Lynda Sherman is the sole owner and operator of the incomparable letterpress design and print studio, Bremelo Press. Based in Seattle, Bremelo Press acts as a studio for Sherman, as well as an archive of the history and legacy of analog printing in a post-net world.
The following is a conversation between Lynda Sherman & Sierra Stinson.
Q: How did Bremelo Press come to be?
The first time I stepped into a letterpress print shop was the first time I felt my feet hit the ground. I had to figure out a way to always be printing, and that’s Bremelo Press.
Q: If you didn’t include above can you share with us the origin of the name?
Thinking of a press name, I reclaimed a derogatory word that was flung out a car window at me when I was 12. I was born in Bremerton, WA and a Bremelo is a combination of Bremertonian and buffalo. I had just become an aunt to two little girls, also born in Bremerton, and I wanted them to know they could be anything regardless of what anyone else said.
Spencer Jacket and Raven Dress
Q: What are your daily or weekly rituals that are of importance?
My 45 minute walk each way, to and from work, is essential. I also reserve one day a week as Pajama Day. It is just as it sounds.
Q: Your work is very much about collaboration both with clients and artists – Who are your favorite collaborators?
My favorite collaborators are people who are curious. I am lucky to work with curious people as we seem to find each other. The clients I work with are often proprietors themselves and are excellent adventurers by nature. The artists I work with will ask me to do something I’ve never done before and I love it when that happens.
Q: You just had a residency with Penland, can you tell us a bit about that experience?
Penland has a long history of supporting creative lives, and teaching there is to join in that mission. Having the opportunity to work uninterrupted for an extended period of time with a group of self selected hard workers produces amazing and unexpected results. It’s great to be a part of that process.
Crane Shirt
“My favorite collaborators are people who are curious. I am lucky to work with curious people as we seem to find each other.”
Mid A Frame Hoodie
Q: What are you looking forward to in the near future?
I’m looking forward to working with people I’ve yet to meet. Everyone brings their own experiences to the press and I enjoy getting to know someone and making something that resonates with their lives. It’s always a surprise.
Q:Who and what inspires you?
Conversations inspire me. Lived experiences inspire me.
Q: Who are your style icons?
Phoolan Devi. Marlon Brando in The Fugitive Kind. Janelle Monae. Catherine Deneuve for her hair.
Q: Tell us about a creation that has stuck with you – either of your own or by someone else.
To say it’s a privilege to work with the people I do is an understatement. To collaborate is to share and be vulnerable and to trust. Years ago I printed a memorial commemoration for someone’s husband who was taken too soon. I had never met either before I got the phone call. It was intimate and expansive. I can’t really tell you what happened, as you may say I was collaborating with someone who wasn’t there. Late last year I got a phone call from the surviving partner. He was getting married and asked if I would print the invitations. Dear reader, I said YES. Love wins, always.
Mid Spindle
