Owners of letterpress studio “Elegante Press”
CREATING AN IMPRESSION
It’s well worth the trip, getting lost included, to find this design and letterpress studio. At first glance, you would never guess that this is the place where so many small but important things are thought up and then pressed into existence. The business card you take from the mantle above the hearth as you leave triggers the need to glance over your shoulder, just to be certain that no stern museum curator is in pursuit to relieve you of this unique relic. But no gnarled guard appears. Instead, you are bid a warm farewell, with the wish that the card that you now bear bring you good fortune. We got the full story from Elegante Press:
You’re an engineer. How did you end up in this business?
By chance, I had the opportunity to buy a hundred-year-old, foot-operated printing press. I became interested in its history and learned that the style was invented during Gutenberg’s era, in 1439, and that it was currently back in fashion and enjoying a sort of renaissance. I decided to join the ranks of its enthusiasts!
I showed the first print I made to my wife and she really liked the result. That was when we decided to share this lovely, high-quality product with the world.
Tell us about your clientele. How you make an impression on them?
Our clientele is quite varied, from barber to clothing designer to architect, but regardless of the “who”, without fail, every client that contacts us has a certain aesthetic appreciation. They want to distinguish themselves and their products, and we help them achieve this. I like to think we’re a design and print studio with a flair for doing things differently, not just by being different, but also by personally catering to each client’s needs.
What would you say is your primary focus?
We put a lot of emphasis on guerrilla marketing because our product itself draws quite a bit of attention, and the marketing also needs to have high aesthetic values, which is why we try to ensure that both marketing photos and our creations are only found in the most aesthetically pleasing of locations.
At the same time, it’s very important that the product somehow distinguish itself, drawing not just the attention of a client, but also that of a professional critic, someone who writes about design. To achieve and maintain that is incredibly difficult, because almost every week we have to create something new and original, but it’s an interesting, creative process at the same time.
And your biggest challenges? What does the future hold?
This business is just like any other, the biggest challenge is learning how to offer your client something new, how to generate even more interest and intrigue. The letterpress is an antique technology with a rich history, which is why it’s so valued by its patrons, but offering something new is quite complicated because the capabilities of the machine are limited. However, in the future we plan to connect this antique technology to the Internet so the client could interact with it remotely. It would be a synthesis of the old and the new, and I think it will be really interesting.
What’s your advice to those who want to start their own businesses?
Well, speaking from experience, for those thinking of taking up the letterpress or otherwise wanting to create a product using antique technology, we wish you three things: patience, patience and patience.
They want to distinguish themselves and their products, and we help them achieve this.
Viktorija ir Saulius Dumbliauskas
