“LordyMercy, She’s Got Talent”

Photos and Profile by Kim Koon

Some of the best things can be found in small towns; The best scenery, the best people, the best “mom and pop” restaurants, and the best talent. “LordyMercy” is a small letterpress printing business located in Readyville, TN, owned by Cannon County native, Heather Moulder. Heather is only 34 years old, but this young artist is keeping this old way of printing alive right here in our backdoor.

As I walked into Heather’s studio early one morning, it was like stepping into a time warp. An array of posters that she had designed and printed were on display. Some of the posters had simple thought-provoking quotes, and others exhibited advertisements that aroused the question of whether they had been printed yesterday or a hundred years ago. The vintage letterpress machine that Heather restored herself, sat beaming in all its glory.  A turn of the century stone fireplace in the center of the room was welcoming me. The posters, the machine, and the fireplace all seemed right at home together, like old friends from long ago.

When asked, “What is Letterpress printing?”, Heather said one of her old bosses, Jim Sherraden, had the best explanation.  Sherraden described the process as “Letters pressed into paper, with ink in-between.” Although that description seems simple, the process really isn’t. 

A lot of work goes into each project. “It starts with a pencil and paper sketch, and I typically hand draw everything.”, Heather said. “Then the drawing gets reversed with carbon paper, so I don’t have to free-hand it backwards. Then, I hand-carve the designs into scrap wood or linoleum. It’s like a stamp. Once it’s carved, I lock the blocks into the press machine and print it.” Heather has carved her designs into scrap wood, pieces of linoleum, leather, or basically any material that allows her to get the calibrated height she needs. She has even used the soles of shoes.

The very first print project Heather made was from a stamp she created at Cannon County High School where she graduated. Her art teacher, Gwen Copeland, taught her the basics.  After graduating high school, she went on to attend college at MTSU for a degree in graphic design. While pursuing this degree, one of the classes she was required to take was in letterpress printing. She was unaware of the doors this class would open for her. Heather said, “That one printmaking class changed the whole course of my career.” Once Heather discovered what It was like to design in this way, she went back and enrolled in everything she could to learn about letterpress printing. The classes helped Heather to refine her skills and knowledge, and she received an internship at Hatch Show Print in Nashville, TN.

Heather has been working for Hatch Show Print for the last decade. Hatch is one of the oldest running letterpress print shops in America today. The business has been in operation since 1879, over 142 years. Heather says, “I’m totally spoiled there, because they have a huge selection of wood and metal type (Pieces with letters and designs that can be combined to make posters). For personal work, I don’t have that extensive collection, so I invent some of my own by carving them.”  Her unique art style is partially derived from her experience at Hatch. Heather said, “Just working in that shop environment and using the type styles of that time period has influenced the type styles that I carve and use in my personal work. They (Hatch) were operating in a time where all advertisements came from hand carved blocks.”

Some of Heather’s poster designs come from a combination of her own carved templates and from vintage metal type pieces that she has collected. She made a Christmas card by piecing together metal type that she has collected from various places. Some of it came from an old newspaper family in Nashville. Heather likes collecting the smaller metal type since small letters are hard to hand-carve. Some of the metal type pieces she has found are from closed-down newspaper businesses, some are from other letterpress printers like her, and some she has found from people that just want to see the pieces used again. She found some just ten minutes down the road in a small shop in Auburntown, TN. Heather said, “It has kind of been my dream to find letter type pieces in Cannon County and put them back in print.” She mentioned that she would love to find metal type that was used by the Cannon Courier.

There is no doubt Heather has a unique style. It’s a style that naturally draws a person in and makes them dig deep into their thoughts. When asked how she chooses quotes that she uses on her posters, she said, “I like to choose sayings that remind me of home.  I love it when someone can think of a story looking at my work. I try to make my art general enough that it’s not exactly my story but will make others think of their own stories.” She goes on to say, “I also love it when I speak to a musician and they have an idea of what they want a poster to look like, and I’m really able to bring their idea to life.”

While working at Hatch, Heather has helped to create art for some big-time names. Just recently, she worked on a project for Dolly Parton’s new Ice Cream flavor to be sold at Jeni’s Ice Cream Shop. Other big-name projects have been for Paul McCartney and Converse. Locally, she has done personal work for Alan Daigre Designer Chairs, Short Mountain Distillery, the White Oak Craft Fair, and numerous artists for musical events and shows.

Letterpress printing is more popular than you might think. Since it’s such a specific craft, it’s a tight-knit community. People involved in this art are sprinkled all over the world, but they like to stay in touch. Heather has trained interns at Hatch from places as far as New Zealand, England, and Holland. Not only is Heather an artist, but she also must know a little about the mechanics of the letterpress machines. Parts are not readily available, so staying in touch with other printmakers makes it easier to find resources.  Learning to work on the machines and finding parts is an endeavor all its own. Heather stated, “If you find someone with the same press as you, it’s like a gold mine”. The machine she has in her personal studio was found in McMinnville, TN, covered in rust. It is a Challenge 15-MP from 1967. It was about to be scraped when she rescued it, and it came with a bunch of metal type. During the Covid quarantine in 2020, Heather literally sanded every piece of her letterpress machine and repainted it. 

Heather’s career goal is to get her personal shop up and running full force. “I love making posters for local bands, local businesses, and to be tied into the community in that way. I want to teach more. I did my first virtual classes this year and would love to teach and do more workshops.”

The art of letterpress printing may be as old as the Cannon County hills, but taking a glimpse at it through the eyes of this young lady was refreshing. Before I left Heather’s studio, I took another look at the letterpress machine that she had restored and wondered about the work it had produced in its lifetime. I, then, anticipated the new life it was about to take on.