Merrimack Valley Magazine

KERNgirl – Marrying the Old and the New

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These days, there aren’t many professions that don’t rely on digital technology. As our fast-paced society has come to increasingly depend on screen time, traditional crafts such as letterpress printing have become nostalgia-inducing novelties. But for Beth Noel, director of marketing at Middlesex Community College, which has campuses in Bedford and Lowell, the letterpress is a vehicle for creating more than just handcrafted stationery. 

Noel was a teenager when she fell in love with the tactile experience of using a printing press. “Since my high school job as a paste-up artist for a local newspaper, I knew that printing and I would be lifelong friends,” Noel says. “The smell of ink, the feel of a cold press sheet in my hands, and the rhythmic ‘ka-chunk’ keep me coming back for more.” The process inspired her career in graphic design, which eventually led to her current role. 

In 2010, Noel and her husband gifted each other a letterpress printing course for Valentine’s Day. “On the ride home, I turned to my husband and said, ‘I think I’m going to get a press,’ ” Noel recalls. Two years later she secured a space at Western Avenue Studios in Lowell, and KERNgirl Design Studio & Print Shop was born. 

 

At KERNgirl, Noel’s letterpress printshop and design studio, she creates printed material such as greeting cards, coasters, custom invitations and stationery, among other products. According to Noel, a self-described “crafter and maker at heart,” letterpress printing is an artistic outlet that helps keep her sane. 

While her day job relies on computer design and her small business involves a manual process, Noel says the two play off of each other in unique ways. 

“I think all of [my experience] informs who I am as an artist and craftsman,” Noel says. “I like to bring everything to bear whenever I’m working, whether it’s printing things in my shop or working at Middlesex.” According to Noel, graphic design and printing both require good communication skills. “You have to clearly invite someone to a wedding, or clearly share important information, so I find [both of my jobs] challenging and fun.” 

Of the many printing presses she has used over the years, Noel’s favorite is the manually powered Damon & Peets 6×10 treadle press. “It’s my hand or my that leg runs it, and every single piece that I’m printing, I am touching at least twice,” Noel says. “I am very connected to whatever it is that I’m making.”

That connection to the things she makes means even more to Noel when she finds herself educating others on the history of the printing press. “What I truly love is being able to share the history, the process and the experience with others,” Noel says. She reflects on her open studio nights, when she lets visitors try out the letterpress, and people come in to browse her work. “Being able to teach and share historical printing in an age where everything is on a smartphone is fantastic,” Noel says. 

Noel recently moved her printing studio from Western Avenue to NOVA Art Studios in North Chelmsford, where she finds inspiration in the surrounding creative community. “There’s something about that creative community that’s so important to me,” Noel says. “I’m always interested in getting feedback and other points of view from those around me. In a creative community, that happens almost organically.”  

As Noel continues to share the products she creates at local art shows, a new portable printing press will allow passersby to witness the care and craftsmanship she puts into her work. 

The printing press and the beautiful handmade items Noel produces with it help to preserve an important cultural legacy for future generations. “I’m excited to continue to share this amazing craft that really did revolutionize the world,” she says.  

KERNgirl Design Studio & Print Shop
North Chelmsford, Mass.
KernGirl.com

2020 Interior Design Trends

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Over the past seven years, I have had the privilege of attending High Point Market in North Carolina, a five-day “to the trade” event that’s usually held every April and October. It is the largest furniture and accessories show in the world, covering an area of over 12 million square feet.

By attending High Point Market twice a year, I get to see the evolution of styles and colors. When I visited in October, certain trends that I’d observed in 2018 were now firmly established. To further confirm my observations, I attended Paris Design Week, also called Paris Deco Off. Paris Design Week is Paris’ version of High Point Market. If one is looking to see what trends will soon be coming to the states, Paris Design Week is a good indicator. 

I will break down the seven top trends that I saw, but my overall observation, looking over thousands of images from both industry events, is that luxury and maximalism both stood out. As a whole, I think the global community is stressed. We worry about the environment, the unpredictability of the world economy — and all this was before the COVID-19 outbreak. Our home is our one place of refuge. It is our sanctuary and safe harbor. 

Even before the pandemic, we were spending more time nesting and less time at the mall. We want our homes to be special, functional and beautiful. We are looking to surround ourselves with quality items that reflect the stories of the hands that made them. Fast fashion and cheap decor are no longer sought after. Although most of us don’t have the budget to fill our homes with luxury items, we can splurge on one beautiful pillow or perhaps deck out a small room with charming wallpaper. Less might be more going forward, but the less is the best quality one can afford.

