Doña Bárbara

The way I got started in the printing business always reminds me of that famous Forrest Gump quote about the unexpected: "life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." After more than a decade working in investment banking who would have thought I would end up with my hands full of ink and oil?

In 2009, I found myself in front of this antique machine for the first time in my whole life. It was time to get dirty.

First things first, my new printing press needed a name. Having been born in Venezuela, a magnificent country where I created the best memories, I looked there for inspiration. Even though we moved 8 years ago to the United States, my heart is still there. So I thought that naming her Doña Barbara would be very appropriate.

Doña Bárbara Guaimarán is a fictional character in a fantastic novel by renowned Venezuelan writer Rómulo Gallegos. In the book, she represents barbarism and can be arbitrary, manipulative and unpredictable. But, Doña Barbara is also capable of great feeling and passion.

My Doña Bárbara is just like her. Like any old machines, she has quirks but in the end she always prints beautifully. My machine gave me an understanding of paper and ink like I never had before. She allowed me to learn, at my own pace, all the ins and outs of the artisanal printing business.