If you're a San Franciscan and you've seen The Last Black Man in San Francisco, at least one of the film's sentiments struck a chord: "You don't get to hate [San Francisco] unless you love it."
From her home/studio in the Outer Sunset, artist Leah Jachimowicz finds inspiration in this very conflict, a love/hate relationship with our changing and controversial hometown, letting it guide the whimsical art and cheeky taglines ("You're worth the parking ticket" and "I left my heart, my wallet, and my phone in San Francisco") for her custom letterpress greeting cards.
(Courtesy of Coffee n Cream Press)
Jachimowicz's company, Coffee n Cream Press, specializes in the art of old school printing technique using photopolymer plates and a flat-bed Vandercook Press, and even offers workshops to the crafty local types who wish to learn it and make their own personalized cards.
Trained as a fine artist, Jachimowicz creates all one-of-a-kind work. You can visit her studio, see her process, and purchase her work at Weekend Two of ArtSpan's Open Studios, October 19-20.
But first, get to know the artist in our exclusive Proustian Q&A.LJ: Patience
7x7: Who are your favorite artists?
LJ: Timothy Ely, Louise Nevelson, Robert Rauschenberg, David Carson, Macy Chadwick, and like a million more.
7x7: If you were a painting in a museum, what would it be?
LJ: Manet's A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, because I bartend a few nights a month and I'm not always that excited about it.
7x7: What is your indulgence?
LJ: Reality TV, specifically "Below Deck" and "Vanderpump Rules"
7x7: What is your favorite book?
Urban Tribes, by Ethan Watters
7x7: What is your greatest weakness?
LJ: I'm not sure, so maybe that's it...being unsure of myself?
7x7: Bay Area haunt...
LJ: Outerlands for dinner.
7x7: How does the Bay Area inspire your work—or not?
LJ: The love-hate relationship with San Francisco inspires me. You can't hate it unless you love it, according to Jimmie Fails (The Last Black Man in San Francisco).
// ArtSpan Open Studios Weekend Two, 11am to 6pm, Oct. 19-20; for more info, go to artspan.org. Coffee n Cream Press, 2071 33rd Ave. (Outer Sunset), by appointment only; coffeencreampress.com.