Here is my roundup of the seven top trends for 2020. How the current state of affairs will affect these trends has yet to be seen.

 

A room vignette at the Pierre Frey show room during Paris Design Week. Soft curves, rounded shapes, sumptuous textures and warm colors are all on trend.

1. Color: We are moving away from the cool grays and cooler tones that we have seen for the past 10 years. There is a shift toward warmer, especially jewel tones, and rich, complex colors. All shades of green, along with golds (especially paired with blue), warm reds, denim blue, dusty pinks, eggplant and terra-cotta are all trending. Color is in, and the consumer is fully embracing it.

2. Biophilia: This is one of the hottest trends you’ve probably never heard of. Biophilia is basically our innate urge to surround ourselves with nature. Most people immediately think of plants, but biophilia is so much more. This trend incorporates organic materials and elements like raw woods and natural-fiber textiles such as linens, cottons and wool. Biophilia embraces rooms that are flooded with natural illumination from ample windows or skylights. Anything representative of nature falls under the biophilia trend, including photos or paintings of nature, fabrics with floral or botanical patterns, shells, coral or butterflies. Biophilia isn’t only about natural items, but shapes and colors, as well. The colors of nature, such as blues, greens and earthy tones, and soft, rounded organic shapes all fall under the biophilia umbrella.

3. Pattern Mixing: Patterns, and lots of them, are a huge trend heading into the new decade. While in Paris, I attended the 2020 introductions of fabrics, wallpapers and carpets by iconic fabric house Pierre Frey. I was awestruck by the beauty and how they were presented as a cohesive collection. All the patterns are designed to work together in a single room and were displayed by colorway. Florals, geometrics, ikats, and animal prints all speaking the same language.

Left: Animal motifs, especially African animals such as tigers and leopards, are one of the top trends for 2020. Right: Pattern mixing of luxury botanical and animal themed fabrics spotted in a window display during Paris Design week.

4. Texture: This is a trend that plays right into the luxury category. I wanted to spend all week in both High Point and Paris running my hands over everything and feeling the textures. Sumptuous fabrics, including velvets, embroideries and nubby wool, are all trending. There were textural and sculpted carpets, textured wood cabinetry and embellishments on everything from lighting to furniture. Fringe is especially popular, and there is a big resurgence in both wicker and rattan. High-gloss wallpaper was a surprise I came across in several Paris showrooms. Pierre Frey has introduced a patent leather wallpaper and, just around the corner from their showroom I saw a patent leather skirt in the window of clothing store.

5. Animal motifs: Maybe it’s because we continue to hear disheartening news about the threats to and declines of exotic animals, but animal motifs were everywhere in High Point and Paris. Dishes, drapery, carpets and furniture were all seen sporting animal motifs. Primarily, I saw exotic African animals, but fish, horses and dogs were clearly represented. My friend and I made a game out of “spot the animal” because every showroom we visited had either representations of animals or animal prints. Look for animals to be especially popular on fabrics and wallpaper.

6. Mixed materials: A wood-framed chair with brass and cork arms. A wood chest with glass inlay and a stone top. Mixing different materials on a single piece goes along with the maximalist look that’s very much trending. I saw a lot of furniture with some combination of wood, glass, stone, brass, silver, Lucite or fabric on a single piece.

7. Curves: Rounded shapes have officially replaced the clean, straight midcentury lines of the past 10 years. This trend references the ’80s with bucket-type swivel chairs, curved-back sofas, rounded arms, and soft edges on furniture and accessories. If our home is our safe haven, then curved furniture that envelops our body gives us a cozy and protected feel. Curves are an organic shape and pleasing to the human eye. They fit right in with the urge to create a sanctuary space at home.

Left: A buffet with a wood case, hand-painted glass door fronts, brass legs and a stone top was a new introduction at the fall 2019 High Point Market. It provides a great example of using mixed materials in a single piece of furniture. Right: A finely detailed and embroidered fabric is one of the many luxury options from the 2020 collection of Pierre Frey, Paris.

Trends are always fun to spot and discuss, but keep in mind that they only have a shelf life of about 10 years. By 2030, we will have moved on and other new trends will be “the look.”

As a working designer, I generally stay away from trends as I prefer to give my clients a more timeless space. Even so, it is interesting to observe the evolution of interior styles and colors, and at least take notice.

If you truly want to be “on trend,” then my advice is to pick a trend or two and incorporate them in a way that they can easily be switched out when you’re ready to try something else.    

Print Matters

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Haverhill Museum Preserves the Rich History of Publishing

Tucked away on a side street in Haverhill lies over 700 years of printing history. One of only three such museums in the country, the Museum of Printing (MOP) preserves, displays and teaches the history of printing and graphic arts from the 1300s to the present day. It is, according to museum President Frank Romano, “the most comprehensive printing museum in the world.”

