Today we’d like to introduce you to Katherine Brimberry.
Katherine, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Along with a business partner, I founded Flatbed Press in 1989. We set up our studio and gallery near downtown Austin at 912 West 3rd Street in a turn of the 19th century warehouse that doesn’t exist anymore. We began collaboraing with artists creating etchings, monoprints and relief prints as well as offering memberships to artist printmakers to come and use our printmaking studio. The front of our area served as a gallery. We regularly exhibited works by printmakers.
I had been teaching printmaking and other art classes for Austin Community College and St. Edwards University when I founded Flatbed. I continued teaching as an adjunct until 2000. For several years, ACC rented our studio to hold printmaking classes on weekends and evenings while they were between buildings.
While at the 912 West 3rd Street location, we became well known nationally for the collaborative prints we published with Terry Allen, Luis Jimenez, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Melissa Miller, Dan Rizzie and James Surls. Another partner joined us, Jerry Manson. Jerry and I worked together to collaborate and edition all the projects with the help of assistant printers and interns.
In 1999 we decided to relocate Flatbed to 2430 East M. L. K. Jr. Blvd. in East Austin, a 18,000 square ft. warehouse at a bargain price. We set up our printmaking studio and remodeled the space to offer studios to artists and space to other galleries. Our collaborative work continued as we added a lithographic press to our studio and brought in more printers. Some landmark publications were created during our 20 years at this location with Linda Ridgway, Suzi Davidoff, Frank X Tolbert 2, John Robert Craft, Alice Leora Briggs, Ann Conner, and more others.
In 2019, our building was slated for destruction to make way for a condo project. We looked for comparable space in East Austin, but didn’t find an affordable space. Looking to the southeast sector, we found a flex-industrial center right off Burleson on Drossett Drive. We decided to lease 6000 square feet which would be big enough for our gallery, inventory storage, offices and two printmaking studios. We changed our business plan to create a studio for collaborative printmaking and a separate studio to share with the community through memberships. We reserved one space to sublease to another arts business. It was our hope that other arts organizations, studios and businesses would relocate near us building the kind of synergy we experienced while in East Austin.
We moved into the facility in August of 2019 just in time for the pandemic to fall in March. We continued as best we could during the shut down, and in late June resumed working with artists with caution. Our community shop and workshops didn’t fully become active for another year.
The projects from the last six years have been plentiful and rewarding. We have had a succession of printers and interns coming to work with us during that time. Currently our Master Printer, Joshua Orsburn has brought a new level of energy to the press. In December we will show case the work he has done with seven different artists and over twelve projects since January.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There have been significant challenges to keeping our business afloat. Financially we have made personal sacrifices to keep it going at times. I learned early that as a business owner, my first responsibility was to the business, the financial commitments I had made to keep it going, and to the artists I represented. Sales of the work we create has always been our main source of income. In order to sell the work, we have often traveled to print fairs, set up demonstrations, and participated in many group shows. We have cultivated relationships with museums and collectors and have been rewarded with their support.
Space has always been a challenge. We require more space than a gallery with so much printmaking equipment for production. Space is expensive in Austin. We are challenged to find a way for the space we lease to pay for itself. Moving to Drossett forced us to borrow money to remodel to space for our studio setup.
Other challenges have been with finding and keeping a good staff. It is expensive to live in Austin, and we strive to employ our staff at a livable wage.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As an artist, printmaker and teacher, I found that I was an adept collaborating Master Printer. I am known for my intaglio expertise and my ability to collaborate with artists that have no printmaking experience. I’m proud of the print work I’ve been able to do with artists are least reproductive and most directly from their hand.
The print works done with Frank X Tolbert 2, Luis Jimenez, Robert Levers, Melissa Miller, Linda Ridgway, Suzi Davidoff, John Cobb, Sherry Owens, Terry Allen, Trenton Doyle Hancock, James Surls, Miguel Aragón and Dan Rizzie are some of my favorite projects.
I am most proud that the work with these artists doesn’t seem as if it has had a template to adhere to to become a print. It feels authentically from the artists but maybe even better.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
I wish I had taken more chances financially when starting out. For instance, I had an opportunity to buy a building but didn’t know that I could have put together supporters or investors to do that. It was a missed opportunify.
Pricing:
- A range of prices of prints between $100 – $10,000
- Prices for artwork are directly related to artists other works, especially drawings.
- Prices to create a print are directly related to time and complexity of the work to be done.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.flatbedpress.com
- Instagram: flatbedpress
- Facebook: flatbedpress
- Youtube: flatbed press
