Cait & Tony
Since meeting in 2009 in Tacoma, Washington we have always had one hand in a type case, working to give letterpress printing new meaning and relevance. Part of that effort is making letterpress accessible to communities who typically don’t have access to presses, type, ink, paper, and the skills to put them all to work.
We also operate Open Letter Boise, a community accessible letterpress shop in the Boise area. Get in touch for support, ideas, donations, expertise, or to volunteer!
Cait HARRIs
Cait Harris is a multidisciplinary artist, printer, and designer. She is the co-proprietor of Wheelhouse Press and an adjunct instructor in the Boise State University Department of Art, Design & Visual Studies. Her work investigates the form of the book and engages with sequential information that transforms over time. She makes intricate folded paper structures, inky prints with wood type, and dot matrix poems. Collaboration with students, writers, and community organizations enables her to share printing and publishing skills in support of the exchange of underrepresented voices.
Cait teaches art and printmaking classes at Boise State University and the Boise Art Museum. She has taught workshops at Oregon College of Art & Craft and Idaho State University and served as the Studio Manager at the Independent Publishing Resource Center. Currently Cait serves as the President of the Rocky Mountain Printmaking Alliance, and on the board of the College Book Arts Association as the Vice Chair of Member Relations.
Tony Marostica
Tony Marostica is the co-proprietor of Wheelhouse Press and has been printing and teaching letterpress since 2011. He manages print production and logistics, and regularly teaches the craft through community workshops and events. Tony keeps the presses running smoothly and is continually curating Wheelhouse Press’ extensive collection of type and equipment. In addition to printing, he creates new wood type using the traditional method of engraving end-grain maple blocks with a pantograph.
printing in the city of trees
Our families are deeply rooted in Idaho, and we are committed to giving back to the rural communities we call home. Cait’s family settled in 1898 near present-day Salmon, Idaho where her great-grandfather opened a grocery store that would remain in the family for the next hundred years.
Tony’s family staked a claim of farm land near Ontario, Oregon in 1903, eventually moving just across the border toward opportunities in Boise. After leaving the state for a few years to pursue our printing dreams, we returned home in 2017. For us, Idaho is the perfect place to practice our craft and share it with our community.