Two years ago while we were on a snowboard trip to western Canada, we discovered a unique letterpress & gallery in Fernie, B.C. called Clawhammer Press – run by Michael Hepher. When we found our way back to Fernie this January, I was happy to see Michael still at work in his letterpress shop and asked if I could spend some time taking photos of the type cases, presses and gallery space. I had a great time looking through all the intricate details of the studio and presses. Here’s a few of the photos that I took. I could have easily spent the whole day there learning about the presses and the beautiful design and print work that Michael is doing.
Through our entire time snowboarding interior B.C., the small-town character of Fernie has stood out as being the most genuine with it’s history, charm and real locals like Michael Hepher. It’s easy to see why Rolling Stone dubbed Fernie the “Coolest Town in North America”.
We came to Fernie for it’s amazing alpine resort on the Lizard Mountain Range and it’s feather-light powder. But we fell in love with the character of this place, and hope to return again many times in the future.
I’m always delighted to see working letterpress shops- it reminds me that there are other things to do out there than just try to make ends meet- gets me thinking about the dormant resources at NSCAD, the previous assets of the Dawson Room…hmmmm…