A panel discussion moderated by Peter Miles of is PRESS and Quimby’s Bookstore between Marc Fischer of Public Collectors, Half Letter Press, and Temporary Services, Vera Benschop of Benschop Books, and Eric Von Haynes of Flatlands Press and Quimby’s Bookstore. These four publishers, who will be exhibiting their work at Staple + Stitch, have all built integrated creative and professional practices actively publishing the work of themselves and others while holding down complementary careers in education, printing, and community building.
Peter Miles Bergman began his career in commercial printing, culminating in pre-press for magazines. For the last 17 years he has been a professor of Art and Graphic Design at Metropolitan State University of Denver – teaching editorial design, typography, print production, letterpress and zine publishing. Peter has run his own publishing imprint, is PRESS, for the last 13 years, consigning zines at Quimby’s and attending 30+ zine fests and art book fairs. Peter has been overjoyed to take the helm of Quimby’s Bookstore, his favorite bookstore alongside Cody Kasselman. He is most energized by providing a platform for artists and authors, and will be adding his small press publishing and printing skills to Quimby’s mission.
Marc Fischer is a member of the group Temporary Services (ongoing since 1998) and co-runs its publishing imprint Half Letter Press with his collaborator Brett Bloom. Temporary Services began as an experimental exhibition space in a working-class neighborhood of Chicago before transitioning its focus to publishing as a way of opening art and ideas to new possibilities. Temporary Services has produced over 125 publications since 1998. Fischer is also the administrator of Public Collectors, an initiative he formed in 2007. Public Collectors aims to encourage greater access and scholarship for marginal cultural materials, particularly those that museums ignore. Public Collectors’ work includes the Library Excavations publication series and web project, Quaranzine—which produced 100 single-page publications with over 75 collaborators at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Public Collectors also publishes frequently and has produced over 100 publications. Fischer lives and works in Chicago, Illinois. www.temporaryservices.org, www.halfletterpress.com, www.publiccollectors.org.
Vera Benschop is a photographer and book designer / maker behind the publishing project Benschop Books. She makes photography books and zines of her own work and others', handmade in Denver, Colorado. Vera is the Print Production Manager of Yellow Dog an award-winning design, print, and marketing studio based in Denver, Colorado.
Eric Von Haynes is a printmaker and designer with over 15 years of experience leading Flatlands Press, known for its innovative design and community projects. He is President of the Chicago Printers Guild and teaches Graphic Design at UIC and print techniques at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His work, blending artistic expression and analytical thinking, is in collections like the Center for Book Arts and Joan Flasch Artist Book Collection, and has been exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver and Tiger Strikes Asteroids. He's also part of ZINEmercado, a traveling zine festival based in Chicago that highlights Latinx artists. As a community advocate, he is a co-founder of Love Fridge Chicago, a community-fridge initiative, and engages in projects that promote community care and skill sharing. He's also a member of Quimby’s Bookstore, where he focuses on community outreach.
GALLERY 3