Winsted native reviving old printing tradition

WINSTED — Patrick Barrett is continuing a family tradition that was started in 1901 by opening up The Lucky Duck Press on 9 Willow St.Barrett is the great-grandson of Howard Deming, founder of The Sterling Press.Deming opened his printing business at the turn of the 20th century on Main Street, later moving to 9 Willow St. He eventually expanded the business into The Sterling Name Tape Company, which is still being operated today out of the first floor of the building by Barrett’s father, Jim, and his brother, Dan.After he graduated from college, Barrett moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., to do theater work. He lived there for 12 years before recently moving back to the area. He and his wife chose a home in North Canaan that would allow him to work in Winsted and her to commute occasionally to New York City.Barrett said the idea for Lucky Duck Letterpress was born from his natural curiosity.“Before we left Brooklyn, I became interested in paper goods, so I started to look around shops in the city,” he said. “I saw this interesting printing technique that I did not recognize. I did some research and found out it was letterpress printing. I put two and two together and I remembered that my great-grandfather did letterpress printing and all of the equipment was still in the building.”Barrett uses his grandfather’s equipment for his work, including some that dates back to 1889.He prints business cards, stationary, letterheads, wedding and party invitations.“This is all an aesthetic choice for the customer,” Barrett said. “There’s much more care in the hand-crafted process than just going down to a digital print shop.”Barrett’s store is open by appointment only. He can be reached at 347-703-3984 or info@luckyduckletterpress.com.

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