Swayspace + Kreh Mellick

Since 2002, Swayspace has worked with amazing artists, designers, and clients on custom-made letterpress products. Inspired by the results of our previous collaborations, we teamed up with Kreh Mellick to make this new line of stationery.

What are your current sources of inspiration?

“Edward Gorey, children’s tales, folk art, and folklore are always a source of inspiration. I love to see a person’s hand in the work, something completely unique from anything that exists.”

Can you tell us a little bit about the characters you created for the new line?

“Some of the characters I used had existed in earlier incarnations but were altered or pushed a little bit further to suit the themes that Swayspace presented. In other cases, I just reacted. Really, it is just sitting down and drawing characters until they feel right.”

Can you tell us about your process in creating illustrations specifically designed for letterpress?

“I do have some experience with letterpress and printmaking but I always return to the immediacy of drawing. I really love every aspect of printing, particularly letterpress, but I always struggle with deciding on an image. There is just something there that does not transfer in my own printmaking process. I find collaborating with printmaker so rewarding, best of both worlds.”

Can you talk a little about the significance of your signature colors, red and black?

“I have always been fascinated by ghost stories and things that exist around us that go unnoticed. So the black in my work was the perceivable/physical world and the red represented atmosphere or ghosts and spirits. That has probably changed over the years and the work but that was the idea I began with.”

How do you create your characters?

“Really it just is sitting down and drawing characters until they feel right. They all have a sort of strangeness in their figure, which is something that is intentional. I am not striving for realism but a sense of figure or purpose from the figure. Truly. I do not do much sketching before I make anything, so I hope that they come off as fast and stream of consciousness.”

Can you talk a little bit about your technique?

“I tend to be very minimal in my color palette and I think printmaking allows for experimentation and broadening the range of color. Of course, this collaboration kind of embraces my palette, which I love, but it really changes it up in a way that I do not generally use in my own work. Details in pattern and environment… it’s really nice to see.”