<p>Many of you know I am nearly a lifelong Clevelander – I did live in New York City for years, but returned home about 12 years ago. While most Clevelanders are distinguished by their devotion to our sports teams, their love of rock &#8216;n roll and, more recently, a pride in being regarded as a great place to visit and even <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/itslynnotline/25-reasons-why-cleveland-is-the-best-dfpl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">live</a>, I am something of a curmudgeon on that topic.</p>
<p>Being a national scapegoat is a small price to pay for little to no traffic, no lines anywhere, a very reasonable cost of living, and a great quality of life (that is, if you can withstand our winters — good luck with that!). Tennessee Williams once said, “America has only three cities: New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Everywhere else is Cleveland.” I think being the height of mediocrity is special!</p>
<p>But I was beyond thrilled in June when Cleveland received a visit from <a href="http://www.mohawkconnects.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mohawk</a>&#8216;s VP Business Development / Creative Director Chris Harrold and what he dubbed his &#8220;ad hoc traveling pop-up exhibition,&#8221; <a href="https://www.mohawkconnects.com/article/mohawk-blog/strathmore-timeline-1898-1969" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Strathmore Archives</a>. It was hosted by <a href="http://zygotepress.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zygote Press</a>, the only open-access print studio in Northeast Ohio, the largest in the state of Ohio and a destination for printmakers nationwide with facilities for intaglio, (plate) lithography, relief printing, screen printing, letterpress, and digital media.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10990" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland30.jpg" alt="cleveland30" width="800" height="1200" />The Archives mingled with more contemporary artwork for an interesting and most colorful visual contrast.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10969" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland9.jpg" alt="cleveland9" width="800" height="1200" />First, Chris spoke briefly about how the Archives and how they related to Strathmore, founded by Horace Moses in 1892. Wanting to position his premium papers apart, Moses took the then-radical approach of hiring the day&#8217;s top illustrators to inspire his customers, thus fostering the first paper promotion. The resulting pieces are a &#8220;survey of American 20th century graphic design,&#8221; through which one may see, for example, &#8220;what illustration or lettering was like down to the specific decade,&#8221; Chris noted.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10987" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland27.jpg" alt="cleveland27" width="800" height="533" /> <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10988" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland28.jpg" alt="cleveland28" width="800" height="533" />The Archives were originally housed in six skids in a warehouse. When Mohawk purchased Strathmore in 2005, they were part of the deal, although the new owners didn&#8217;t realize that — they were very nearly thrown out! <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10961" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland1.jpg" alt="cleveland1" width="800" height="600" />Early on, Moses hired designers like Will Bradley, dubbed the &#8220;dean of American designers&#8221; by <em>The Saturday Evening Post</em>. Many of the illustrations appeared elsewhere, for example in <em>Vogue, </em>while others spoke to issues of their time, for example, conserving paper during WWII. It is a testament to the quality of Strathmore cotton when you see how well everything has held up!<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10991" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland31.jpg" alt="cleveland31" width="800" height="533" /> <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10992" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland32.jpg" alt="cleveland32" width="800" height="533" /> <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10979" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland19.jpg" alt="cleveland19" width="800" height="533" /> <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10978" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland18.jpg" alt="cleveland18" width="800" height="533" /><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10970" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland10.jpg" alt="cleveland10" width="800" height="533" /><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10973" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland13.jpg" alt="cleveland13" width="800" height="533" /><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10974" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland14.jpg" alt="cleveland14" width="800" height="533" />The papers, housed in custom sturdy and easy-to-break-down-and-ship cases, were carefully studied by the crowd. <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10965" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland5.jpg" alt="cleveland5" width="800" height="533" /><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10982" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland22.jpg" alt="cleveland22" width="800" height="533" />Adjacent displays showed contemporary usages of <a href="http://www.mohawkconnects.com/products/paper/strathmore-pure-cotton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Strathmore</a> as well as other lush Mohawk papers, including <a href="http://www.mohawkconnects.com/products/paper/mohawk-superfine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Superfine</a>, <a href="http://www.mohawkconnects.com/products/paper/mohawk-via" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Via</a>, <a href="http://www.mohawkconnects.com/products/paper/mohawk-loop" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Loop</a> and <a href="http://www.mohawkconnects.com/products/paper/mohawk-options" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Options</a>.