Jennifer Farrell

What can go wrong in printing? Everything.

Turn printing into a business and the opportunity to fail increases exponentially! Instead of showcasing the successes of running Starshaped Press for the past 25 years, Jen will focus on the unpleasant side rarely shared in public but communally experienced by small businesses. This ranges from client miscommunications, accounting missteps, damaged papers, equipment fails and life emergencies. In spite of setbacks, these painful and sometimes humiliating experiences are regular coursework in the School of Hard Knocks and can lead to surprising learning opportunities. We’ll discuss ways to meet challenges and move through the difficulties to grow a creative practice, a business, and the attitude to take the misses with the hits.

Jennifer Farrell

Since 1999, Jennifer Farrell has operated Starshaped Press in Chicago, with a focus on designing & printing everything from business cards to posters, as well as custom commissions, wholesale ephemera and limited edition prints & books. All work in the studio is created with metal and wood type, making Starshaped one of the few presses in the country producing commercial work while preserving antique type and related print materials. Jennifer’s work has been repeatedly recognized in books, magazines and design blogs, and has appeared in poster shows throughout the USA and Europe.

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