huge win for preservation. #letterpress

Two galleys full of metal type ornaments set to be proofed.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Made a window for a print out of borders cast on a Linotype, then filled it with plants. #letterpress

Close up of metal type ornaments and Linotype border slides that together make up a print meant to resemble a window with plants.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

One of my fave quotes on a small print resting on my Chicago-made Vandercook press (c. 1962). #letterpress

Small red print resting on proof press that has the Obama quote ‘I’m from Chicago. We don’t break’.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

‘Web’ ornaments by Barnhart Bros. & Spindler after a good lye soak and scrubbing. Almost new, 130 years later! #letterpress

Close up of ornate metal ornaments in a box.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

I love my clients who commission work for other things I love, like the writing of @praddenkeefe.bsky.social. The prompt this time was ‘vintage typewriter’. Metal type challenge accepted. #letterpress

Full print view of typewriter made from metal type and ornaments with publications and accolades for Patrick Radden Keefe used to make up that different elements.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

If ‘derp’ was a typeface. Caprice, offered by Barnhart Bros & Spindler in Chicago, around 1889ish. What would you use it for? #letterpress

Close up of metal type alphabetically in a box.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

CTA bus driver prints are back in stock. Inspired by an absolutely wild ride on a bendy bus a few years ago. #letterpress

Close up of print that says ‘today I shall have the confidence of a cta bus driver’. Meant to resemble cross stitch samplers with a small modular bus image.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Got a show Friday night at @dovetailbrewery.bsky.social. Come and support three small businesses at once! #letterpress

Small broadside sitting on top of type form that lists: dovetail brewery, Starshaped press and Midwest nice. Has date of June 5, 6-8 pm with address.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Happy Pride, especially to my kid who says entertaining things like this all the time. #letterpress

Rainbow colored print that says ‘all my agendas are gay’.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Ida music always feels like a warm blanket to me, hence the quilt patterns on this new poster for a series of intimate shows. Two large type forms, one on an angle, two colors each. #letterpress

Poster for ‘Ida Duo’ with tour dates. Resembles quilt patterns made from modular metal type ornaments. 4 colors.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Custom commission for ‘made with human intelligence’ cards, this time in shiny gold ink. The ornaments are a combo of sets from Barnhart Bros. & Spindler (Chicago) and Cleveland Type Foundry and Mackellar Smiths & Jordan (Philadelphia). #letterpress

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

On this anniversary of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, here’s a look at some prints made from an original plate gifted to me by Tribune Showprint. I added two linoleum cut colors to make them pop. #letterpress

Three prints alongside a vintage cut with art for Chicagos works fair in 1933.

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Starshaped Press @starshapedpress.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Having a print show at @dovetailbrewery.bsky.social in collaboration with @midwestniceshop.bsky.social on June 5th. More details to follow! #letterpress

Wood and metal type form, reversed to be reading. Lists Dovetail Brewery, Starshaped Press and Midwest Nice.

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