Today we’d like to introduce you to Tim Butler.
Hi Tim, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started running letterpress’ here is San Diego when I was just out of high school, many years ago.
I worked locally then moved to Los Angeles to get my degree in music and was able to get a printing job up there.
I was able to learn all of the ‘old school’ methods of doing things by hand from master printers.
After being on the road as a musician I decided to go ahead and start my own shop here in San Diego in 2005.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Well, we all know there are no roads that are totally smooth.
In this industry one of the main things was finding and buying presses, and getting into
a business that has a fairly crowded market.
It took time to find my niche market of low quantity high quality, if you produce a good product and are
willing to work well with others, you can make it
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
There are a number of great shops in town that do letterpress, but I was able to
find a niche by doing small quantities with high quality.
Most shops want to do high volume but in my shop I concentrate on the small, detailed work for my clients.
I’ve done as little as 10 wedding invites as well as 13,000 book covers.
I love to be able to work with so many different creative people, designers, artists, branding companies etc.
Plus by running everything myself, it still allows me to get out on the road and play shows with various acts all over the country
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I’d say my biggest risk was opening!
When my brother and I started the shop we rented a 25′ truck in SD and drove it empty all the way to WA
and started to buy presses and we came back with a very full truck…it was crazy!
I’m not sure risk is the right word, pushing yourself to do something better, having confidence to do something you
haven’t done before helps you grow as a person as well as a creative.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @printertim
