Letterpress Things

I cannot say enough great things about John Barrett's Letterpress Things in Chicopee, MA. Supplies for letterpresses. Fonts. Beautiful old letterpresses for sale. And there's John himself- patient, friendly & a font (heh heh) of knowledge.

When I contacted John before visiting his place, he told me to bring my little Kelsey press. Good thing, too- he looked at my press, showed Bernie and me what needed to be fixed and gave me more advice and tips than I had anticipated or hoped for!

Kelly McMahon, who has a studio in VT, teaches a class at Letterpress Things.

If anyone out there is interested in the world of letterpress, I recommend starting in Chicopee!

Of course, any visit to Chicopee has to include a visit to the..... Hu Ke Lau

New London Rocks!

Nice review by Eric R. Danton of local musical efforts in the Hartford Courant on Jan. 4:

"Various artists, "Towers of New London, Vol. 4: Eminent Domain" (Cosmodemonic Telegraph) - Connecticut's best rock scene shows why on this 30-song, two-disc collection of bands from the New London area. Contributions span a range of styles: There's old-school garage rock on the Reducers' "Yeh, Yeh Alright," shoe-gazer atmospherics on Low-Beam's "Pantastico," fiddle-laced roots music on the Can Kickers' "Johnny Walker," jug band-style "banjitar" on Hot Manouche's "Rocks" and brawny alt-rock on Ringers' "War Paint." This set is also beautifully packaged, with thorough liner notes and a short essay by Marko Fontaine, a DJ on WCNI-FM (90.9). Plenty of cities in this state are bigger, but none rocks harder than New London."

And congrats to Marko!