Rat + Bee = Ratbee Press
It started with Winnifred the rat and Henry the bee. Best friends, despite the obvious barriers. Whiskers and wings. Squeak and buzz. Sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Hence, Ratbee.
I started Ratbee Press started in 2012 because I was interested in woodblock printing and old music posters. I had heard of letterpress but didn't know what it was, except that is was old fashioned and cool. I reached out to a letterpress printshop in Asheville, Innerer Klang, and started apprenticing there. It took several more years of collecting materials, lead and wood type, and finding a small 1920's Pilot press from school house auction, and working a soul-crushing desk job until I finally took the plunge to make my hobby a business. Back in the days of yore, a print shop apprenticeship lasted 7 years. So I still think of myself as an apprentice to the trade. Each job I do is an opportunity to dig in and get dirty, create, make mistakes, fix those mistakes, and learn.
In 2017 I expanded my operation by building a studio in my back yard, in the former place of a rusty old shed (so sometimes I call it my shudio, or shedio). I bought a 1960's Vandercook SP 15 - the smallest and lightest Vandercook ever made.
I am inspired by nature - both the wild rural countryside and deep wood - and the gritty urban wildlife that perseveres in its wildness despite the mess of human culture trying to squeeze it out. Music is another serious inspiration, being both a musician myself, vinyl collector, and fan of various styles from old time mountain music to soul to free jazz. And finally, Asheville, Western North Carolina, and the Appalachian mountains will always be in my heart.
So here I am, designing and letterpress printing cards, art prints, and wedding invitations, and screenprinting shirts. It's entirely a one-woman operation. It's entirely Ratbee!
*Thanks for looking, and as always, feel free to contact me with any questions*
Love, Ratbee
