Skeuomorph Press & BookLab

So many goodies coming tomorrow to Skeuomorph!!

Announcing the 2nd talk in our new "Media Necromancy" speaker series! Tue 4/28 10-11am

Jess Whyte—University of Toronto Libraries—will present "What the Disk Remembers: Traces, Forensics, & Care in Media Recovery"

"the disk remembers things its donor may not have known they were donating" More at:

Ok, here’s a proof of the 2nd layer, which adapts a broadside published in April of 1854 to warn Black residents of Boston about slave-catchers in the city, following the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act www.nps.gov/articles/000...

The most wonderfully chaotic day in BookLab is printing day @skeuomorphpress.org, but we did it! We printed an octavo on the hand press & a half-sheet quarto on the jobbing press—every student got to ink, manage paper, pull the hand press, & run the jobber—made 1 copy for everyone plus a few extras

In the inaugural “Media Necromancy” talk @skeuomorphpress.org, @drtlwagner.bsky.social asks “what does it mean to take seriously obsolescence as a fundamental part of queer archival work?”

I working on my slides for this and oscillating between the format of a media studies presentation and an information science presentation. The jury is still out on which side will win 👾📼🏳️‍🌈

In 1 week @drtlwagner.bsky.social will kick off our new "Media Necromancy" speaker series with “’As Usual You Have Produced Yet Another Installment Worthy of Archiving’: The Persistence of Obsolescence in Queer Information & Media Technologies" more at skeuomorph.ischool.illinois.edu/our-research...

Our workshop with @blountben.bsky.social last week was a blast—we still can’t believe everyone made 3 books in just one two hour workshop!

Oof, it’s “Skyline Type Foundry.” Really wish there was an edit button here sometimes!

New internet sorts from Skylinr Type Foundry arrived, for all your URL/social media letterpress printing needs!

And if you want to arrange a workshop, tour, or class visit, email us at skeuomorph-press@illinois.edu

In the foreground are trays of wooden type, and blurry in the background is a group of students in a circle working

Skeuomorph’s spring semester 2026 public hours are set! We’ll be open Sundays 1-5, & Tuesdays & Wednesdays 5-9.

If you have a project in mind or just want to experiment with our equipment and collections, come by during community hours to chat with our student assistants & get your hands inky!

Two prints with orange and black ink on white paper

Very happy to add this Le Guin quotation print from @skeuomorphpress.org to my prints about print collection!

My @skeuomorphpress.org copy of LeGuin's On Technology finally arrived yesterday and it's so beautiful. Going to be a centrepiece on my office bookshelves for sure

A poster for a talk reading: “As Usual You Have Produced Yet Another Installment Worthy of Archiving”: The Persistence of Obsolescence in Queer Information & Media Technologies Travis Wagner, Assisant Professor, School of Information Sciences Queer communities are early adopters of emergent technologies, whether video cameras to document the HIV/AIDS epidemic or microblogging platforms like Tumblr to explore new identity categories. Yet the same technologies queer communities foster are subject to the most rampant obsolescence, making the formats of these objects difficult to preserve & make accessible. As a question of archival materials, queer history seems inextricably linked to obsolescence. In this talk, Dr. Travis Wagner (they/them) asks, what might it mean to take this question of queer archival obsolescence seriously? Through a series of archival object case studies, Wagner will call attention to how data exists within the objects of queer history, how they represent the circulation and use of information within queer communities in their historical moments, & how they pose challenges to ensuring their long-term preservation. Wagner will interrogate the sociotechnical nature of queerness & obsolescence as co-constitutive forces & argue that obsolescence can serve as a generative tool to think about the past, present, & future of queer archives in an age where the promises of technology seem limitless, yet prove deeply biased & exclusionary. WHEN: WHERE: Also: Tuesday, February 17th 2026, 1-2pm SKEUOMORPH PRESS, CU Community Fablab 1301 S. GoodWin AVE. Urbana, IL 61801 SNACKS!

Then later in February @drtlwagner.bsky.social will kick off a new "Media Necromancy" speaker series—we’re still chatting with folks about ideas, but are hoping for 1-2 more talks in this series over the spring semester, with more next year skeuomorph.ischool.illinois.edu/our-research...

A poster for "Making an Artist’s Book" workshop with Ben Blount. There is a picture of Ben in front of a wall of wood type, the Skeuomorph Press logo in the corner, and text reading: In this fast-paced, hands-on workshop, visiting artist Ben Blount will dive into the basics of bringing conceptual ideas to life in the form of an artist’s book. Participants will learn about artist’s books, start with some simple formats, and then dive into creating mock-ups for big conceptual ideas. No experience necessary. When: Wednesday, February 4 from 3-5pm Where: Skeuomorph Press, in the CU Community FabLab Spots are limited, so please RSVP: https://forms.gle/6tdARcAGHNXpo2kF9

In a few weeks Ben Blount will be leading a public workshop "Making an Artist’s Book"—& a private workshop to develop exhibit materials with the "Virality of Racial Terror" research group—more info & a registration link for the public workshop here: skeuomorph.ischool.illinois.edu/making-an-ar...

