Skip to main content

Moveable Type: Igloo Letterpress Plans Move and Expansion

There's a temptation to simply think of Igloo Letterpress as "the little shop that could"; the plucky, niche printing upstart swimming against the tide of digital image processing and online print orders. I suppose in a way they are that, what with their homespun origins and old-timey printing ways. The problem is, that narrative glosses over a set of pretty solid business fundamentals that have lead to both an impressive client list and expansion plans.

Igloo loves Ohio!

Not to get all MBA here, but businesses don't succeed and grow because they're cute. Businesses succeed and grow because they meet a need and do top-quality work. They succeed because they build authentic relationships; the kind of relationships that foster goodwill and ensure enthusiastic word of mouth marketing. They succeed because they provide value for their customers and their community. By these measures, "the little shop that could" has been putting on a clinic since re-locating from Minnesota to the central Ohio in 2008.

Igloo has a library! Books include "Books Without Paste or Glue" and "How to Fold"

As evidence of their success, Igloo will be moving from the cozy (cramped?) confines of 39 West New England in Worthington to a space that's four times larger and includes a High Street store front. The expansion will provide space for retail shopping and a visitor experience unlike any other. To strengthen their connection to the community, Igloo has launched a Kickstarter campaign in conjunction with the move. A successful campaign will give Igloo the chance to offer expanded community classes and take on additional public projects.
 

 One of Igloo's presses in action

I had the chance to go behind the scenes recently at Igloo, and can attest to all of the above. This is a business the that does top quality work, cares about its customers, and adds value to the community. The fact that they're plucky upstarts doing some serious niche work is just icing on the cake.

2T 4EVA!

Details on Igloo's Kickstarter campaign can be found here, Move Our Igloo. If you think central Ohio needs more of this, then back them any way you can. And if you can't make a financial commitment then feel free to tweet, retweet and share the hashtag #moveourigloo Every little bit helps.




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Ohio Historical Center: A Defense

A couple weeks ago I was contacted by Carrie Ghose at Business First to share my thoughts on architecture in central Ohio. The recent controversy surrounding the new Student Union at Ohio State had apparently sparked a number of conversations regarding what constitutes "good" building design. Carrie was following that story , and developing a second piece to get feedback on other notable Columbus buildings. At the time I offered a staunch a defense of what I believe might be the most maligned and misunderstood building in central Ohio, the Ohio Historical Center. Business First wasn't able to run the whole piece, so I've decided to turn it into a blog post. photo courtesy of OHS/ www.ohiomemory.org The refrain is a as old as the building itself, "It's ugly. It's just a giant brown box. It doesn't even look like a museum". Sadly, it's that exact line of thinking that poses the greatest threat to the building Architectural Record referre...

Hashtag WIP

After spending much of the last six months negotiating work, planning for work, talking about work, scheduling work, rescheduling work, and waiting for weather that might accommodate work, I'm happy to report that work has commenced. The Akron almost mansion has recently enjoyed the fruits of many a laborer, and the results are becoming almost photogenic. So, in no particular order, here is an update of what's happened since my last post. A wooden door with a crystal doorknob is pictured against a light blue wall. We have removed more wallpaper. This picture is from an upstairs bedroom and is notable as that means all the wallpaper on the first floor has been removed. I like the color and composition here, and offer this as a good example of how most of the interior rooms were handled. Trim throughout the house is painted that creamy white, and all interior doors have maintained their original finish. Remember pals, these houses are only original once. A pink bathroom sink hang...

Either that wallpaper goes, or I do...

I mentioned in my previous post that our Akron almost-mansion was built in 1925 by Akron entrepreneur and wallpaper baron W.D. Turner. And while we appreciate that Mr. Turner was willing to put his money where his house is, the wallpaper selections he made those 100-odd years ago will likely not be accompanying the home into its next century.   A hole cut in the wall shows off our brand new PEX plumbing supply lines as well as 2.25 square feet of wallpaper that won't have to be removed. Win. Win. So, we continue to remove wallpaper. It's slow going, messy, and not particularly glamorous. Favoring the "kitchen sink" approach, we're tossing everything at the removal process. That includes steam, scoring, fabric softener, more steam, sharp objects, still more steam, and good old elbow grease. With a bit of perseverance, we've got two rooms done and maybe three to go.  I know I said this work wasn't glamorous, but I do like how the window, the diagonal light, ...