We started in a borrowed corner of a bookbinder's studio and moved into our own floor of the Manton Avenue mill in 2012. The shop has stayed small on purpose.
Marren Letterpress was founded by Hannah Marren, who learned the trade as an apprentice at a trade shop in Pawtucket and kept at it long after it stopped being a practical way to earn a living. The first press came out of a barn in Vermont and took three people to move up the mill stairs.
Today the shop is Hannah and two printers, with a rotating bench for students who come through the evening workshops. We take on about a hundred and fifty jobs a year, which is roughly as many as three presses and six hands can do well.
We are members of the Amalgamated Printers' Association and keep a shelf of our own editions, printed between commissions, that we are happy to show visitors.