My name is Eva Jorgensen, and I run a little letterpress paper goods business called Sycamore Street Press with my husband, Kirk. I studied printmaking in school, and fell in love with the art of letterpress and the collaborative aspect of printmaking. My friends Stephanie Ford, Kristin Mills, and Amy Shaffer and I come up with the designs, and then Kirk and I print them all by hand on our vintage press. We also invite a different artist each month to create the artwork for a limited edition print that becomes a part of the Sycamore Club (our letterpress print of the month club). We use eco-friendly materials wherever possible.
What inspired you to go into the craft business, do you still have a day job? When I finished up school, I planned on becoming an art professor, but there just weren’t any positions available. However, I’d had the idea of running my own letterpress studio for a while, and with the encouragement of family, I decided to go for it. My dad has always owned his own business, and he instilled his entrepreneurial spirit in me. I did work part time at a stationery shop at first, but now Sycamore Street Press is a full time job for Kirk and me.
What’s the best thing about what you do? And the worst? The best: being able to do something creative every day, the people we meet, being my own boss. The worst: bookkeeping, taxes, the lack of a steady paycheck.
What are your creative influences? Here are a few: Christian Boltanski, Kiki Smith, The Smiths, vintage books and films, folk art, and foreign food packaging.
What’s the best advice you have been given about your business or craft practices? Work hard.
phone: 614.949.3023
fax: 435.654.3462