THE WASH, crafty chicks come clean
I first saw Michelle’s work at the Wedding Hive indie wedding fashion show this past February. I was intrigued by her colorful and bold style so I asked her if she’d like to be featured on my blog. She kindly said yes and invited me to her work-living space to see where all of the magic happens.
Michelle Dreher
MAIN CRAFT: letterpress
WEB: twotonepress.com
ETSY ID: twotonepress
FACEBOOK: twotonepress
LOCATION: Kansas City, MO
Michelle, like myself, isn’t a native of Kansas City. Michelle’s father was in the military so her family moved around a lot.
“We spent some time in Germany, then Korea before we ended up in Oklahoma. I lived there for a while before moving to Kansas City to go to the Kansas City Art Institute in ’97. It was hard always having to start over in a new place. Maybe that’s part of the reason I feel so content to stay here in Kansas City.”
Michelle first learned about printmaking while she was a student at the Kansas City Art Institute.
“I primarily created relief prints from the second semester of my sophomore year on. After graduation in 2001, I started working at a local letterpress studio called Hammerpress. After a few years of sharpening my skills there, I decided in the beginning of 2005 to start my own studio, which I chose to call Two Tone Press.”
Michelle has done event posters and fine art pieces, but she’s getting more into wedding invitations now.
“I love tinkering on my machines, using wrenches to turn a bolt, oil the gears, and getting grease and ink all over my hands, but then using those same machines to produce the most colorful, delicately patterned prints I can come up with.”
Michelle’s work-live space, where she lives with her husband, is a large fifth floor loft located in the West Bottoms, an industrial area to the west of downtown Kansas City.
“All I had to do was hunt down the necessary equipment I needed. So instead of buying a house or a new car, I invested every cent I had into my print studio.
I live and breathe here. This is simultaneously convenient and annoying at the same time. On one hand, it’s right there and can feel free to get up in the morning grab my daily cup of coffee (which is my one serious vice) and then go straight into working, whether or not I’ve changed out of my pajamas. However, having my studio in the same place that I live means there are numerous distractions all around me. Everything from the TV break to my bed calling me in for a quick nap can make a productive day difficult. I just try to stay focused as best I can.”
Michelle would love to find a street level studio so she could teach letterpress classes. She teaches kids at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art so she’d love to share her knowledge with some adults too.
To keep everything in order Michelle has a detailed calendar on her computer with every aspect of her life color-coated.
“I always check and recheck it to make sure I’m not forgetting anything. But despite my best efforts, I’m notoriously five to ten minutes late for everything. I think it’s a family curse.”
Michelle’s advice on going into business for yourself is that it can be a very risky and scary yet the most rewarding thing to do.
“The big secret is that no matter how organized some businesses look on the outside, nine times out of ten they’re a mess on the inside.
Nobody knows everything when they first get started. And it’s very doubtful that your early mistakes will haunt you later. You just learn from them and keep moving forward.”
For more stories like this please visit the other "THE WASH" features.
Jeanee
Reader Comments (3)
[...] who creates beautiful letterpress and relief print works on paper. Read the full article on the Dirty Laundry Blog. Good work Michelle, and thanks to Jeanee for supporting local [...]
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