Meanwhile...Letterpress Start-up Costs

Meanwhile…Letterpress  is a trans and queer owned and operated letterpress collaborative fighting erasure through print culture. As a printing press, our main mission is to work with trans, non-binary, and queer poets and artists (especially QTPOC) to get their work out in the world through the production of broadsides and chapbooks.


 
In addition, we have two other projects we envision for Meanwhile…
 
First, we hope to take our love of letterpress to the people with a mobile letterpress cart—what we’re calling “Moveable[-type] Feast”—that can be used at local farmer’s markets and community events, as well as in classrooms, to teach people about the art of letterpress and its role in fighting oppression.
 
Second, we hope to provide hand type-set and printed obituaries for trans folks free of charge through the Trans Obituaries Project. Our main printing press was used for almost 50 years to print funeral announcements and programs. We want to honor the history of this press and its intimate relationship to loss and mourning by using it to provide obituaries and death announcements about trans people who are often not acknowledged in life or death beyond sensationalized stories in the news. Written by friends and submitted to Meanwhile… for printing, the obituaries are meant to celebrate and honor the lives of our lost trans siblings.
 
In less than 6 months Meanwhile…Letterpress raised enough money through direct sales  of posters to purchase an entire print shop (4 presses, 53 cases of metal type, paper guillotine, composing tables and more) and move it from its previous home in Galesburg, IL to Champaign, IL.


The main press (10x15 Chandler and Price, new style) and Gem paper guillotine are currently in pieces on the studio floor waiting to be reassembled at the end of August. In order to get the shop fully functional we need to raise additional funds to help cover start-up costs including new rollers for three of the presses. Any additional funds will be used for the Moveable[-type] Feast, the Trans Obituaries Project, and our first chap book.
 
Here are our initial shop needs: $700
New rollers for Chandler and Price: $200           
New foot-peddle for Chandler and Price: $300
New rollers for 2 Kelsey presses: $200
 
Moveable[-type] Feast: $800
Mobile Workbench: $800


Trans Obituaries Project: $500
Any additional funds will be used to fund paper, ink, and postage so we can provide obituaries free of charge.

As thanks for your contribution, Meanwhile... would love to send you a token (or two) of our appreciation:
 
$5- mention on social media (Instagram and Twitter)

$10- Thank you card printed on the Kelsey + mention on social media 

$25– All of the above + a limited edition poetry broadside of Hafiz’s “How Does It Feel To Be a Heart” printed on the Chandler & Price
 
$50– All of the above + a T-shirt with our signature slogan “I / You / We /Exist!”
 
Printer’s Devil ($100)
$100 – All of the above + “Rural Queers” print, and listed as an honorary "Printer's Devil" on shop wall & website
 
EN [S]Quad ($250)
$250 - All of the above + listed as a member of the "EN [S]quad" on shop wall & website, custom business cards (150). 
 
EM [S]Quad ($500) 
$500 - All of the above, + listed as a member of the "EM [S]quad" on shop wall & website, custom limited edition broadside (50).
 
Type High Club ($918)
$918 - all of the above + listed as a member of the "Type High Club" on shop wall & website, listed as sponsor on the Moveable[-type] Feast cart, and acknowledgement in and copy of our first poetry chapbook 
 
All non-custom items will ship in early December. We will contact you through GoFundMe for shipping information.

Meanwhile...Letterpress greatly appreciates all donations. We wouldn't be able to fight trans erasure through print culture without your generous contributions and support!