I'm long overdue for this post. Life has gotten so busy! But tonight, as I walked into my studio (which I humbly call an art room), and yet again surprised myself seeing my beautiful Pearl standing in the corner, I thought to myself, it's about time to write all about how she ended up in our house.
I'm so proud to introduce my Golding Pearl Improved No.11:
Back in April I wrote all about my quest for a letterpress; different presses I was considering and things I ended up learning along the way. I mentioned back then Don Black Linecasting, the one and only supplier (to my knowledge) of letterpress equipment in Canada. Shortly after that post, I ended up placing a hold (along with a deposit) on a 5 x 7.5 tabletop Sigwalt press at Don Black's, however due to further research and stumbling upon John Falstrom of Perennial Designs and his amazing Golding presses, I ended up changing my mind about the Sigwalt. It just so happened though that Don Black had one 7 x 11 Godling Pearl in stock, fully refurbished and ready for pick up. In order not to lose my deposit, I had to act fast and make my decision quickly. It wasn't an easy one, I struggled so much thinking about the expense and all the other things that should take precedence. But I ended up listening to my heart (and my husband) and pulled the trigger on the purchase. How amazingly exciting!
On the weekend of June 7, my husband and I drove to Toronto to pick up the press. A short visit with family ended with us stopping at Don Black's shop on the morning of June 9 and loading the press onto the back of our pick-up truck.
And then we drove back to Ottawa with the press (all 700 lbs of it) sitting nicely (and securely) in the back of the truck.
We made it back safely, but little did we know that the real challenge was still ahead of us. Getting the press off the truck, into the house, and up a steep flight of stairs proved more difficult than anticipated. Luckily, we were able to detach the flywheel and the top of the press from its base.
This is how we kept all of all the screws in order to put the press back together!
The top part posed the biggest challenge though, weighing at about 500 lbs. In the end, it took three strong man, an appliance dolly, and a lot of muscle and sweat to get the press into the house and up the stairs onto the second floor (where the infamous art room is located).
You could never have guessed what a challenge it was by looking at her now tucked away in the corner of the room.
I'm still in total disbelief that she is finally here! After daydreaming about a press for almost a year, I can finally call myself an aspiring letterpress printer and a proud owner of this beautiful Golding Pearl.
Sometimes dreams do come true...