Hatch Show Print is one of the oldest working letterpress print shops in the country, and it just so happens to be down the hill from us in Nashville, right on the Broadway strip. They’ve been creating these amazing posters for everyone from Hank Williams to Garth Brooks, The Grand Ole Opry to small tent revivals for many years. In fact, when you go to a show at the Ryman today, and you see those cool posters that they sell for every show, you’re looking at a Hatch Show Print.
We’ve known for a long time that a Puckett’s Hatch Show Print was something that we wanted to do, but it wasn’t until we started discussing our plans for Christmas fund-raising that we found the right time to do it. The idea was to have the team at Hatch create a limited edition Puckett’s poster, and we would donate the sales to local organizations in our Nashville and Franklin communities. The idea was a hit with everyone, so we connected with Hatch right away on coming up with something really cool.
It was neat to see how they run their letterpress shop. Type is laid out by hand, chosen from the drawers and shelves that contains letters, some over 100 years old. Rolling the poster through the press is done in stages, so if you have a 3 color poster (like we do), they would roll each sheet through the press three seperate passes. Even the design process itself is nostalgic- no high-tech computer programs involved what-so-ever, you deal with them in person or via fax. You let them know the text you’d like and they take it from there. A mock-up was made, with simple black ink, we loved it and the presses started rolling! What they are doing in that shop is really amazing, and their team of artists are so good at what they do, they actually make it look easy! (Y’all really owe it to yourselves to take a little field trip to Hatch Show Print. The historic Nashville institution is open Monday-Saturday, and it’s free to stop in and browse.)
We’re so happy with the final product, and hope y’all love it as much as we do! We’re selling them now at our Nashville and Franklin Puckett’s Gro. locations for a minimum donation of $25. These limited edition prints are the first in what is sure to be a long running series. We invite y’all to stop by in person and purchase one. We’re especially excited to be selling these on Small Business Saturday, November 24- which is a day to celebrate and support small businesses.
In Nashville we’re donating the sales to the The Nashville Rescue Mission. Many of y’all have heard of the Mission, but just in case- The Nashville Rescue Mission is a Christ-centered community dedicated to helping the hungry, homeless and hurting. They strive to restore hope and transform lives by offering programs that focus on spiritual growth, education, employment and life-recovery. $2.26 provides a meal to a homeless man, woman or child.
In Franklin, we’re donating to Mercy Community Heathcare (formerly Mercy Children’s Clinic), which provides complete primary healthcare to patients of all ages, both insured and uninsured. Their services include sick and urgent care, counseling and social services, chronic illness management, and psychiatry. Because 70% of Mercy’s patients are uninsured or on TennCare, they need to raise $1.3 million annually.
Both of these organizations do so much for our communities in Middle Tennessee. We’re really honored to be able to do something for them this Christmas season!