Willowcrest Press
Emma Gaze takes beautiful literary quotes and sets them in simple, elegant typography on clean cotton paper. Each one is a perfect, sharable work of art. Your note is certain to be cherished when it arrives on one of her cards.
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Where did the name of your studio come from?
It was the name of the street I lived on when I started the company.
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Who is on your team, and how did you come together?
It's been just me since the beginning, but very recently my partner Pauline has started to work on the distribution side and is much more proficient than me at the promotional aspects. I also do collaborations with Clemence Gancel, a designer/typographer in Paris. She'll design things and I'll print them. I used to be a musician and met them both on tour.
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How did you get into design and letterpress printing?
I've always been an avid reader and a stationery nut. I used to travel a lot for work- I loved seeing all the different papers and designs in different countries, particularly in the USA and Japan. When I had some free time I did a night class in letterpress type setting, I was instantly hooked!. I was tinkering around with it for some years before I decided to move to America, and once I got to California I could find all the print equipment which I could never find in England...I got a Kelsey 5x8 and was off! I was initially just printing for fun, I am huge poetry fan and wanted to print some WS Merwin and Gertrude Stein quotes. Fortunately for me, some of the quotes I choose really resonate with people, and so I started to take things more seriously and it grew and grew. Now I have a Chandler and Price Craftsman 12x18...but I've still got the Kelsey- I couldn't part with it!
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Where do you find inspiration for your designs?
It's all about the words, really, and the space- I do love spare design/minimalism (in opposition to my vast collection of knick knacks and tchotchkes, haha)...
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What kind of press do you use?
1924 Chandler and Price Craftsman 12x18
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Which press was used to print the Nicely Noted cards?
1924 Chandler and Price Craftsman 12x18