Full Circle Press is a Nevada County, California institution and one of the premier letterpresses in the country. The first iteration of the company was founded over 60 years ago by the late Harold Berliner, who was also Nevada City's district attorney for a time. In 1991 the company was christened Full Circle Press by his daughter, Judith Berliner, when she returned home from her time honing her skills in Sacramento and took over running her father's presses full time.
Housed next door to the house Judith grew up in with her seven siblings, Full Circle Press is a treasure trove of vintage presses, typefaces, broadsheets, invitations, menus, and out-of-print books. It is also a font of inspiration for anyone interested in seeing what the best graphic designers in the world are working on today.
There are fields of daffodils, old-tyme mine shacks, and two dogs, Alfie and Pepper, who will escort you around the grounds. I don't know why it took my sister Sheila and I so long to accept Liz Thiem's invitation to "Come on up and see the presses." I'm glad Sheila took photos because I felt like I was in a dream — a dream about typography, the history of America, and cutting-edge graphic design.
Visit their etsy store in collaboration with A Day in May to pick up a set of groovy orange coasters seen in the photo above. I love mine almost as much as my "Yay!" sign.
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