Planning a semester @skeuomorphpress.org with adequate staffing & an actual budget is wild, after 3 years at Huskiana & 4 here of cobbling infrastructure together on the fly—we’ll have more community hours, some public workshops, & a new speaker series—I truly hope we can be an oasis in this moment

Register for our 1st event of the spring semester, a workshop with Ben Blount about making artist’s books—no experience required!

skeuomorph.ischool.illinois.edu/making-an-ar...

letterpress-printed, custom-illustrated 18"x24" poster with a quote from Ursula K. Le Guin's "A Rant About 'Technology'": "Technology is the active, human interface with the material world."

New @ursulakleguin.com print from @skeuomorphpress.org arrived

Two posters with the Ursula K Leguin quote about technology, a poster that says "needs more spreadsheets" and assorted other fun stickers

Spending a Saturday at YarnLab means I get to hang up my new @skeuomorphpress.org poster next to its predecessor poster, along with a @sheerspite.bsky.social sticker and other colorful goodness. #DHmakes

desk with desktop monitor, screen print that says “technology is the active human interface with the material work — ursula k le guin” in a black frame, and a speaker

technology among the technology! tysm @skeuomorphpress.org!

Poster with Ursula LeGuin quote: “technology is the active human interface with the material world”

Always love getting mail from @skeuomorphpress.org and @ryancordell.org !

A letterpress poster of the Ursula K. Le Guin quote, "Technology is the active human interface with the material world." The text is in black over an orange image of flame coming from matches.

@skeuomorphpress.org Exciting mail day! Gorgeous, and while I'm feeling a little grumpy about it getting ripped in transit, I'm also appreciating that that's part of the materiality of the print.

Photo of a wall in the Scholars' Lab's "Text Aisle" (public space between our makerspace and Common Room) with a picture rail displaying 9 letterpress and riso prints and posters, and a gallery info label, next to a large wooden floor loom and a spatial terrain mapping sandbox.

Photo of a letterpress print by Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. on chipboard paper with an apple green ink background and opaque black ink text. The photo is of a similar print to ours that I found online, as taking a photo of ours produced glare given it has already been framed; our actual print lacks this one's artist signature. The print says "* Architecture is about shelter for the soul. * PROCEED AND BE BOLD! * Sambo Mockbee *"

Photo of a letterpress print on cream paper with a dark slate blue ink, by Skeuomorph Press. It says "Information for the people!" around a square, detailed image of a retro computer in front of a packed bookshelf.

Photo of a letterpress print by Skeuomorph Press on black paper with silver ink, framed in a hot pink frame. It says "skeuomorph, n. An ornament or ornamental design on an artefact resulting from the nature of the material used or the method of working it 2. An object or feature copying the design of a similar artefact in another material OED". The Skeuomorph Press diskette logo follows, and a large artistic image of a kind of machine involving large media tape reels being used by a seated user illustrates the print.

Finished 2nd gallery wall in @scholarslab.bsky.social's Text Aisle w/art by @kennedyprints.bsky.social ("Architecture is shelter for the soul / Proceed and be bold! Sambo Mockbee"), @skeuomorphpress.org, @b0rk.jvns.ca @omarieclaire.bsky.social @innerloop-press.bsky.social, VA bookarts students, me +

Home | Commodore Honouring the past. Innovating the future. This is the first real Commodore computer in over 30 years, and it's picked up a few new tricks.

I think @skeuomorphpress.org *needs* one of these Commodore 64 Ultimate machines

I can relive being 7yo & playing Alf on the Commodore the Army bought for my dad when he went to get his Master’s—after he graduated he didn’t know what to use a computer for & it went in my room

www.commodore.net

Our inaugural speaker will be @drtlwagner.bsky.social on "The Persistence of Obsolescence in Queer Information & Media Technologies," showing how "obsolescence can serve as a generative tool to think about the past, present, & future of queer archives" skeuomorph.ischool.illinois.edu/our-research...

Y’all take a moment with me to celebrate @divinetautology.bsky.social, an incredible colleague who helped make @skeuomorphpress.org what it is today—our program wouldn’t exist without her work these past 2 years—& if you need a community & arts focused librarian/museum professional—please hire her!

Printed publication, black and orange on white rough paper, «A rant about technology»

Fold-out poster, «Technology is the active human interface with the material world»

Finally this absolute beauty from @skeuomorphpress.org made it across the pond. The texture of the paper, the quality of the print, the colors, the weight, the smell - not to mention the content by @ursulakleguin.com - it’s a real inspiration.

We’re doing it, y’all!

Starting this spring @skeuomorphpress.org will sponsor a "Media Necromancy" speaker series—each talk will "unearths what @alanyliu.bsky.social describes as 'the déjá vu haunting of new by old media'"

Hoping for skeuomorphic talks about a range of time periods/locations/&c.+

A print on black paper. Silver San serif wood font reads POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY and underneath is an illustration, printed in copper ink, of a guillotine

A linocut of a guillotine for printmaking

The Illinois Luddite Society’s last project of the semester is a (badass) cover for a forthcoming course packet.

Their guillotine cut has now joined @skeuomorphpress.org’s Lino library, where I suspect it will be popular