On Tuesday, January 31, Ad2 Roanoke planned for a lunch-time tour of two of Roanoke’s finest printers’ shops, which we dubbed the “Brown Bag Series: The Fine Art of Printing.” Enter Press Press Merch and Appalachia Press. We were welcomed with open arms, warm smiles, pizza, and desserts by Hired Guns Creative‘s Erica and Patrick, along with Greg Szechenyi from Press Press and John Reburn from Appalachia Press.

Greg walked around their print shop, taking us through the production of a normal screen printing job, showing off their massive 10-station, 8-color automatic press and vacuum exposure unit. Later, Greg showed off their showroom, highlighting various printing techniques like soft-touch inks, 4-color printing, and discharge inks, which removes the pigment from the shirt in a non-toxic way. The whole time we were there, the Press Press crew was working seamlessly and professionally in the background, like there weren’t any strange people wondering around their shop.

John took over and led us a few feet through a doorway, bringing us into the Appalachia Press shop. There was a distinct smell of “Old Stuff™,” which should be a signature Appalachia Press candle scent. You’re welcome, John. Old presses, wood, steel, and iron. *Deep breath…ahhhhhh. What a lovely smell that is. As he led us through his workshop, John shared a brief history of how he got into letterpress, what he uses each piece of machinery for, and then explained the printing process for various letterpress jobs. There are some different processes that he goes through based on the type of job that comes in. Whether it involves hand-cut stencils, sending art out to be made into a block, or screen printing, every job always includes lots of hands-on work. Getting his hands dirty and lifting heavy equipment is how John stays fit. Having a new retail store in downtown Roanoke, a steady stream of online shoppers, and many resellers all over the country keeps Appalachia’s presses moving. John is working on plans to run a few workshops this summer, so stay in the loop on their Facebook page.

Thanks again to Press Press Merch and Appalachia Press’s hospitality. For those who couldn’t make it out, nanny nanny boo boo, stick your head in doo doo. You missed out.

On Friday, November 18, the Moveable Type Truck rolled into Roanoke, VA to share a lovely evening with the Ad2 Roanoke crew and anyone else who happened to walk by. Kyle Durrie, a letterpress printer from Portland, Oregon and the proprietor of Power and Light Press has been driving her converted 1982 Chevy step van/mobile letterpress print shop around the country sharing her love of letterpress with the masses. She’s been making stops at “libraries, community gardens, galleries, street fairs, farms, universities, back yards, and everywhere in between” since June of this year. Kyle’s plan is to continue the tour until March/April of next year, if not longer. I’m not sure how many miles she’s logged so far, but that’s going to be one hell of a cross country road trip!

Read more from Brian about his time at our event and an interview with Kyle at his blog.

Don’t stress. It’s like an interview without the pressure. It’s a chance to have your work reviewed by real advertising professionals. Get straightforward, constructive criticism and attend workshops on creativity, roles in advertising, and more. Bring your best work, but not your best clothes. Open to any college level student. This event is FREE to AD2 Members and $30 for Non-members. Walk-ins who have not RSVP’d for this event will be charged an additional $5. Possible internship opportunities and applications will be available to AD2 members.

Click here to read more and register!

If you couldn’t make it, or weren’t there before the projector bulb blew, the work from CreateAthon can be viewed on the AAF Roanoke CreateAthon Facebook page or at aafroanoke.org/createathon where you can see gems like this:

Thanks for coming out everyone. And don’t forget to register for our next event: Ad2 Baseball Tuesday, or let us know you’re coming on Facebook.

Ad2 Roanoke is excited to offer this year’s first social at 202 Market in downtown Roanoke. This is a great networking opportunity for all people interested in advertising and learning more about the industry!

www.202market.net
202 Market Square, SE
Roanoke, VA 24011

“Creativity can solve anything.”

We’re excited to present Art & Copy for a limited engagement to the area. You’ll be able to see it April 6th at the Grandin Theatre in Roanoke or April 7th at The Lyric in Blacksburg.

Seating is limited, contact ad2@ad2roanoke.org for advanced ticket sales.

Film Trailer after the jump.

"Telemachus, your margins are spot on, but you need to watch your kerning."

In February, Ad2Roanoke is kicking off the first year of its mentorship program, and we’re looking for students and fresh graduates who are interested in getting a head start in the advertising industry. We’ve hand-selected a talented group of local advertising veterans who are happy to serve as professional resources and cheerleaders. The participating experts range from the creative to the strategic, so regardless of whether you want to be a creative director or an account supervisor, we’ve got someone ready to give you some one-on-one career advice.

Eligible participants must be:

• Current or recently-graduated students in the advertising industry
• Available the evening of February 16th for the pairing event in Roanoke
• Accessible by email
• A current member of Ad2Roanoke

This is a great opportunity for those looking to get a leg up in the field, but seats are limited! If you’d like to attend, please send an email with your name, the name of your school, your (estimated) graduation year and where you’d like your career to take you, to ad2@ad2roanoke.org. We’ll be selecting participants first-come, first-served based on eligibility and professional goals, in order to find the best match, so feel free to elaborate on your professional plans. Event details to follow.

If you are not a member of Ad2Roanoke but wish to participate, you may join the club at http://ad2roanoke.org/membership/join/

Big thanks to John Park for starting us out. See these with captions on Flickr.

[Show as slideshow]

AD2 Roanoke and Steve FM present you with the solution to holiday stress, the 2009 Ugly Sweater Gala. Cover up the extra pounds from Thanksgiving with glitter and horizontal neon stripes. Have a Cosby-esque jello shot and soothe away the facial tics. Whatever you do, make sure you wear something that would make Aunt Ethel proud. We know you have one. Work it. Wear it.

The cover for this event is $10 or $5 with a donation of gently worn clothing that will go to the Rescue Mission. This fund-raising event is open to everyone.

RSVPs aren’t required, but let us know if your coming on Facebook.

Listen: Download audio file (Ugly-Sweater-Gala-09.mp3)