Oldfield Press meets the W.I.

Oldfield Press have hit the road.
Took our presses in the back of a van and headed off to Baildon and the Baildon Belles, Womens Institute.

It is the first time I have had to explain to so many how to do what we do. There must have been 60 or so of the Baildon ladies sat in the old church hall waiting to make some easter cards.

I gave a brief talk on how and why we obtained the presses we use and gave out 60 or so small 6"x4" blocks of wood. I had been to the hardware shop and stocked up on cutting tools aswell as the stationers to get a slack handful of marker pens.
I showed how to ink up and place the paper and ran the press over a sheet of paper that had survived the wind outside and decided to stay unlike so many fairweather sheets that had up and left at the first gust to pass the back of the van.

What more is there to say? Nothing really as I suppose folk are here cos' they want a go.
I set up several work stations. First was the guillotine where the cards were cut to size. Next onto the creasing press. This is just an 8"x5" adana without rollers and a couple of creasing blades in the chase.

After this it was onto the proofing presses to press the freshly carved blocks that everyone had been working on. Lots of flowers, eggs and cups of tea were turning up at the presses and soon transfered onto the cards everyone had cut and creased.

Time flies and it wasn't long before the queue to the proofing presses had dwindled and the 2 Adana 8"x5" presses were soon printing the seasonal messages.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the night and some of the cards were very good. So good I hope that the folk who did them feel it worthwhile and maybe see them at the press working on new and different designs in the future. It was a learning curve and the best learing curve has got to be a smile.

baildonbelles.co.uk