Ain’t nothing like seeing a design come to life.

Metal type
Categories: General updates
Categories: General updates
Ain’t nothing like seeing a design come to life.
Categories: Inspiration
Just had a chance to watch the beautiful 3 Union Shop, a short documentary about the Colby Poster Printing Company, written and co-directed by C. R. Stecyk III of Dogtown fame: I’ve been collecting Colby posters for a few years (they even had a role in inspiring some of my wedding collateral), and I had the […]
Categories: General updates
I was perusing Google Analytics, as one is wont to do on a Saturday morning, and realized that the Three Steps Ahead Etsy shop had a spike in traffic the other day thanks to a New York Times blog article about the popular television series Mad Men. A commenter had linked back to my shop because […]
Categories: Case studies, General updates, Inspiration
Voilà, a couple of new limited-edition letterpress prints, hot off of the Heidelberg Windmill! Both were typeset by hand and printed with antique wood and metal type, and both are for sale in my Etsy shop. You can get 15% off your order by using coupon code STEPAHEAD when you check out. (more…)
Categories: General updates
Here’s a peek at the extra special packaging we’ve put together for our brand new print series. Get ’em while they’re hot on Etsy!
Categories: Case studies, General updates, Inspiration
Music has always been a gigantic source of inspiration for me as a graphic designer (see my wedding invitations, for example), and I’m proud to introduce the first specimens in a series of audiophile prints exclusively for the Three Steps Ahead Shop on Etsy. These examples were all inspired by music of the 1960s, specifically […]
Categories: Case studies
Here’s a sneak preview of the 2012 Los Angeles Printers Fair show guide cover, which will be given to all attendees of the Fair and also be available for purchase as a limited edition letterpress poster. The Fair is taking place at the International Printing Museum in Carson, California on Saturday, October 6th. Among all […]
Categories: Case studies
Our friends Jasmine & Yale are getting married soon, and Alyssa and I decided to go all-out with our letterpress habit to create their invitations. The design process started on the computer, but the goal from the start was to create something really special, where the computer would only play one part of the tune. […]
Categories: General updates
Mon ami français Stéphane, a.k.a. Zig (and proprietor of the fantastique design studio and silkscreen poster workshop Dezzig, wrote quite a flattering article about me and my letterpress tinkerings at the International Printing Museum. For non-francophone readers, it should be possible to get the gist of the article using Google Translate. Stéphane is a fellow […]
Categories: General updates, Inspiration
The Duro Decals brand, which still exists today, has been knocking out good, wholesome, sturdy display type and lettering (in decal, sign, and stencil form) since 1938. The Chicago-based company begat “Duro Dan,” their quirky advertising mascot, a sort of elvish, mustachioed gnome-like character that touted Duro’s wares during the middle of the 20th century. […]