David Esslemont on the history of the Gregynog and Solmentes Presses
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David\\xa0Esslemont\\xa0is an artist, designer, printmaker and bookbinder. He makes\\xa0books from scratch, most recently about food, and publishes under his\\xa0Solmentes\\xa0Press imprint.\\xa0He was Artistic Director of the University of Wales\\xa0Gregynog\\xa0Press from 1985\\u201397 and has won many book design awards including the\\xa0Felice\\xa0Feliciano\\xa0International Award in 1991.\\xa0Esslemont\\u2019s work\\xa0can be\\xa0found in both private and public collections worldwide.\\xa0(His archive to 2005 is held at the University of Iowa.)
I braved the harsh winter weather to visit David at his farm in Decorah, Iowa. We met in his slightly coolish workshop to talk about the history of the Gregynog Press and highlights of its impressive output, his time there as \'controller,\' and the establishment of his Solmentes Press and the prize-winning work he has produced since setting it up.\\xa0
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