Dawson Print Shop

Purely as a shopper, the Dawson Print Shop has given me a lot to fall in love with. I was lucky to get introduced to this NSCAD hideaway by members of the Letterpress Gang that calls this their homebase for covert operations involving old-​timey art prints with surprisingly foul language. That is to say, we got off on the exact right foot.
The Dawson Print Shop itself is everything I love about NSCAD without the parts that I find super intimidating. The art sold is affordable and hilarious, the staff are really friendly and helpful, and there’s just the right balance of Etsy charm and biting wit that really gets me picturing prints on my walls.
As a bonus, sometimes they open their doors to let people learn more about the letterpressing process, to see it in action, and even try their hand at a wee greeting card or two. While completely awesome, this can be a little awkward sometimes. For starters, it’s a small space and it’s not always clear where to go to get a lil tutorial so on more than one occasion I’ve ended up interrupting an artist at work rather than finding the right person to talk to. Whoopsies…
The shop doesn’t hold regular hours so don’t expect to drop by just any time. But keep an eye out for their special events and art sales when you’ll be able to score quirky and hilarious prints from NSCAD students and artists, not to mention those wily Letterpress Gang members, and maybe even a delicious baked good or two if you’re lucky. Bring cash — you don’t buy delicate prints on plastic, yuppie.

You should take a class here. No, seriously. I took Intro to Letterpress through NSCAD Extended Studies and enjoyed my seven weeks so much that I signed up for a second time. I’m completely hooked on letterpress. The teacher (Niko) totally knows her stuff and getting your hands dirty with type and ink is so much fun.
Classes aren’t super cheap ($ 275+tx), but it includes all your supplies plus lots of chances to print yourself some pretty art or a recipe or a book cover or a nice poem.
I also recommend stopping here if they have an open house for Nocturne or the holidays. You’ll get a chance to try your hand at some letterpress and walk away with a small memento of the event (I have two posters of tweets by friends on my wall from a Nocturne two years ago).