• Blog
  • work
  • about
  • printing museums in be
  • printmaking in be
  • links
  • shop
Menu

Type & Press

  • Blog
  • work
  • about
  • printing museums in be
  • printmaking in be
  • links
  • shop
amsterdam_01.jpg

Trip to Amsterdam. Makers Match & GWA.

January 21, 2018
IMG_2225.JPG

In December, between Christmas and New Year I decided to take a 3-day trip to Amsterdam to visit friends who came all the way from Toronto. Upon arrival to Amsterdam Central Station, I spotted a lovely and quiet place, situated in the Amstelpassage inside the station - Lil' Amsterdam.

"Lil' Amsterdam is offering the best of Amsterdam's in one place - shopping, eating, drinking, inspiration or afternoon drinks – you name it".

Following the beautiful column lettering of the Amstelpassage I stumbled upon cozy space called Makers Match, filled with type cabinet, various letterpress printed goods and a Korrex printing press placed in the middle. I was intrigued.

When looking for information I found out that "Makers Match is set up by Brittany Ryan, a strategist, advisor & doer (and maker on the side). Brittany is passionate about helping small craftsmanship-based businesses to succeed and she is curious to explore creative solutions for businesses with limited resources."

IMG_2228.JPG
IMG_2230.JPG
IMG_2232.JPG
amsterdam_02.jpg
amsterdam_03.jpg
IMG_2228.JPG IMG_2230.JPG IMG_2232.JPG amsterdam_02.jpg amsterdam_03.jpg
IMG_2235.JPG

By introducing the experience of craftsmanship, Makers Match wants to bring the craftsmen to the people by recreating the essence of authentic workshops from local makers to Amsterdam Central Station. In November & December you could experience letterpress and goldsmith workspace environments. You see how the craftsmen prepare their work - from original sketches, moulds and mock-ups - to the final pieces. And you could attend one-hour mini-workshops or even print your custom made cards on-the-go. What a lovely idea! The craftsmen of these months were Letterpress Amsterdam & Oogst. 

IMG_2507.JPG

After spending some great time with friends from Toronto, visiting the Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk and taking a short trip to Leiden, it was time to go home. But before heading to Amsterdam Central Station I decided to pay a short visit to GWA - Grafisch Werkplaats Amsterdam, a place a heard so much about, but never been to.

It was founded by Wiek Molin, Martin Veltman and René Koome in October 2004. The aim of GWA is to take the Dutch Graphic Heritage forward by conserving, restoring and using letterpress material. All the machines are in working condition, there are no red cords around the antique machines. It’s all about spreading knowledge, and keep the beautiful craftsmanship alive.

Nowadays not only letterpress printing is being practised, but classes are also given in bookbinding, etching, linocutting, and photopolymer. Courses and workshops are given by skilful practitioners from the Netherlands and beyond.

amsterdam_07.jpg
IMG_3468.jpg
amsterdam_04.jpg
IMG_2512.JPG
amsterdam_06.jpg
IMG_3475.jpg
IMG_3476.jpg
IMG_3481.jpg
amsterdam_05.jpg
IMG_3495.jpg
IMG_3501.jpg
IMG_3502.jpg
IMG_3507.jpg
amsterdam_08.jpg
IMG_2516.jpg
IMG_2509.JPG
amsterdam_07.jpg IMG_3468.jpg amsterdam_04.jpg IMG_2512.JPG amsterdam_06.jpg IMG_3475.jpg IMG_3476.jpg IMG_3481.jpg amsterdam_05.jpg IMG_3495.jpg IMG_3501.jpg IMG_3502.jpg IMG_3507.jpg amsterdam_08.jpg IMG_2516.jpg IMG_2509.JPG

In the past GWA have been involved in a few interesting projects, such as collaboration with AGA LAB, with the stunning new Arabic woodtype by Lara Captan or Typewood, a project by NovoTypo. For this project Mark van Wageningen came up with a wood type based on his chromatic font BIXA, and completed the project in collaboration with makerspace ZB45 and GWA. Since 2015, this wood type can be viewed and above all: to be used at GWA.

IMG_3516.jpg
IMG_3515.jpg
IMG_3517.jpg
IMG_3482.jpg
IMG_3483.jpg
IMG_3493.jpg
IMG_3491.jpg
IMG_3516.jpg IMG_3515.jpg IMG_3517.jpg IMG_3482.jpg IMG_3483.jpg IMG_3493.jpg IMG_3491.jpg

you might also like
Museum 't Aloam 
Zomertyposium 2017
Letterpress Amsterdam 
Print Me Baby One More Type or LpW 2017   
Visiting the London College of Communication  
St Bride Foundation Wayzgoose 2017
Trip to Barcelona. Part I. Lauren Press 
Trip to Barcelona. Part II. BunkerType 
Bookbinders' Fair. Sint- Niklaas, Belgium

In printmaking, event, typography Tags letterpress, GWA, amsterdam, matchmakers
← Quick linksQuick links →
lijn_001.png
lijn_001.png

Latest & Greatest

Featured
Feb 5, 2019
Summer letterpress workshop at Project Letter-Kunde, Antwerp (Belgium)
Feb 5, 2019
Feb 5, 2019
Nov 6, 2018
Zomertyposium 2018
Nov 6, 2018
Nov 6, 2018
Sep 23, 2018
Open doors days at the Letterpress Corner. 29-30.09
Sep 23, 2018
Sep 23, 2018
Aug 12, 2018
Letterpress Workshop at ATypI in Antwerp. 11.09.18
Aug 12, 2018
Aug 12, 2018
Jul 30, 2018
Quick links
Jul 30, 2018
Jul 30, 2018
Jul 9, 2018
Visiting Familia Plómez in Madrid
Jul 9, 2018
Jul 9, 2018
Mar 7, 2018
Meet us at the Letterpress Corner!
Mar 7, 2018
Mar 7, 2018
Jan 21, 2018
Trip to Amsterdam. Makers Match & GWA.
Jan 21, 2018
Jan 21, 2018
lijn_001.png
mailing list
lijn_001.png

Categories

  • lpw (3)
  • book (8)
  • video (33)
  • event (77)
  • typography (94)
  • quick links (98)
  • printmaking (239)

Achive

  • 2010 1
  • 2011 17
  • 2012 74
  • 2013 11
  • 2014 9
  • 2015 34
  • 2016 43
  • 2017 62
  • 2018 39
  • 2019 3
lijn_001.png
Follow Type & Press's board Letterpress printing video on Pinterest.
lijn_001.png

Fresh Tweets

  • #gent #typography #fleamarket #friday @ Gent, Belgium https://t.co/nvKrcfKotn
    about 10 hours ago
  • Quick links https://t.co/wuVDVnZVne #letterpess #printmaking #letterpresscorner #gent #printfair https://t.co/J2IYoetv42
    about a day ago
  • Zin om ook een leuke, creatieve workshop te volgen? Zaterdagmiddag hebben we nog enkele plaatsjes vrij in de 'Cooki… https://t.co/whoehsLSGH
    about 2 days ago
Letterpress Blogs
Blog RSS