ABOUT SALT WATER PRESS
CELEBRATING JUXTAPOSITIONS:
Old and New, Mechanical and Handcrafted, Science and Art.
WE BELIEVE:
The process is just as fun as the product.
In inspiring surrounding, our community, our oceans and forest, and being present.
HELLO FROM JUNEAU, ALASKA
Founded by two women with a lifelong passion for both science and art, Salt Water Press was founded by Meghan Chambers and Tayler Bare. It is now exclusively owned and operated by Meghan.
Meghan, grew up in remote fish hatcheries in Southeast Alaska, the daughter of two biologists. Her early years were spent at remote fish hatcheries - playing on beaches, living amongst the bears and seals and eagles and ravens. She’s done a bit of everything in her career, but she keeps coming back to science and art.
In 2019, Meghan discovered letterpress printing and fell head-over-heels for it. It is the perfect way to combine her passion for visual art with an obsessive need to project manage and methodically work through tasks.
Much of her illustrative inspiration comes from a deep appreciation of the rocky shores and lush forests she gets to call home. She’s long been obsessed with drawing species and their surroundings, trying to capture life on the coast.
Salt Water Press celebrates juxtapositions - old and new, mechanical and hand-crafted, science and art. She believes the process is just as fun as the product. She believes in inspiring surroundings, uplifiting clients, connecting with my community, and being present.
Meghan lives next to the Mendenhall Glacier, and with her husband Lucas and their son, Charlie.
ABOUT LETTERPESS PRINTING
An extremely brief and incomplete history:
Letterpress printing is basically the oldest method in the book - beginning with 10th century block-printed China texts, and eventually showing up in Europe when Johannes Gutenberg invented his famous press in the 1400s. Originally featuring metal or wood type, individual letters were arranged to form the desired print form, locked up in a frame, inked and pressed onto paper in various fashions (presses have changed a lot in a few hundred years). But when offset and digital printing made it onto the scene, letterpress was old technology - inefficient, expensive, and dated. However, the 1990s came to the rescue and letterpress rose from the grave: the wedding industry adopted it (thanks Martha Stewart). Another game changer: photopolymer plates - now artists and designers could submit their designs to platemakers for printing. A reverse negative of the design is exposed to a UV-sensitive polymer, and a type-high design is made for printing. The freedom of creativity these photopolymer plates allowed letterpress to grow exponentially - anything you can draw or design can be a plate!
“Letterpress is a captivating mix of art and occupation. It requires attention and precision, with an eye for detail. In many ways, it feels like I’m working in a lab: making exact measurements, consulting with peers, and getting my hands dirty. Letterpress is an antique art form, and finicky to boot: it must be well-oiled before every print run, rollers get adjusted, and the platen must be specifically prepared based on each print job. But I relish this handcrafted nature - mixing the inks, hand-feeding each card into the press, and learning the rhythms of my machines. It’s a labor of love, and I’m so excited to share it with our community.”
