Yesterday morning found us tromping through the snowy streets of Somerville at an early hour (after a delicious breakfast at Sound Bites) for our wedding invitation appointment at Firefly Press (no website, naturally, but watch a short film on John and his work). We spent two hours learning about the variety and history of typefaces, his approach to the work he does, and the history of letterpress in general. I was pointed toward John by my friend Ron at Oliphant Press in New York, where I nearly took a job in 2000 before instead moving to Boston. Having just watched Slacker numerous times (to catch all the commentaries; damn you, Criterion Collection) in the last week, it’s interesting to think about the parallel realities Linklater talks about in his opening monologue in the cab. What would have happened had I taken that job? Would I have moved to Boston? Would I have met Aimee, and would I need letterpressed invitations from Firefly Press? That would be my loss, so I’ll stick to this reality…and get back to the story at hand.

I was in heaven, frankly. We were in presence of a craftsman who loves what he does, explaining in the most carefully-crafted and thoughtful language the nuances of his life’s passion, a dying art that serves a useful purpose, with its own arcane nomenclature, an amazing array of intricate machines, all the while surrounded by the products of years of creative and collaborative work strewn around the room. I think Aimee might have preferred a little more of a conversation about the job at hand rather than a full-fledged introduction to the history of the process, but I was ready right then and there to volunteer as a printer’s apprentice. We’ve got about four more months to get this done, so I look forward to many more sessions during which we begin working out how it’s going to look and feel and what it will convey. Now I want letterhead, business cards, thank you cards, notepads, all letterpress. I already knew I was sort of obsessed with the idea, but I get re-obsessed every time I’m around the stuff.