About
South London Letterpress was founded by Clapham resident Karen Silcock.
Having always been a big stationery fan, Karen spent most of her career working as a Nurse then a Midwife in the NHS and it wasn't until she had her own children that she realised the importance of having to teach and encourage her children to write Thank you letters by hand.
After a few Letterpress workshops, a reconditioned vintage Adana table top printer was purchased along with some typefaces and lots of card and ink! Printing for friends and family made way for exhibiting at local school fairs.
As well as taking on bespoke orders from her studio in Clapham, Karen is on a mission to seek out the originality and playfulness of letterpress stationery from around the world and bring it to a wider audience, in order to appreciate its beauty.
Karen says:
I love creating bespoke stationery to order or just for fun, using new type, colours and layouts, as well as discovering new suppliers. I also love handwriting and am really keen to keep this art alive, especially amongst the younger generation where digital screens have taken over!
If you have any questions about the letterpress printing process, please do get in touch. I love meeting fellow independent makers and printers -- their commitment to craft and the pleasures of writing good old-fashioned hand written notes is inspiring.
Please do let me know if you see something here that you are interested in, or if you know of a printer who should be on my site. I am also open to collaborations!
I'd love to hear from you!
About Letterpress Printing:
Letterpress printing was the precedent to offset litho printing, which is how the vast majority of printing is done nowadays. Letterpress printing uses skill and is done by hand, feeding each individual sheet of paper into the press. Distinguishing features include: a crisp appearance because of its impression into the paper; great visual definition to the type and artwork. ~The juxtaposition of this technique and offbeat humour for greeting cards is a popular example
A Holly&Co Founder Member 2023