Welcoming Gloria to the Studio

I reached a critical moment in my business at the start of 2024. My home studio was full to the brim with supplies. I did my very best to organize it in the most functional way possible, but with my desire to paint and create my own artwork continuously growing, I was running out of space. I had dreamt of owning my own antique letterpress for many years, but I knew that I could not do both in the studio space I had. I was at a crossroads – do I stretch myself and my business too thin and rent a studio space where I can grow, knowing it isn’t fully financially feasible yet? Or do I have to give up one of my dreams? Seeing as I already had the art supplies, it became the obvious choice to let go of the idea of letterpress printing in-house.

In the early spring, my husband and I began talking about the future of our home. Our large basement was essentially unusable – cinderblock walls, concrete floors, wolf spiders at every turn, and a history of flooding, cracked foundation, and mouse infestations that had eaten away at our wallets for the last seven years. It was also where we had to go to do our laundry, which as you may imagine was far from ideal. We knew that the value of our home had skyrocketed since we purchased in 2017, and after looking into home equity loans we decided it was time to make it better. And then, Sean said “What if there’s an area for a painting studio for you?” I had made peace with my current situation, and the idea had never even crossed my mind. Now, standing in the space, I could visualize it. It made so much sense.

This decision not only would allow me a separate space dedicated to creating artwork, but it opened up so many more possibilities in my current home studio. A glimmer of antique letterpress hope returned. I knew a tabletop press large enough for wedding invitations would be a challenging find, but I also knew that I had plenty of time and plenty to learn before I needed to make a purchase. I bought a comprehensive online letterpress course and began leisurely going through the modules. I knew a lot of the beginner information already, but then we got to finding a press – so. many. resources. With absolutely no intention of making a purchase any time soon, I started browsing some of the links.

There she was, in all her glory. An 1886 Golding Official No. 6. She was about three hours away, seemed to be in excellent condition, and the price was unbelievable. It had to be too good to be true. I almost clicked away, but something in my gut kept telling me to find out more. I called the owner and had a lovely chat about the press. He had owned her for about 5 years, and, while she was in great working order, he just wasn’t using her as much as he thought he would be. He knew this Golding was meant to be used and was searching for the right owner. After discussing my work and my plans for her, he told me he could hold onto her for a few days so that I could arrange a pickup if I was interested. I FaceTimed my mom after we got off the phone and told her about this wild fluke. I was still unsure – after all, I didn’t have much time to decide, it was a long drive, and construction on our basement and my future painting studio hadn’t even begun yet. Where would I put her? Where would I find the cash on such short notice? I had responsibilities, I couldn’t just leave spontaneously. My mom quickly shut down all of those thoughts. “This could be once-in-a-lifetime – let’s go get her.”

So, we did. We drove halfway that night, stayed in a hotel, and continued on the following morning. I was trying not to be too excited – it still felt too good to be true. There had to be something wrong with her. But then we got there, and the owner spent so much time showing me how she works and past projects he had printed with her. I knew she was meant to be mine. I handed him the cash, he helped us carefully package and haul all 150lbs of her into the trunk of my car, and I was on my way. Everything happened so quickly, and only because Sean had the idea to create a painting studio for me in our soon-to-be finished basement. The name Gloria is of Portuguese origin, connecting to my heritage and meaning “immortal glory”, which felt like a perfect fit, given she is only 138 years young with a lot of work ahead of her.

I purchased Gloria in April and decided on the perfect spot for her in my studio – it was barely a decision really, my sunny alcove where I had all of my painting supplies was practically made for her. It involved moving all of my painting supplies into the hallway, just waiting for our basement renovation to be complete so they could move into their new home too. Construction didn’t start until the end of June, and it took about six weeks until completion, which meant my studio (and life tbh) has been in chaos for the last four months. I had to close my inquiries to be able to keep up with everything that was going on and stay sane. I’m still going through my letterpress course, learning how to set Gloria up properly, and purchasing all the necessary tools and equipment for when she’s ready. Now that both of my home studios are almost set up for business, I can’t wait to get a project on press and start taking new clients again.

Brand new studio(s!) tour coming soon!