Learn a new craft, or expand your books arts skills, with the Common Press Studio! Students, faculty, and staff can attend workshops and book studio time, and faculty can arrange studio tours, workshops and other immersive experiences for classes. Our programs include open studio hours, visiting artists, and community outreach.
The Studio Use Training is a one-hour intensive session focused on proper studio practices to use the Common Press independently as an advanced user.
Common Press will be demonstrating hand papermaking, pulling sheets of paper from our vat of cotton and linen fibers. The paper pulp was made from fabric collected from our fall 2025 community-wide rag collection, and beaten during our spring 2026 residency at Historic Rittenhouse Town. We invite you to come understand the ancient craft of papermaking, and to make a sheet or two of paper for yourself!
To honor the 250th anniversary of the Declaration, Common Press will host a 3 day community typesetting event during which all are invited to hand-set metal type to help create a historically-accurate replica. The final forme of metal type will remain available for printing on our 19th-century hand press through the end of 2026