The Colophon Club meets once a month from September to May.
If you would like more information about membership in the Club or would like to join us at an upcoming event, email: colophonclub at gmail dot com.
Save the Date:
Sunday August 23, 2026
The Colophon Club Summer Picnic
Portola Valley
May 12, 2026
Old Barn Press & Historic Senger House Tour
Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Location: 1321 Bay View Place, Berkeley, CA 94708
Time: 6:00-8:30pm
Donation: $20 (snacks and beverages)
Our May Colophon Club Event will be hosted by Andrea and Michael Scharff, owners of the Old Barn Press, located at their home, the historic Berkeley Senger House, designed by architect Bernard Maybeck in 1907. The studio visit includes letterpress demos, a talk about their tiny art gallery above a free library, Art & Lit, by Andrea Scharff, and Maybeck House walk-through tours with Michael Scharff.
April 14, 2026
Ostracod Rising
A presentation by Gail Wight
Date: Tuesday, April 14, 2026
Location: CODEX Foundation, 1331 Seventh St, Berkeley, CA 94710
Time: 6:00 pm
Donation: $20 (snacks and beverages)
Gail Wight will discuss the making of Ostracod Rising, a book outlining the history of Earth from the Hadean Eon 4.5 billion years ago to the Ostracocene, 140 million years in the future. Developed during a 3-year residency with UC Irvine’s Beall Center for Art & Technology, Ostracod Rising was initially inspired by images of microfauna in a deep lake core sample. It eventually became a 35 pound accordion book displayed as a 45-foot arc for six months, then evolved into a more manageable editioned version in a soft and flexible washi, all based on large format school primers and bicycle playing cards.
March 10, 2026
Fulcrum Press: A Beginning
Chad Johnson
talk and buffett dinner 6-8:30
Cafenated, 2085 Vine Street, Berkeley
A longtime printer and bookbinder, Chad Johnson has maintained a bindery at home as well as working at many presses, libraries, and studios. He has recently added a Reliance iron handpress to his home studio and is embarking upon a new imprint: Fulcrum Press. Chad will share the story of getting the press, fitting out the tympan & frisket, and why he is planning on printing books primarily from lead type in the 21st century.
January 13
Arion Press tour
Dina Pollack Studio Visit
From her website: "Dina Pollack is a native Bay Area letterpress printer and book artist. She earned a BA from Bard College in 2013 in Studio Art with a focus in Printmaking and Book Arts. After returning to the Bay Area in 2014, she was hired as a studio assistant for Peter Koch and as the CODEX Foundation Book Fair Manager and now works as Managing Director for the CODEX Foundation. Pursuing her passion for letterpress printing, she started her own printing business in 2017, working with clients to print business cards/stationery, wedding invitations, and small edition books of poetry, to name a few. In 2021, Dina obtained her MFA in Book Art from Mills College in Oakland, California."
Donna Seager
at Cafenated Coffee Co.
on Vine Street in Berkeley
HOLIDAY PARTY
at Cafenated Coffee Co.
on Vine Street in Berkeley
Admission: $25
Studio Visit at Offshoot Works with Sharon Kallenberger
September 9th, 2025
6:00-8:00pm
[Address provided to members only. Please contact if interested in attending]
Sharon Kallenberger, a fifth-generation printer, has been gathering up essential cast-iron and leaden equipment to lighten the world around her through letterpress printing. Sharon is opening her studio to our members to learn of her printer heritage as well as her artistic output.