Our Director, Helen Smith, is Professor of Renaissance Literature at the University of York. She is an expert in early books and printing and a leader in practice-led research, with a passion for letterpress.

Helen hates redundant possessives, injustice, and being too early for trains.

Lizzy Holling, our Manager, combines a love of letterpress with experience in delivering social and creative projects. She returned to the University of York in 2021 to lead StreetLife, a UK Government funded project bringing heritage and creativity-driven renewal to the city.

Lizzy hates seabirds and being late to catch the train.

Nick Gill is our Master Printer and the owner of Effra Press & Typefoundry. He has experience of a wide range of letterpress and book-arts skills, including running and maintaining presses, casting type, cutting typographic punches, engraving matrices, bookbinding and papermaking. He was awarded England Maker of the Year in the 2024 Heritage Crafts Awards.

Nick hates decaf.

Technician

Phil Treble is a typographer, letterpress printer and bookbinder, publishing fine press books and printing typographic art prints under the name Muttons & Nuts. In his career he has worked for Cambridge University Press, Penguin Books and Sotheby’s and as a freelancer has designed books for the Cardozo-Kindersley Workshop. He is a member of the Fine Press Book Association and recently received an MA in Publishing from York St John University.

Phil hates butternut squash and Van Morrison.

Technician

Izzy Williamson is a York-based printmaker specialising in linocut. Rooted in the natural world, her work uses playful animism to explore themes in folklore, dreams, myth, and everyday joys. Since graduating from Leeds College of Art in 2015, Izzy has produced designs for packaging, branding and book illustration.

Izzy mildly dislikes happy hardcore.

Technician

Joanna Lisowiec is an illustrator, designer and printmaker originally from Poland who has lived in the UK for over 15 years. She studied illustration at Edinburgh College of Art where she learned printmaking and fell in love with the bold, rustic qualities of linocut print. Joanna also works as a full-time illustrator, creating artwork for books, packaging, branding and more. 

Joanna hates planned obsolescence and raisins.

Technician

Nic is an artist, printmaker and community organiser. Their work is socially and politically engaged, and draws inspiration from folk art, symbolism, and protest art. You can find Nic at Thin Ice Press and York Zine Fest hosting workshops about play, self-publishing and creative empowerment.

Nic hates AI art.

Technician

Jade is an Artist and Facilitator who uses printmaking in the expanded field. She can be found trying to organise York Zine Fest activities, running around after her toddler or trying to remember where she is working on that day…

Jade hates running.

Technician

Mike Ainsworth is a printer, graphic designer, illustrator and print educator based in Leeds working under the name North or Nowt. Mike specialises in designing and creating screen printed gig posters and has previously worked with artists like Protomartyr, Shonen Knife, Admiral Fallow and Laura Jane Grace amongst many others. Mike has worked as a graphic designer for clients such as Vantage Books and M.W.Craven, as well as having 10 years’ experience in working as a print educator in higher education and as an industrial printer. A self taught letterpress printer and educator, Mike is a member of Letterpress workers (LPW) and contributor and attendee at the Letterpress Workers Summit in Milan, Italy.

Mike hates mushrooms.

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Georgina Wilson is our postdoctoral research associate. She researches literature and book-making from the early modern period and beyond, and is co-editing with Helen Smith a volume about textual materiality and print. 

Georgina hates it when collections of nearly empty shampoo bottles gather in the bathroom. 

Poet-in-Residence

Lydia Kennaway is a poet (A History of Walking, HappenStance Press, 2019) with an MA in Writing Poetry from Newcastle University and a BFA in Printmaking from The Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA. Her poems have appeared in magazines including PN Review, the Rialto and Stand, and in 17 anthologies. Lydia won the Flambard Poetry Prize in 2017 and was commended in the Magma Poetry Competition 2020/21. She is a New Yorker and a former music publisher.

Lydia hates cold toast.

Our volunteers make it possible for us to welcome the public five days a week, run workshops and special events, keep the place looking spick and span, and look after our members.

Interested in joining the team? We welcome you to get in touch.