Lauren met with the studio manager, Jessica Snow, to look at the equipment and to discuss a potential opportunity of acquiring it when the museum was to close. Lauren thought it was a long shot, but the goal was to write a proposal to the board, asking to place the equipment into the hands of someone willing to take care of it and keep it accessible to the community - essentially carrying out the Museum’s mission - instead of auctioning it off to private studios across the country, and we’d see what they say.

Before we ever wrote the proposal, Jessica called late one Monday evening. We had the green light from the board but we needed everything out my Friday. We found a storage facility and moved everything we could, within 5 days and no notice. None of that would have been possible without the support of our community!

All of a sudden, we had two Vandercooks, multiple Chandler & Price platen presses, an assortment of Line-O-Scribes, a great network of printmakers, and A LOT of type. Once our location had been decided, the local print community came together (AGAIN!) and moved everything inside, carefully moving each press and case of type as a team. 

The Printing Museum was founded in 1982 by printers Raoul Beasley, Vernon P. Hearn, Don Piercy, and J.V. Burnham with the purpose of showcasing the history, art, and technology of printing through exhibitions, educational programs, Artist residencies, and memberships. The museum’s last exhibition closed on September 30th, 2023, leaving behind a legacy of 40+ years. Our hope with Red Bird Press is that we can keep printmaking alive and accessible to our community.