Goofy Foot Prints

In 2016 Charlie Hiramoto, the father of machinemachine's founder Shannon, opened Kaua'i's only Letterpress and Blockprinting studio, Goofy Foot Prints. A retired firefighter with the Kauai Fire Department, Charlie discovered the art of printmaking 10 years ago. Shannon had acquired a beautiful yet simple secondhand etching press (found in the local newspaper for only $200!) but had nowhere to store it except for her parent's Kalaheo garage. Charlie grew tired of moving the hefty press here and there in his garage so he decided to give it a try by carving a design in some old scrap deck material----he was hooked from the first print! Since then he has, on his own, ventured into the labor-intense, brain-bending craft of type setting and hit the jackpot by scoring (via auction) a large portion of a New England university's defunct letterpress department's equipment. Charlie carves blocks and sets lead type by hand, then uses 3 antique printing presses to create his unique notecards and t-shirts.