</p><div class="inline-post clearfix"><div class="see-also byline">See also</div><div id="block-wrap-67100" class="block-wrap-native block-wrap block-wrap-23 block-css-67100 block-wrap-classic columns__m--1 elements-design-3 block-ani block-skin-0 tipi-box block-wrap-thumbnail ppl-m-1 clearfix" data-id="67100" data-base="0"><div class="tipi-row-inner-style clearfix"><div class="tipi-row-inner-box contents sticky--wrap"><div class="block block-23 clearfix"><article class="tipi-xs-12 clearfix with-fi ani-base tipi-xs-typo split-1 split-design-1 loop-0 preview-thumbnail preview-23 elements-design-3 post-10000405 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-off-the-press category-sponsored-post tag-nss2019 tag-ame-courrier tag-design tag-emerging-designers tag-gift-tags tag-greeting-cards tag-hand-painted tag-mabel-nevel tag-megan-heddinger tag-national-stationery-show tag-notebooks tag-photography tag-sarah-schwartz tag-stationery-blog tag-stationery-design tag-stationery-designer tag-tal-shpantzer tag-talfoto tag-thank-you-stationery tag-the-paper-chronicles tag-wilde-house-paper tag-writes-for-women-jotters" style="--animation-order:0"><div class="preview-mini-wrap clearfix"><div class="mask"><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/nss2019-new-years-resolutions/" class="mask-img"><img width="100" height="100" src="https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/IMG_9876_2-confetti.jpg?resize=100%2C100&;ssl=1" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" 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2018</time></span><span class="byline-part likes-count"><a href="#" class="tipi-like-count " data-pid="10000405"><span class="likes-heart"><i class="tipi-i-heart-o" aria-hidden="true"></i><i class="tipi-i-heart" aria-hidden="true"></i></span><span class="tipi-value">0</span></a></span></div></div></div></article></div></div></div></div></div></tipimidc>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10993" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland33.jpg" alt="cleveland33" width="800" height="492" /> <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10966" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland6.jpg" alt="cleveland6" width="800" height="533" /><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10981" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland21.jpg" alt="cleveland21" width="800" height="533" /> <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10967" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland7.jpg" alt="cleveland7" width="800" height="533" /> <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10962" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland2.jpg" alt="cleveland2" width="800" height="706" /><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10968" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland8.jpg" alt="cleveland8" width="800" height="533" /> <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10995" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/YellowSample_closeup_web.jpg" alt="YellowSample_closeup_web" width="800" height="550" /> <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10963" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland3.jpg" alt="cleveland3" width="653" height="940" />There was also a make-and-take project in the printing facilities in back. Every guest could letterpress their own print. This was actually my first time doing so, and I was surprised that it took some muscle!</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10977" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland17.jpg" alt="cleveland17" width="800" height="533" /><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10975" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland15.jpg" alt="cleveland15" width="800" height="533" /><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10976" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland16.jpg" alt="cleveland16" width="800" height="533" /><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10983" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland23.jpg" alt="cleveland23" width="800" height="533" /><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10984" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland24.jpg" alt="cleveland24" width="800" height="533" /><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10985" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland25.jpg" alt="cleveland25" width="800" height="533" />I absolutely love my print, not to mention its message: &#8220;It&#8217;s attention to detail that makes the difference between average and stunning. Strathmore Archives&#8221;<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-11055" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland34.jpg" alt="cleveland34" width="800" height="533" />Finally, everyone got a big goodie bag full of Mohawk swag, including a swatchbook, info on local Mohawk distributor <a href="http://www.millcraft.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Millcraft</a> and the most recent edition of Mohawk Maker. <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10972" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland12.jpg" alt="cleveland12" width="800" height="533" />My favorite was the poster, however — it was the next-best thing to taking the Archives home with you! If you are very lucky, perhaps Chris and his exhibition will hit a town near you. To stay in the loop, follow <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mohawkpaper/?ref=br_rs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mohawk</a> and Mohawk Felt &; Wire on Facebook.<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10989" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cleveland29.jpg" alt="cleveland29" width="800" height="533" /></p>