Now, more than ever before, we live in an era of technology. Our society values speed, convenience, and mass production. While we may be better informed and more efficient than ever before, I would argue that the increased reliance on technology comes with a price to our creativity and resourcefulness. There is so much we take for granted and, in the midst of the Holidays, I would like to reflect on a unique opportunity we had to visit a letterpress studio in the heart of Eastern Market.
After doing our final presentation with Vehicles for Change, we were off for an afternoon of cultural immersion at Salt and Cedar. The co-owners at Salt and Cedar, Megan O’Connell and Leon Johnson were incredibly hospitable as they demonstrated how they use movable type and, oftentimes, 19th century technology to turn their designs into reality.
One of Salt and Cedar’s co-owners, Megan O’Connell, showing us how to use a letter press.
Then, it was our turn. The process can be tedious, meticulously placing each small letter upside-down by hand. Still, the machinery is beautiful, dripping with history and stories to tell.
Our CD design: Problems Worth Having
Not to mention, the results are authentic and delightfully unique.
Megan’s rough draft of our CD design.
Work produced by Salt and Cedar for the Detroit Sound Conservancy.
See what I mean?
My favorite part of the Salt and Cedar story was hearing how the staff had stumbled upon much of their machinery is unlikely places—abandoned buildings, garage sales, etc. Like any Detroiter (native or transplant), I have become somewhat accustomed to seeing crumbling buildings and writing them off as just another project on the city’s ‘to-do’ list. Now, I am inclined to be more thoughtful and consider what sort of historical treasures each building contains. Could it be a letterpress? Another piece of ‘outdated’ technology that could encourage a tech-driven society to put down the IPhone, if only for a moment.
Just one of Salt and Cedar’s historic letter presses.
Living in a society where the majority of jobs required people to do things, usually in front of a computer or two, it was refreshing to see into a world where things are made by hand, with care and precision. Salt and Cedar cannot simply mass produce their letterpress prints for cheap public distribution and there is something really refreshing about that.