Moonlighting Series: Sven Olaf Nelson – Letterpress Printer & Designer
Last year, I began thinking of an idea for a series about local Toledo artists, designers, musicians, and other creative types. I wanted to feature people who make no excuses in getting their work out in front of an audience on top of their full-time careers or busy family lives. This is the next installment in a series I’m calling The Moonlighting Series, interviewing Toledo area designer and letterpress printer, Sven Olaf Nelson (@leaddite).
Sven and I have been acquaintances for a few years. I asked Sven if he would be willing to let me interview him on how he balances a career as a Creative Solutions Consultant at Root Inc., family, and running his own print shop from his home he named Pineapple Press & Design after his grandfather– nicknamed, Pine. He graciously said “yes” under one condition: that we would do the interview while getting our hands dirty. My only response was an enthusiastic “heck yes!”.
Sven in his workshop he named Pineapple Press after his grandfather– nicknamed, Pine.
A Tour of Pineapple Press & Design
As we began our interview and Sven gave me the tour of Pineapple Press & Design, I suited up with an apron and gloves since we would be handling lead. He showed me the rows upon rows of cabinets filled with wood and lead type he has collected from shops in the Toledo area and beyond that have since gone out of business.
As we set up our type to create a poster, I wanted to start at the beginning.
How did you get started in letterpress?
“Going to Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, which I went through in seven short years for a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts. I started out in Architecture because I always loved lines and forms, but I ended up bored. I went into graphic design and really fell in love with letterforms and the way type looks. In our senior design studio, there was a letterpress shop with one double-wide cabinet of type and poster presses. I got into making posters and book covers and I would just try to play with the letters and moving them around. I would go in after hours and just mess with it. I liked experimenting with printing on different and weird things like paper that was thrown away or paper towels in the restroom not only because it was interesting, but also because it was free, and free is appealing when you are in art school.”
When did this become more than a casual interest?
“My grandfather passed away my senior year in college. He left the grandkids some money, not a lot, but 700 bucks to a college kid is a lot. I used the money to buy some letterpress type and a press to get my start.”
What was your first paying gig?
“My first real letterpress job was doing wedding invites for some friends of mine. I printed like 500 invites, which was insane. It took me around two months to do. There was the part that I loved trying to figure out problems, but some of it was feeling like I wasn’t sure what I got myself into. What I realized through the process though is I loved to make things that felt like they had a human touch. I wanted someone to see the human flaws that can come with letterpress to get a sense that this was real and not just ran through a machine somewhere.”
Sven developed his graphic design skills in those years past college but continued with letterpress on the side, setting up shop in he and his wife’s apartment. As we continued the interview he ran me through the entire process of creating a poster– from choosing a font to mixing the ink, to cutting the paper. It’s a craft that is fully hands-on. I would equate it to the art of cooking. You choose your ingredients, prep your area, but then you need to put in the physical work as well. Sometimes you run out of an ingredient and have to improvise with some creativity. In an age where almost all graphics work is done sitting at a desk, I can see a large appeal to the letterpress process.
What do you think about the old adage that we should drop everything and just chase our dreams?
“For me, the answer to that question can vary from day-to-day. Work can be tough and you can ask yourself, ‘man, should I just go after chasing this letterpress thing?’ But for me, the fun thing is Pineapple Press is always here, it’s not going anywhere so I get the best of both worlds. I get more enjoyment out of doing this knowing I can do it on my own time, my own dime, and I can turn down print jobs if I don’t want to do them or if I won’t enjoy the project.”
What’s some advice you would give to someone in their early 20’s trying to make decisions on what they will do for a living for the long run?
“Make sure you are thinking about the long game. There is a certain amount of freedom I have now since I’ve made the choices I did. If I would have had to rely on letterpress, I would have to be doing this 24/7 because of the state of the industry.”
As a family man, how do you balance it all– a family, full-timejob, and Pineapple Press?
“It can be a rollercoaster sometimes, but we’ve tried to set parameters– In seasons, it will be ‘okay, I’ll be down in the studio on Mondays and Tuesdays’ even if I don’t have a client job to work on. We try to do this as a team, my wife Amanda and I. When I do local art fairs, she will help run the booth. She also does the bookwork and social posting. Side note, when I step away from selling at our booth at fairs she makes FAR more money than I do! Maybe I should just leave that end of things up to her!”
Who are some of your creative inspirations?
“I’m always shifting, but right now, Aaron Draplin is just hitting it out of the park with some of his chunky design. Stefan Sagmeister, album cover guru. Sculptor Constantin Brâncusi. Music is a huge influencer. Dave Brubeck was always messing with rhythms that helps me create a very different visual element while I’m working.”
Do you feel that there is a bit of wisdom in having a side passion to fulfill our creative pursuits so we aren’t always expecting our careers to fill that void?
“It makes sense. When I was younger in my career I would have said things like ‘I need more creativity from my job’ or ‘why aren’t you fulfilling creative needs?’ There’s a bit of maturation that happens with as we get older that realizes that isn’t our companies’ responsibility to fulfill our personal creative needs, we have to take some ownership of that and pursue our passions on the side. And if you do feel like you need more creative moments out of your job, it’s should be your responsibility to voice that feedback.”
What would you say to people who say they are too busy to pursue their passions on the side?
“I would say it can come and go. Creative times may ebb and flow, but if you are a person that is truly driven by the creative, it will always come back. It’s not something you need to beat yourself up over.”