Courtesy Grove Street Press
Tucked away on one of New Orleans’ last cobblestone streets, Grove Street Press is located in a cozy red-brick building near the World War II Museum in the Central Business District. Stepping inside transports a customer to days of yesteryear—a time when American handicraft was valued and ordinary objects held heavier meaning. The shop’s dark tones and retro décor—old-timey typewriters, American flags, weathered bookshelves, maps, and alphabet posters—reflect a tidy, stylish simplicity that forms the foundation of this small letterpress business.
Cousins Anna Boyer and Kate Wyman extend this carefully curated aesthetic to their work: prints portraying old cars, maps of Louisiana’s parishes, cocktail birthday greetings, retro tennis racquets, New Orleans architecture—all produced in simple, clean lines with just a few colors painstakingly laid down one color at a time. The cards and posters are all hand-printed with an enormous old printing press. Standing chest-high and covered in old ink, its presence in the shop looms.
Pictured: Kate Wyman (left) and Anna Boyer (right) operate Grove Street Press in New Orleans. Photo by Brei Olivier.
Wyman does all of the printing, Boyer the bulk of the design. The fact that it seems like more work than it’s worth is part of the appeal. “The great irony in letterpress is that it takes this beastlike machine to do this dainty printing,” said Wyman, holding a whimsical greeting card featuring a poodle driving a convertible. (Their dog, Mildred, serves as inspiration for many of their designs.) They take pride in doing things the old-fashioned way, comparing their art to leatherwork or sewing. Wyman explained that both she and Boyer value the rich heritage of family-owned quality goods and strive to exemplify the tradition of craft.
Though a few years apart in age, the two attended the same schools until college, when Wyman studied English and Boyer studied graphic design. Back in Lake Charles, after finishing her degree at the University of Dallas, Wyman fell in love with traditional printmaking when someone gave her an old press; the press remains in Lake Charles on Grove Street, the namesake for their shop today. She apprenticed with a printmaker in Chicago before moving to New Orleans and convincing Boyer to go into business with her.
The duo started by designing custom images for individual clients and driving the three hours back and forth to Lake Charles to use the press there. The resulting two-day printmaking sessions lasted until they had the means to buy a press in New Orleans. Now a few local shops, including West Elm and Hattie Sparks, carry their prints; they also sell individual and wholesale work online.
The business is doing quite well. The cousins moved to their location on St. Joseph Street a few years ago and have quickly expanded from a studio space to retail. Their first wholesale catalogue went live in November on their website.
What has perhaps catapulted Boyer and Wyman to success in a crowded market is their marketing plan—genius in its simplicity. Rather than advertising in the traditional way, by running ads online or distributing magazines, they have instead focused on branding the business as a lifestyle on Instagram. Using this photo-centric social media platform wasn’t initially a deliberate marketing method, but their followers grew quickly (they have over thirteen thousand today) and they had to begin having deliberate discussions about what images they would present and how they would use the platform to support the growth of their business. Boyer said that she and Wyman have varied interests and styles, but “the look that we’re going for is really one that we kept coming back to.” She added, “It was more just editing our own eye and choosing one path.”
This shines through in their impeccably curated Instagram feed, which features enviable images of their lives: Sunday-morning biscuits and jam, a family crawfish meal, a selection of items arranged on the table for a weekend outing. Rarely do their prints actually appear in these carefully curated photographs. Instead, the photo feed tells the story of lives led deliberately and with no small degree of impeccable Southern style.
Details. Details. Details.
Grove Street Press
521 St. Joseph Street
New Orleans, La.
(504) 281-4575 • grovestreetpress.com
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