Made in Cbus Trail

Most basements house nothing more than water tanks and washing machines, but Allison Chapman was a lucky kid.

“My grandfather had a printing press in his basement,” she recalls, “and that’s how I learned about letterpress. If I was having a birthday party, we would print the invitations for it. We used the antique type, so we would hand set each word, letter by letter, and then set it up in the press to print.” 

Today, Chapman runs Igloo Letterpress, a Worthington shop that custom prints everything from save-the-dates to business cards. In lieu of setting type the old-fashioned way, clients often email designs, from which Chapman creates a plastic plate, but the effect is the same. 

“The thing that people like about letterpress is that it has a bite to the paper,” she says. “You can see where the printing press put the pressure onto the paper. It feels good.” 

The printing company is also home to a retail store that stocks art prints, greeting cards, calligraphy pens and products by other local craftsmen. Chapman’s Igloo Letterpress is one of 18 shops — some with multiple locations — featured on the Made in Cbus Trail. 

Experience Columbus launched the program in 2017, and travelers who make purchases at four or more of its stops can trade in their Made in Cbus Trail card for a T-shirt (made locally, of course).

Brian Kellett and Emily Brown’s Stump, which has locations in both Columbus’ German Village and Italian Village neighborhoods, offers potted plants that promise to liven up one’s surroundings. The store even has a phone number to which new plant parents can text questions.

“With every plant that goes home, we give you a care card,” adds Kellett. “That breaks it down into the plant name, how much to water, how much light it needs.”

Some of the ceramicware in which the store’s plants are potted is made by Ohio artisans, and although much of Stump’s inventory comes from California and Florida, Kellett and Brown are making moves to have more grown-in-Ohio stock. 

“Part of why we’re on the Made in Cbus Trail is we get some of the succulents from a guy up in Marengo,” says Kellett. “It’s called Groovy Plants Ranch.”

Note: This story originally ran in the March 2018 issue. Visit madeincbustrail.com for information and the most up-to-date list of stops on the trail. 

ON THE TRAIL: 

Alchemy: 625 Parsons Ave., Columbus 43206

Brothers Drake Meadery: 26 E. Fifth Ave.,Columbus 43201

The Candle Lab: 751 N. High St.,Columbus 43215 or 646 High St., Worthington 4308

Celebrate Local: 3952 Townsfair Way, Columbus 43219

Glean: 815 N. High St., Columbus 43214

Glenn Avenue Soap Company: 1166 W. Fifth Ave., Columbus 43212

Helen Winnemore’s: 150 E. Kossuth St., Columbus 43206

Homage: 783 N. High St., Columbus 43215 or 4032 Easton Station Rd., Columbus 43219

Igloo Letterpress: 661 High St. #B, Worthington 43085

Middle West Spirits: 1230 Courtland Ave., Columbus 43201

Native Cold Pressed: 771 N. High St., Columbus 43215

Red Giraffe Designs: 1419 Grandview Ave., Columbus 43212 or 847 N. High St., Columbus 43215

The Smithery: 1306 Grandview Ave., Columbus 43212

State of Devotion: 1399 Grandview Ave., Columbus 43212

Stump: 305 E. Fifth Ave., Columbus 43201 or 220 Thurman Ave., Columbus 43206

Watershed Distillery: 1145 Chesapeake Ave., Columbus 43212

Wholly Craft!: 3515 N. High St., Columbus 43214

Zeroz: 17 E. Gay St., Columbus 43215

Those who buy products at four of the above locations and get their trail card stamped receive a T-shirt.