The John Jarrold Printing Museum

Today was the last day of this year's Heritage Open Days, so this afternoon we dashed into town to visit the John Jarrold Printing Museum, a magical wonder-world of presses and ink and bookbinding and lithography and type...


We had a lovely afternoon peeping into type cases and chatting to the volunteers who run the museum, and who are very enthusiastic and keen to share their tips with novices like us!

They had a nice little Heidelberg press up and running (above) - they don't turn the huge ones on for big public open days (health and safety), but one of the volunteers said that they do run them during the museum's normal opening hours (Wednesday mornings).

There are some more photos in our Flickr photostream.

Do go if you ever get the chance, it's a lovely little place, and packed to the gunwales with presses and type and cameras and litho stones and guillotines and loads of other interesting bits and bobs.

Open Studios

Well, our first weekend of Norfolk Open Studios has now been and gone! We had such a great weekend with a steady stream of visitors, most of whom stayed for a nice long chat and some tea.

We found time inbetween visitors to take some photos of everything set up -

The chimney in the front room is adorned with a framed set of Flying Ducks (as well as the inevitable Penguins).


We put Alan's manicule to good use in directing visitors through to the dining room...


...where they found a table full of materials, assorted bits and bobs as well as the Adana. We did a little demonstration for a few visitors, who had a go on it too and took their prints home with them.


Thanks to Celia, Andy and everyone else who came along to say hello! And we're doing it all next weekend as well!

But before next weekend's excitements we've got a busy week ahead of less than exciting things (like the enormous pile of ironing that's been ignored during the run up to Open Studios....).

It's cold!

Very cold - but we haven't had any snow, unlike everywhere else it seems!

Not much printmaking or letterpress news today I'm afraid, we've both been busy working and writing and haven't had much spare time on our hands. Today Jon has been out and about in the cold in Coggeshall and I've been trying to think of something pithy to write about the state of garden history. Here is the view from our office window, which I have been gazing out for a large part of the afternoon -


And here is another place I've been doing lots of staring out of windows in recent weeks, mostly planning letterpressed Christmas cards and various prints - I am determined to work on one of our projects this weekend!