09/20/2026
i started penelope’s press in 2009 when i still had black hair and was a young mom with two small kids!
i acquired a tabletop press and printed out of our guest bedroom. i quickly moved up to a chandler and price press weighing roughly 1500 lbs, so we built out part of the garage with drywall and double doors to keep the kids away from the presses. i bought more presses and more type and more things and had to extend and build out more space in my little garage studio. i had an office in the house which morphed into finishing our basement level and me taking over the entire space. at times i’ve taken over every table surface in our house (and sometimes even floor space).
after 17 years of working out of our home, penelope’s press is moving out! over labor day weekend we got the keys and i couldn’t be more excited and terrified at the same time!!! it’s only been a few weeks, but there’s been so much happening behind the scenes! the space will mainly be a working studio with a small retail area for penelope’s press products along with a curated collection of fine papers and elevated stationery goods from independent brands from around the globe. follow along while i try to figure it all out!
penelope’s press - a letterpress print shop + paperie coming soon to a cute little spot in downtown lemont, il!
(in the last photo i was taking product photos on my dining room table and it just happened to be taken on the EXACT same day 17 years apart, talk about full circle moment!)
Debbie Lee Terence Lee
