Paper Hammer Studios is based in Tieton, Washington, a lovely orchard town at the far western edge of the Yakima Valley in Central Washington.
Since 2007, we’ve produced merchandise for our shop in Seattle, another in Tieton, and this online shop.
Maria Solorio runs the bindery at Paper Hammer Studios in Tieton.
Our small crew lives and works in the Tieton area, and our design team shares time between Seattle and Tieton. We freely merge the best of 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries graphic technology. With (literally) tons of heavy equipment - three letterpresses, a 1920s Smyth Stitcher, a century-old book press, wood and lead type - the by-hand methods of 1970s graphic design, and current digital tools, we create our signature remix of old-new, urban-rural, and orchard-industrial.
Surrounded by apple, pear, cherry, and apricot orchards, with the east side of the Cascade Mountains as a backdrop, an informal arts incubator called Mighty Tieton has taken root. Paper Hammer is a central part.
Design ideas usually start fast and furious with sketches and quick collages. Survivors move to the next step in the design process.
The bindery is in a former pharmacy in Tieton, WA.
Our retail flagship, Paper Hammer, opened in 2010 in the heart of Seattle to showcase hand-bound albums, journals, chapbooks, and letterpress printed goods made in Tieton. This handsome shop has become a popular destination for locals and tourists from all over the world.
The bindery is full of old, heavy, and highly functional equipment.
Each style of chapbook is thoughtfully designed and produced in Tieton.
These new journals feature rich cover colors and heavier stock to sketch or write on.