More on Tim Fay and the Wapsipinicon Almanac

Detail of a paper cutter

As I noted on Facebook, there are days that I feel so lucky to do the work I do and visiting Tim Fay in December, in preparation for an Etsy post, was one of those days. I've always admired the almanac and been a little jealous of my friends and colleagues who've been published therein. I was worried that Tim would be intimidating, but the opposite was true—he was friendly, interesting, and true to his journalistic training, interested. He's definitely his own guy, living simply, in a way that few people choose. But his passion about printing and the equipment he's gleaned from other printers over the years was easy to see. And if there's one thing I love, it's people who are doing something they love.

Below are some photos from that day. If you're a local reader, there is a Wapsipinicon Almanac reading at Prairie Lights this Friday at 7. I'm planning to be there, after the UPPERCASE event at Home Ec for Sonya Darrow, aka Ladyfits, that starts at 6 pm and is in celebration of the story about Sonya in issue 16 of UPPERCASE that I wrote, with photos by Heather Atkinson and styling by Tonya Kehoe. It's a night for celebrating Eastern Iowans!

Unbound almanacs await covers

The bed of Fay's Miller 2-color flatbed press

Corrections on a galley of the Wapsipinicon Almanac

Sign on the paper cutter urges cautious use

Almanac cover awaits gluing

A sign printed by Fay advertising his now defunct band hangs on the shop wall

Almanac stitched volume awaits cover