Preserving the craft: ByFarr Design acquires Carolina Letterpress

Here at ByFarr, we’re ringing in spring with an exciting announcement! We recently expanded our print studio at our Cottontown office, where everything from die-cutting to embossing to foiling is now possible. 

When Joe, the owner of Carolina Letterpress, announced he was closing the shop’s doors, we stepped in to preserve this local staple of printing excellence. With our acquisition of Carolina Letterpress, we are now uniting specialty printing capabilities with the ByFarr team’s bespoke creative work. 

We’re so excited to continue providing exceptional design, branding, and marketing strategies to clients across industries—now with new capabilities to enhance our unique, high-quality services that set our clients apart from the crowd.

Letterpress printing has long been the gold standard for high-quality, tactile printed materials. Originating in the 15th century with Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of movable type, letterpress was the dominant form of printing until the mid-20th century. Known for its deep, impressionable results and artisanal feel, letterpress has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years due to its distinctive, hands-on quality and timeless appeal.

The acquisition includes four presses from Carolina Letterpress: two Kluge presses used for foiling and embossing, a third Kluge press used for die-cutting, and a Heidelberg cylinder press used for die-cutting. ByFarr, which was already home to a Chandler and Price clamshell letterpress and a Heidelberg windmill letterpress, will now encompass a print studio with an expanded suite of design and print services, including die-cutting, foiling, and embossing. It took AME’s team and two of their large flatbed trailers to move the presses to ByFarr’s Cottontown location. 

This move is a dream come true for our whole team—especially our founder, Brynley Farr. As a child, her fascination with printed goods began with the gift of a foiled and embossed rose. Today, that same rose is proudly displayed in our office as a reminder to follow our dreams, love the work we do (like making Fig Columbia!), and always share in the beauty of a job well done.

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