Try your hand at printing big, bold letters on big, bright sheets of paper on the largest letterpress printing press in the world.

Brico – our modular type system – uses just four shapes cut into small, square wooden blocks, offering near endless possibilities of letter forms, weights, sizes and styles.

Brico was created so that anyone might share in the joy of type design. It's a collaboration between Oli Bentley of Split; designer, visual artist and printmaker Anthony Burrill; and wood type maker, designer and printer Thomas Mayo.

What to expect
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You'll put together a letter using Brico blocks. The letter will then be put into the People Powered Press. You'll ink it up with a roller and then – make your print!

It could take you half an hour or it might take longer. It's suitable for all ages, though under-10s will probably need to work with a parent or carer.

You’ll come away with a print of your letter (a bit bigger than A3), as well as contributing one to our exhibition that will grow throughout the weekend

You're very welcome to drop in anytime, but to avoid disappointment if we're really busy, we recommend booking yourself a time-slot.

Pay As You Feel; recommended donation of £5.

Part of Saltaire Festival 2022

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All proceeds from this workshop will be used to support the People Powered Press' work with community groups around the Bradford district, amplifying local voices and spreading words worth spreading.

Tutor(s): 
Oli Bentley
Oli Bentley has worked as a graphic designer since he set up Split whilst a music student in 2007, opening the studio of the same name 3 years later. He works extensively in the music, arts and non-profit sectors, also creating self initiated work as a designer/graphic artist, letterpress printer and type designer. Born from his award-winning exhibition and book, These Northern Types, Oli is the founder of the People Powered Press and designed its large steel typeface — Graft. More recently he has created the Brico type system in collaboration with Anthony Burrill and Thomas Mayo — created to work with community groups on large-scale murals and so that anyone might share in the joy of type designing at a massive scale.
http://www.split.co.uk