About Us

Founded in 2011, Bloom Letterpress & Design came into being as a rehabilitation project. The founder, Miss M, was recovering from cancer and looking for a hobby to keep her hands busy. She was perusing her favorite blogs and her eye was caught by some letterpress work on a blog she cannot even remember. Next thing she knows, on a rainy day in April in central Missouri, she had her husband and two nephews hauling a 2,000 lb rusted antique printing press from the basement of a house. Oh the places you will go…!

Restoring the press consisted of a year-long journey that included a world-class education in the art of letterpress printing. Day-by-day and night-by-night, she sat in her garage with a rag, an oil can, and solvent cleaners slowly removing decades of grease, oil, dirt, and ink from the 100+ year old machine. One day, she even revealed the original gold pinstripe on the legs and flywheel! After the press was restored, she worked on the mechanicals with the help of a lot of friends and family along the way.

Originally planning to restore and sell the press, Miss M decided to keep the press and try her hand at being a printer. Bloom Letterpress & Design became a full-fledged letterpress print and design studio and we have been designing and printing witty paper goods ever since! We still hand-feed every single sheet of paper one sheet at a time into our presses – sometimes more than once as each color requires a separate pass through the press. In 2012, we added a second, larger press. We treasure being able to remain a relatively small business but accomplish big things.

 

 

Our founder…Miss M. She designs each and every product you see in our shop. She also prints all of the items and handles order fullfillment. An all-around wonder, Miss M is a cancer survivor, proud Runnin’ Rebel, and former college instructor. She is an avid history buff having studied both English and History in her college years. Her passion is still reading history books, she is very shy, and LOVES taffy apples!