furrandfriend

At this time, Matt spent his days in lecture halls studying modern-day printing and his evenings falling in love with the art of letterpress. As he learned about the vast and ever-adapting history of print, he found himself drawn to the 15th century letterpress printing process and its unique artistic, tactile, and refined quality of work. Matt was inspired by the tireless work of operating a press and its demands for authentic craftmanship. Naturally, he purchased his first Chandler & Price Pilot (Old Style) that same year.

A side hobby became an official business in 2011, as Matt and the original Friend, Joel Engelberth, began experimenting with a 100+ year old press. Their attention to detail, creative visions, and respect for printed work lead to a growing clientele whose requests have included custom stationery, business cards, personalized invitations, and beyond. Matt and Joel’s knowledge of printing and desire for a creative outlet have created countless beautiful works. We hope you’ll enjoy perusing them in our store.

In 2015, a new friend came into the picture. Matt and I (Sarah here!) met through our roommates and hit it off immediately. Our last three years have included the joys of getting to know one another, falling in love (swoon!), getting married, finding a place to live, and stumbling into a hobby to enjoy together. If our life were a movie, printing would totally be our meet cute as I love handwritten notes and Matt loves to provide the canvas. Although I knew nothing about printing, when Matt designed and printed our wedding invitations, I was hooked. We opened a studio space in Taylors Mill in October of 2017 just before getting married. Since then, we look forward to spending our weekends together printing so we can create beautiful works as a couple.

We also gained a new friend in the same season! Jon Kalshoven is a longtime friend of Matt’s from their hometown. In an eerily similar career path, Matt and Jon both went to the same high school, studied the same program at Clemson, and now work for the same software company. Friends are fate indeed. Between Matt and Jon, the studio now boasts 5 presses, each used for their own specific purpose.