I left Buffalo early on a chilly Monday morning – January 26th – and hopped a lucky non-stop flight to Hollywood/Ft. Lauderdale airport. When I landed, it was 59 degrees and pouring rain. Talk about bringing the weather with you. Never fear for this intrepid traveler, however, fickle Florida soon revealed itself, the skies broke, and I got to soak up a little vitamin D.

I had initially wanted to start The Itinerant Printer tour in Miami, but I had a hard time finding letterpress shops that weren’t doing exclusively commercial work, so the first stop ended up being IS Projects in Ft. Lauderdale, and I couldn’t have asked for a better place to kick off the project. IS Projects is run by Ingrid Schindall, a graduate of MICA (2012); she started her love affair with letterpress while acting as the coordinator of the Globe Collection at MICA. She’s a native of southern Florida, and returned after graduating with the intention of starting a space focused on letterpress printing and book arts. IS is located in the burgeoning Flagler Arts Technology Village (FAT), a small neighborhood with a concentration of galleries, studios, shared workspaces, and retail outlets. The space opened September 27th, 2014.

Her shop boasts a 30″ Challenge paper cutter from 1909, a Vandercook SP 15, a Craftsmen Superior 6″ x 10″, a C & P 10″ x 15″ with Kluge Feeder (that needs a little TLC), and a huge Praga etching press with a 32″ x 72″ bed. In addition to all the printing equipment, Ingrid has been able to dedicate one half the studio to bookbinding, and that area features a smaller Challenge 193 guillotine, a saddle stapler, a corner rounder, book presses, and an SAS leather skiver. She has a growing collection of wood type, metal type, and cuts as well.

The Itinerant Printer visit was synchronized with a FAT Village Art Walk that happens once a month – a wildly successful event that brings out thousands of people; they open all the studios, bands and djs play music, food trucks line the streets, and there’s also an artist market. Hundreds of people came through IS Projects that night to learn about IS Projects the TIP tour.

Ingrid is an amazing person – young, sanguine, optimistic, but simultaneously methodical, realistic, and patient. She’s pulled the space together with the help of family and friends, and she barters with other artists and craftspeople in town in order to build out the community that supports her space. She’s active in every aspect of the FAT Village community, and in a karmic way, it’s helping her space grow and blossom. Learn more about IS Projects here, check out Ingrid and her work here, and don’t forget to browse the gallery below for shots of the shop.