Minnesota Center For Book Arts — Attraction in Minneapolis

Absolutely phenomenal day at MCBA having a class in Kwikprint hot foil stamping with Erin Maurelli! Erin is so generous with her knowledge and the class was both structured (giving the basics, in addition to many of the fantastic tips I'd hoped for) and unstructured (allowing for plenty of time to put the techniques into practice). I traveled over 1100 miles for this class and it was thoroughly worth it. The MCBA makes me wish I lived in Minnesota - seriously. It is a magnificent facility and resource.

Shout out to Regan (spelling?) for the awesome facility tour afterwards. This space is immense, with so many unique, creative areas. Check out the gift shop, gallery, and Milkweed Editions bookstore...

The triple threat of Loft Lit Center, Open Book, and Milkweed Editions made this building a place of constant quirky events would wouldn't see elsewhere until the last few years where greed has taken over a bit. Readings which used be free have changed to $10-$20 a pop at the Loft. Former wall to wall people Open Book openings now are lucky to get a dozen, thanks to an $8 charge for wine and beer which used to be hosted (highly illegal by the way without an alcohol license), and the downgrading of apps to vegi and dip trays. The halcyon days of MCBA...

Truthfully, I visited because I heard about the gift shop from social media and was blown away. The shop features a ton of local artists, and artists from marginalized communities. They have a huge selection of zines, prints, and greeting cards. I ended up getting four greeting cards and two stickers, but I would've absolutely gone home with more if my bank account...