Where did the name of your studio come from?

Big Wheels of course! I have always loved the plastic tricycles with their big front wheels and the power they transmit to their little drivers. When our first press arrived at the studio we had to disassemble it and take it in through a narrow doorway piece by piece. The last piece we brought in was the big iron flywheel. All at once we all started chatting about our memories of those big wheel bikes…either as riders or pit crew. Big Wheel Press was born.

Who is on your team, and how did you come together?

I, Bill, am the lead designer, art director, and finder of lost and unwanted printing equipment. I prototype all the in house designs and take the lead on our custom projects and wedding invitations. Chris Campbell is our machinist operator...the old school phrase for the guy who keeps all our antique equipment up in running order. I found him at a local frame shop and got him hooked on printing. He is a great person, can run just about any machine and he now is our windmill master printer. He is the seeker of all oiling points in the universe. Our newest addition was hiding out in a local bookbindery when I found her. Lisa Hersey is a great printer, finder of all mistakes, and the goddess of glue. Along with printing like the rest of us, she glues and duplexes our complicated projects on our team of Potdevin gluers.

How did you get into design and letterpress printing?

My parents gave me a small printing press when I was six years old. I immediately starting publishing the family newspaper and made greeting cards for every occasion. In high school I was on the production team for the school newspaper. In those days the paper was typeset on a Linotype and now we have one in the shop. Later on I worked for weekly newspapers and finally opened a design studio…before Macs and desktop publishing.

Where do you find inspiration for your designs?

Inspiration comes from the heart. Every card has a story behind it . I believe that the more heart felt the story, the better the card. We have cards featuring onesies that are inspired by the newest member of the team, my 20-month-old son Gabe. The design for my Louie Award winning “Screw Cancer” card was adapted from a broadside I printed for my sister to hang on her hospital room wall when she was there for breast cancer surgery.

What kind of press(es) do you use?

Big Wheel Press is a working studio that on first glance looks like a printing museum. When we first started out we had a Chandler & Price Pilot and a #14 Golding Pearl treadle press. Thousands of cards, invitations and coasters where printed on these two loyal machines. Then we added a Vandercook SP-20 proof press and when that broke down in the middle of a huge commission we added another Vandercook. At this point we became the Noah’s arc of printing, we were never going to caught again without a back up. These days most of our printing happens on a small flock of Heidelberg windmills. When we are feeling in a historic mood we grease up our 1898 iron hand press and when party spirit hits we heat up on 1980’s thermography machine that we have converted for adding glitter to our cards. The shop is rounded out with an Intertype and four Ludlow typecasters for casting type in hot lead.

Which press was used to print the Nicely Noted cards?

For this card we use a 1960’s Heidelberg Redball (named Jeannie after my mom).