Iskra Print Collective

While many are aware of Michael’s role in helping to make Iskra a reality, few realize the details of how it all came to pass. Railing against the formulaic and impersonal nature of email, Michael decided to switch the studio over to silkscreened communications. “We’ll bring some craft back to this business,” he said, as they installed the equipment in the basement. His grand vision, had it gone through, would have seen everyone at JDK using silkscreened notes instead of any other form of typed or written exchange. The idea was abandoned relatively quickly after it took Michael five hours to create a response to the question of what he wanted for lunch one day, by which point it was already dinner and most people had gone home. Not wanting to see the equipment go to waste, he used it to form the basis of Iskra. Despite the setback, Michael moved on, undaunted, exploring letterpress, calligraphy, and woodcuts as potential substitutes for that damned email.