As evidence of this, when 20th Century Fox needed authentic 1970s-era printing equipment as props for its 2017 movie “The Post,” Romano and the MOP provided exactly what was required. 

The MOP also supplies refurbished equipment to graphic arts departments at local schools and colleges. Northeastern University, for example, has a 150-year-old linopress made up of parts from three different presses that were salvaged and refurbished by the museum’s staff of volunteers, who bring the equipment to the schools, set it up and provide training. 

 

The idea for the museum sprang from the collection of printed material Romano salvaged from his former employer, Mergenthaler Linotype Co., when the business moved from Brooklyn, N.Y., to Long Island in 1969. “I want to save it all for history so it won’t be forgotten,” he says. “I want to save the equipment, the materials, the books, the supporting material and the ideas that encompass the way we’ve communicated over several hundred years, and leave behind something that shows there’s a continuity.” 

Save he did. Even as he moved from apartment to apartment, he left nothing behind and continued to add rare and interesting finds, hiring a carpenter to build custom bookshelves to display his growing collection. 

Fifty-two tons of equipment are housed in the museum, as well as a library of some 7,000 books relating to printing. President Frank Romano (bottom left) started the Museum of Printing with items from his own collection, and works tirelessly to ensure the history it presents won’t be lost to future generations. Innovations such as virtual reality stations (right) help present this history in a manner that is fun and engaging to attendees of all ages.

By the late 1970s, The Boston Globe was ending its use of the letterpress and Romano owned New England Printer & Publisher Magazine. He approached William Taylor, the Globe’s publisher at the time, about saving some of the equipment for a future museum, and Taylor agreed. They recruited publishers, typographers and others in the printing industry with a shared desire to preserve the history for future generations. Together, they became the board of directors of the newly established The Friends of The Museum of Printing Inc., though the museum itself would be many years in the making.

 “The Taylor family helped us find warehouses to store all the stuff in,” Romano says. First in Lowell, then in Lawrence, then in Boston, the equipment remained in storage until 1995, when the group found property in North Andover where some of the collection could finally be displayed, though much of it remained in storage.

The space was not ideal. Volunteer Ted Leigh describes it as overcrowded and lacking organization. “Everything was like it belonged to hoarders,” he jokes, “crammed in, with aisles to walk in between.”

 There were other problems. “We spent more time in North Andover on maintenance than we did on the collection,” Romano says, noting that there were issues in the too-dark space with the water and elevator. 

There have always been issues with money, too. “We’ve been 41 years without an endowment,” Romano says. “We exist month to month.” When the landlord raised the rent in North Andover, Romano knew the museum would not be able to survive, so he purchased an old electrical supply store on Thornton Avenue in Haverhill and donated it to the museum in 2016, eliminating its biggest operating expense — rent. 

It took nine months for a team of volunteers to move the 52 tons of equipment and materials to the clean and bright new location. “We don’t want it to be crowded,” Romano says. “We want it to be open and airy.” 

The move allowed Romano to add his personal library to the museum’s collection. Floor-to-ceiling glass-fronted bookcases line the entire perimeter of a large room, displaying about 7,000 books related to printing. 

Haverhill’s Museum of Printing is dedicated to preserving printing and typesetting technology. Its rotating exhibits detail the evolution of production technology from letterpresses to iMacs. The museum also offers workshops on such topics as block carving, poster printing and chapbook making.

Leigh says the collection is much better organized in the new space. To help tell the museum’s story more completely, Zappar Augmented Reality stations have been installed in 11 places. Visitors can access these on their mobile device with a free downloadable app. 

In addition to the only set of photo typefacing equipment in the world, the museum’s collection includes about 100 presses, 50 typewriters, the original Edison No. 0 mimeograph machine, an example of every model of Mac computer, and a Linotype library of over 3,000 fonts. 

The collection also includes an original copy of the “Nuremberg Chronicle,” which tells the story of human history as related in the Bible. It was printed in Germany when printing technology was still in its infancy. “I was holding a page of the ‘Nuremberg Chronicle’ the other day that was printed in 1493,” Romano says. “There’s a direct connection between me and some medieval printer who did this on a wooden printing press. I think that’s fantastic.” 

The museum is open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and offers tours by appointment. CDC and State guidance advisories have been implemented. It’s easily accessible via Interstate 495 off exit 49, and plenty of parking is available.

Fo more, contact: info@museumofprinting.org, 978-578-6143 or visit museumofprinting.org

 

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