Bespoke Letterpress brings the joy of couture stationery to Canberra
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Alischa Herrmann is a thoroughly modern women, running a demanding business while raising four children aged nine, six, three and almost one.
But as the founder and creator of Bespoke Letterpress, her heart is in the ancient and long-lost craft of letterpress—an artform she has resurrected for the 21st Century.
The former Sydney-based corporate graphic designer took a leap of personal and professional faith in the mid-2000s when she purchased her first letterpress printing press—an 1893 Chandler & Price foot treaded press that she affectionally named Charlie.
As she laboriously restored Charlie, she learned the trade from a retired letterpress printer, “and together we worked to find ways to fuse modern design, with traditional and very laborious hand fed, foot treated printing processes.”
Alischa and her family.
“Bespoke Letterpress was created in 2007 and was a one woman show where I was designing and printing custom wedding stationery for clients. Quickly the demand grew, the art of letterpress started to capture more attention and suddenly my little business idea was booming by the late 2000s.
“As time ticked on, and we started to hire more staff, we decided that as beautiful as letterpress wedding invitations were, it was only allowing the craft to be appreciated by those select few who could afford it, and who were lucky enough to get invited to a fancy wedding! We decided it was time to start printing an everyday stationery range with just a few greeting cards, gift tags and then gift wrap.”
By this stage the business was getting approached by retail stores across the country and around the world to start stocking stationery products.
The new Canberra Centre pop-up.
Alischa pivoted the business away from hand printing invitations and turned it into one that created a range of stationery staples—growing it into a well-known brand for beautiful designs, stunning print techniques, gorgeous typography and an appreciation for the art of print and paper and all that is possible in-between!
Opening a pop-up in Canberra Centre earlier this month, Bespoke Letterpress has a store in The Strand Arcade in Sydney, and one in Bowral where many a Canberran has whiled away the hours poring over beautiful items which include puzzles, 100 per cent linen tea towels, fine Christmas ornaments, stunning silk and velvet ribbons, journals, planners, calendars, recipe books, and, of course, a collection of cards, gift tags and their world famous double sided gift wrap!
One of the most fulfilling parts of the business for Alischa is to support a range of artists and illustrators and elevate their designs using Bespoke’s craftsman print techniques, which typically may be an unattainable medium for many.
“We connect a lot with our artists and illustrators via Instagram, and work together to create a collection of artworks which we then combine with our beautiful typography and lots of beautiful gold foil and gold gilding. It is such a wonderful part of our process working with artists and we adore bringing their gorgeous designs to life!”
Meanwhile, plans are underway to launch a wallpaper collection soon.
With Bespoke’s customer base being diverse—but, at their core, lovers of beautiful design and pattern—beautiful paper and lovers of stationery, Alischa said Canberra was an ideal location for the third store.
It’s a pop-up arrangement for the next few months but Alischa said, “if Canberra loves us, and the store goes well, then we would love to stay long term!”
THE ESSENTIALS
What: Bespoke Letterpress Pop-Up
Where: Canberra Centre, ground floor near the Lego store (and Santa when he arrives!)
When: Mon-Thurs 9am-5.30pm, Friday 9am-9pm, Saturday 9am-5pm, Sunday 10am-4pm
Web: bespokepress.com.au
