Modern Hand Printed Souvenirs
Paintbrush Print Company makes hand printed souvenirs with just the right amount of class and kitsch.
I am a self-taught screen printer based in Elgin, TX, and I am trying to keep the tradition of travel trinkets and souvenirs alive. I grew up in a small town in Wyoming that swelled with travelers in the summer on their way to Yellowstone and I am a bit obsessed with roadside architecture. I like to collect things to remind me of a special time and place, so I make modern, high quality prints inspired by travel, places and experiences that I hope will do the same for others.
This is mostly a one-woman show that owes its beginning to a trip to Copper Country Antique Mall in Tucson, Arizona. There I found my first Harwood Steiger fabric on accident. I went on to learn about his studio and his process, how he hand printed fabric and designed patterns to sell to the touring snow birds in Tubac, Arizona, in the 1950s and 1960s. I was really taken with the simple, satisfying beauty of ink on fabric.
A two year journey ensued of teaching myself how to screen print and creating Paintbrush Print Company, which is named after the Wyoming state flower. PPC's logo is graphically inspired by the 1938 humorous Paint-Brush Map of Wyoming. Paintbrush Print Company is a way of continuing to celebrate the iconic places and landscapes of the West that have captivated tourists for decades.
My process is not very glamorous. I print on a simple press usually with one color. All the ink is water-based and non-toxic, so it is safe for us, our kids, animals and plants. People have no idea how much work real screen printing is, but the process is honest and non-computerized which I like. It's important that I make things that are not an image slapped on fabric, but look as if they always were they way they are.
I do wholesale and sell in a limited number of retailers at this time. I am also open to special requests and am happy to help out other small businesses with their screen printing needs.
Happy Trails!
Emily
I am a self-taught screen printer based in Elgin, TX, and I am trying to keep the tradition of travel trinkets and souvenirs alive. I grew up in a small town in Wyoming that swelled with travelers in the summer on their way to Yellowstone and I am a bit obsessed with roadside architecture. I like to collect things to remind me of a special time and place, so I make modern, high quality prints inspired by travel, places and experiences that I hope will do the same for others.
This is mostly a one-woman show that owes its beginning to a trip to Copper Country Antique Mall in Tucson, Arizona. There I found my first Harwood Steiger fabric on accident. I went on to learn about his studio and his process, how he hand printed fabric and designed patterns to sell to the touring snow birds in Tubac, Arizona, in the 1950s and 1960s. I was really taken with the simple, satisfying beauty of ink on fabric.
A two year journey ensued of teaching myself how to screen print and creating Paintbrush Print Company, which is named after the Wyoming state flower. PPC's logo is graphically inspired by the 1938 humorous Paint-Brush Map of Wyoming. Paintbrush Print Company is a way of continuing to celebrate the iconic places and landscapes of the West that have captivated tourists for decades.
My process is not very glamorous. I print on a simple press usually with one color. All the ink is water-based and non-toxic, so it is safe for us, our kids, animals and plants. People have no idea how much work real screen printing is, but the process is honest and non-computerized which I like. It's important that I make things that are not an image slapped on fabric, but look as if they always were they way they are.
I do wholesale and sell in a limited number of retailers at this time. I am also open to special requests and am happy to help out other small businesses with their screen printing needs.
Happy Trails!
Emily