Stationery like: Lou Bilello, a pressman at Boxcar Press, shows off the old-fashioned way of making notecards (left) at an open house on Saturday.
As much as we love our Internet with its Google, Facebook and Twitter, the allure of the printing press is never going to die. The press brought us mass communication long before the web was conceived, early newspapers and magazines, and even the paper in your hands right now.
Boxcar Press is keeping the old tradition of letterpress printing alive, environmentally healthy and local in Syracuse with its first open house, Saturday, Dec. 11, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Founded and run by Harold Kyle and Debbie Urbanski, Boxcar Press is one of the largest letterpress shops in the country. Boxcar Press and the other two divisions of the company, Bella Figura, a line of wedding invitations, and Smock, producing all kinds of high-end cuteness designed by Amy Graham Stigler, are housed in Delavan Center.
Previously, the firm had occupied different areas in Delavan Center, but now they have come together in one space of 10,000 square feet. “As the company had grown, we had a room here, a room there,” said Cyd Converse, marketing manager at
Boxcar Press. “This is the first time we’re in one space.”
What takes place in this one space is unusual and personalized. From the moment the idea is developed in the office to the moment the products go to finishing, where they are individually checked by hand, the client will have no doubts that their order is one of a kind. “Everything is printed by hand. Someone is constantly touching each piece by hand,” Converse said. “It’s not like going to Hallmark.”
The actual printing is done by hand, on antique printing presses. “All the presses are really old antiques that we’ve brought back to life,” Converse said. “We like to think of ourself as the 21st-century version of the letterpress.”
Boxcar Press’ creations are further made as environmentally friendly as possible. “We try to keep it local and eco-friendly,” Converse added. “And if we can’t do that, we won’t make it.” The Smock line of products offers gift wrap, sticky notes, greeting cards, notebooks and more, all made from either recycled materials or bamboo paper, which is sustainable and grown without pesticides.
Boxcar Press supplies to nationally known companies, such as Paper Source, Barnes and Noble, and Whole Foods, as well as making plates for other print shops. Boxcar Press employs about 60.
Saturday’s open house should stir up some local attention and bring the word of
the press to more of the Salt City. “Up until now we’ve been quietly existing in Syracuse without many people knowing we’re here,” Converse noted. “So this open house is kind of a coming-out party.”
Visitors will enjoy tours of the shop, printing demos, giveaways, a holiday shop, snacks and live entertainment. “Anyone interested in artsy stuff or printing, kids or grownups, will have a lot of fun,” Converse said. Boxcar Press will also be offering activities for children, such as a printing demo of pages they can color themselves. “Hopefully they’ll want to grow up and be letterpress printers.”
The Boxcar Press open house will be held at 501 W. Fayette St., Suite 222. The event is free. For more information, call 473-0930 or visit www.boxcarpress.com.
—Lorna Oppedisano
Daniel Hege: Syracuse Symphony Orchestra music director helps make the season bright.
A Symphony Of Favorites
The challenge this time of year for the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra isn’t performing Handel’s Messiah yet again; it’s keeping things fresh. Principal pops conductor Ron Spigelman, who leads the musicians in three of the four holiday favorites this month, can relate. But he also loves bringing the holiday favorites to the audience.
“It’s one of those things where it’s like, would you scrap the Super Bowl because you do it every year? Part of the problem with certain arts organizations throughout the country is, if they’re in a budget crunch, the mistake they often make is to innovate. What you have to do is go to your strengths,” said Spigelman, who has conducted SSO holiday shows since 2007.
That’s why with The Nutcracker performance just passed, Messiah and Holiday Pops you’ll always hear the tried-and-true, just not necessarily as Nat King Cole sang them. “Some people want to hear the same songs every year,” Spigelman noted, “so you do repeat some things, for instance, ‘Sleigh Ride.’ You only hear it once a year
and it’s three minutes long; also, the Alleluia Chorus {from Messiah}. People like to grasp onto the things they know and love. We always do a sing-along during Holiday Pops. It’s a home-for-the-holidays tradition.”
There will be something new this season for Spigelman, who shares his conducting talents with Fort Worth, Texas; Springfield, Mo.; and Lake Placid (jealous!). The Snowman and the Grinch is part of the Family Series, and features an animated version of Raymond Briggs’ story with the SSO performing the award-winning musical score.
A visit from The Grinch is a bonus.
“I am really looking forward to that performance,” Spigelman said. “I love accompanying film; it’s one of the most stressful things to do, but also one of my favorite things to do. I once did The Wizard of Oz and I had to conduct the orchestra live to the film. Judy Garland didn’t exactly follow me. I had to follow her. And I enjoy getting kids excited about music.”
Since SSO music director Daniel Hege will be conducting The Messiah on Sunday, Dec. 12, that means Spigelman gets a few days to jet home to Missouri after Holiday Pops and before heading back for the Family Series show. The Handel classic had been performed at Most Holy Rosary Church in Strathmore, but high attendance forced a move to the Mulroy Civic Center. Tickets cost $31.
Holiday Pops comes to the Civic Center’s Crouse-Hinds Concert Theater on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 17 and 18, at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $16 to $41. And the Family Series show is at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 18, with a ticket price of $10 for all ages. For more information, or to order tickets, call 422-8200 or visit www. syracusesymphony.org.
—Georgia Williams
