Leipzig is not cool!
t.siemon@carpe-plumbum.de
http://www.carpe-plumbum.de/
Took part in: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018
1986
When I was young (around 16) I had the chance to enter a letterpress workshop in the small town I grew up in the north of Germany. I was totally fascinated by the Linotype, all the presses and the type and the possibilities that they offered. It was not a commercial printshop, owned by a more or less anarchistic guy. Great space in a former watertower. With a small group of enthousiasts we printed flyers and posters to make the world a better place. I soon fell in love with the letterpress technique. With the politics that’s another story…
At the place I mentioned above an annual meeting – the “Typomania” – is held since 1987. Around 15 book artists come for 4 days to print together. I participated in this from 1987 to 1996. There I learned a lot – not only about letterpress. Later then in my first own printshop in a cellar in Kassel. A lot of “learning by doing” and doing almost everything wrong that could go wrong with letterpress once in a while. But now, after nearly 30 year I feel that I’m not that bad at it
Some friends I made at the Typomania, Joop Visser, Oskar Bernhard, Lothar Micklei
Being super strong – could be useful in moving presses
I enjoy both. In my workshop I’m usually alone.
Humor, honesty and that they still consider me to be their friend even if we haven’t seen or talked for a long time.
When I have no paper or pencil to write them down.
Corvinius bold
Usually the one that doesn’t hide somewhere behind the others.
Jonathan Franzen, The Twenty-Seventh City
Andreas Feininger, Die Welt neu gesehen
The Walking Dead, Kompendium I
William Morris
3 proof presses FAG (30×50, 50×70 and 60×80cm), Mailänder proof press 100×140cm. “Präsident” Cylinder Press 70×100cm, Heidelberg Windmill. Lots of type. Linotype model 16 and lots of matrices. Nebitype Typecasting Machine. Paper cutter and some other stuff
Would be cool to have a nice floor out of wooden bricks.
Most happy moments are too private to share here, but I have happy moments in my workshop, also when traveling. Driving through the Alpes to Milan for example is always nice.
Having to move the workshop to another place. So to everyone: Leipzig is not cool! Hipsters stay in Berlin please…!
That it doesn’t need too be useful.
Printing, typesetting, organizing, cleaning presses, cleaning workshop, answering phonecalls, trying to find my desk under the pile of paper that intends to cover it during the day, asking myself why it is so late again.
Woodcut and print from all kinds of materials.