Mayday Press

Mayday Press is run by May Sorum, a graduate from the University of Washington with a BFA in Visual Communication Design. After graduation, May worked as a Designer in a variety of prominent Seattle design firms until moving to Southwest Wisconsin.

“In Madison, I found myself adrift creatively” says May. She decided to enrol in letterpress and screen printing courses at the local technical college (MATC). “Discovering letterpress was a real ah-ha moment for me. I experienced an immediate connection. The machinery, the smell of the ink, setting type by hand, and the physicality of printing all drew me in. I found the whole process intoxicating”.

In her previous life as a corporate graphic designer, May viewed letterpress as “just another way to output a design”, but today sees it very differently. Through letterpress printing, she could become a designer-maker; responsible for the initial spark of an idea to the final, tactile product. Mayday Press was born of love, design, ink, paper, letterpress, and possibilities. Nowadays, May spends her time designing and letterpress printing greeting cards, notebooks, notepads and prints for her stationery line. These are all made in her sunny studio in beautiful, historic downtown Mineral Point Wisconsin.

May always starts her designs by sketching various concepts and possible solutions before moving forward with a particular idea. If the project requires, ideas are scanned then adjusted in Adobe Illustrator until just right. The design determines which printing methods she uses, and often May will combine multiple methods in one project. “I think the coolest thing about letterpress is that you can print just about anything that is type-high (.918”),” comments the printmaker. This allows her to use a variety of materials including, polymer plates, laser cut wood blocks, wood type, hot/cold metal type… or anything else that’s .918” high.

Mayday Press is home to all manner of equipment; from the sometimes-scary and amazing 31” hydraulic paper cutter, to the mesmerising Ludlow Typograph, and from a no nonsense Hammond Glider, to the essential Anderson Vreeland platemaker; May uses it all. “But the true stars of the show are the workhorse presses. Mayday Press wouldn’t be possible without my hulking Heidelberg windmills and my trusty Vandercook presses. They were very patient while I learned the ropes many years ago and for that I am thankful” says May.

Texture, simplicity, typography, silly things, asymmetry, bright colours, and white space, are all things that inspire May’s output. She states; “I enjoy the act of making by hand and when working digitally I try to introduce imperfections and textures back into my work. I find this combats my tendencies toward perfection (whatever that is!)”. For May, the act of letterpress printing also adds an element of warmth and depth; “there is something to holding in your hand an item that has been thoughtfully crafted – a tactile connection to the process and intention that created it”.

“Looking back, this crazy amazing job that I created for myself makes so much sense now and even seems serendipitous. I’ve been obsessed with notebooks, pens and pencils my entire life. I’m forever on the lookout for the cutest pens, pencils or the perfect notebook. Now in this dream-of-a-job I am lucky to design and print paper products along with curating a lovely selection of writing tools and desktop stationery items.”

In addition to an e-commerce website, Mayday Press also have a brick and mortar location in downtown Mineral Point. When not obsessing about stationery, May is mostly thinking about contributing to political discourse by making politically motivated posters, learning about modular synthesizers, and living a blissed-out life in rural Wisconsin with her wife, son and her menagerie of pets.

www.mayday-press.com
@maydaypress

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