THE DISTILLERY
The Distillery is not the name of a new local boutique beer-maker.
It is a printing press at 115 Crown Street, Darlinghurst, which seemst o have morphed out of 19th century time warp.
Its antique printing presses whir and clunk into action to produce extremely high quality printing products.
It takes its name from the way it approaches its design process: by distilling creative thoughts to create a product unique to its application. They also perform graphic design and other creative projects including shop logos.
Nathan Leong, Founder and Managing Director, created the concept and the company in 2011. He says: “beautiful outcomes are pure, processed, and take time to meld and achieve, much like our own creative and production processes”.
The actual printing presses are operated manually, ink is mixed by hand and maintenance is performed in-house. The studio is visually open to public, who can observe and enjoy seeing how it all works.
Many people wandering past in the street simply stop and sate at this fascinating piece of magic, live theatre happening before their eyes.
Nathan says that “people can really appreciate something here that we put some much love into and where customers can actually feel the impressions in the paper and see the rich, vibrant colours and the foils {thin sheets of metal used in production].”
With up to five full-time staff and three part-timers, the printers and designers all toil continuously to design and develop beautifully crafted invitations, business cards, stationery and packaging designs.
The company’s ethos defines their approach:
“We’re inspired by old-fashioned values, heritage and vintage design with soul.
We believe that the best ideas live outside a computer screen, and love the unique qualities that tactile design brings to the world.”
Enjoy this short three-minute video of the presses in action:
Address: 115 Crown Street, Darlinghurst, NSW, 2010
Phone: 0411 062 480 or (02) 8964 8860
Email: the-distillery.com.au
Hours: weekdays 9am-6pm. Saturdays & evenings by appointment.
By Andrew Woodhouse, Heritage solutions
