My name is Denise Johnson and I own and operate this one-woman show I call Bellis Studios. My profession is creative director for an ad agency here in the suburbs of Chicago. Looking for an alternative way to print smaller quantities of my own designs, I stumbled onto letterpress. Immediately, I was hooked. Two years of research and two classes at Columbia College later, I purchased my Vandercook No. 3 press on Ebay. It's been a wonderful journey on which I continue to learn and explore. I adore letterpress and hope once you experience it, you will too... today's mass produced digital copies can't begin to compare to the tactile qualities and nostalgic feel of letterpress.

When I'm not designing or printing, I spend my time reading, antiquing, restoring my 1860 home, and catering to my two cats (pictured above).