Department Store Interviews Screen Print Shop Studio

The Private Press

posted by Amber Weaver March 29, 2017

We had the pleasure of interviewing the brilliant Gary Parselle, the guy behind The Private Press, a small Brighton-based screen printing company, established in the summer of 2013. Having grown organically from a genuine love for screen printing, the press is now a fully functioning studio. Read below to find out more..

So Gary, how did The Private Press become what it is today?
My background is in graphic design, one of my responsibilities was managing the production of all kinds of printed matter. Around 12 years ago I commissioned some screen prints for a design agency I was working for at the time and when the prints came back from the printer I was taken with the tactile nature of the ink on paper, and impressed with the depth of colour and texture gained from a screen print. So I embarked on a screen printing course, and quickly I was hooked. I set up my own small print studio after a couple of years, learning all the time, experimenting and developing. Over the years my commissions grew and 4 years ago I left my job when I realised doing something I loved – screen printing – could be my full time occupation. And so The Private Press was born, and I’ve never looked back!

What’s its purpose?
The purpose of The Private Press is to make beautiful prints for our every one of our clients. Every print that leaves the studio is of the highest quality, and we are gaining a reputation for our meticulous attention to detail and methodical approach. The purpose of the Editions series is to showcase what is possible with screen printing by demonstrating different screen printing techniques, anything from using interesting papers or using interesting inks.

What do you do?
I look after every aspect of the process, The Private Press is in fact just me! I work closely with all clients from their initial enquiry, through to recommending paper, mixing inks and then of course printing everything by hand. More often than not I will than deliver the prints too! The Private Press is a small business, and we value every single project we work on.

We print exclusively onto paper and board, and specialise in doing so. I am lucky to work with such a great, varied selection of clients from a wide range of sectors, from fine artists, graphic designers and illustrators through to musicians and independent film companies. Some recent highlights have been working fro David Shrigley, Hot Chip, Rose Blake and Supermundane.

What do you hope to achieve in the future?
The past 4 years have been fantastic, and I’m hoping we can continue our work with so many great artists, and carry on doing what we love. I started the Editions at the end of last year, and the idea with that is to continue to release work with artists whose work I admire, and we have lots of exciting plans for the series in the future.

We loved Gary and his press so much we decided to launch his shop as a collection on our curated marketplace. Below you can check out some of the amazing artists work available to buy, view the full collection on Department Store too.