Since before I even started looking seriously for a press, I’ve been agonizing over the name of it. I’ve harassed my friends and family to help me think of the perfect name, and they came up with some really awesome ones involving things I love, like bones and garlic and bears and wine.
But ultimately it came down to this: I gave up my name this year, and I want to pass it on. I love my new name, Lissenden, and the man and family it is associated with. And I know I will always be a Minkin, but hiding it in between my two other names doesn’t feel like enough. I hope my two brothers will pass the name on someday, but this is my small way of keeping Minkin alive.
Minks are kinda cute? Ok, so they’re kinda dirty, but somehow become a symbol of luxury when their carcass is wrapped around your neck. Its the animal kingdom’s artist… no one gives it a second thought until its dead, then its worth some serious coin. Letterpress printing is tough, dirty process, yet these hulking machines yield something so delicate, beautiful, and luxurious.
Grandma Minkin and Mammaw (Alex’s grandma) each sent me a card with some money in it for Christmas. I put both of their gifts toward my press. Between Christmas and the time I got my press to Asheville, both of these great ladies passed away. Since this press essentially is the last thing that they gave me, I want to use it to honor their generation of women crafters and artists, which both of these women were. At my grandma’s funeral, my dad spoke about the parts of her that live on through her family. Erik has her mind, Alex (Minkin) has her eye, and I have her fingers. She had a way of making things beautiful just by touching them, and that’s all I hope to do in this world.