Photograph by Elizabeth McBride
If you’re walking down North 14th Street in Crown Square and happen to gaze through a window and see a red cloth banner reading “Firecracker,” don’t walk through the door just yet. The expansive space is still virtually empty, save for one letterpress from the ’30s and a printing press from the ’50s that has likely remained without ink for 10 years. Though towering pieces of antiquated machinery don’t scream dynamic innovation, anyone familiar with The Firecracker Press’s thriving Cherokee Street location might guess that’s just what they will be dealing in by the year’s end.
As an evolving enterprise specializing in customized media printed on presses dating back to as far as the 1800s, Firecracker has a history of outgrowing its space. Owner Eric Woods founded the shop in 2002. Within five years, growing demand and lack of space necessitated two moves, ultimately landing the business on Cherokee Street, where it continues to mix contemporary design with vintage presses.
The incoming shop in North St. Louis represents not a move, but an expansion. Woods plans to retain his Cherokee Street location, but explains that building is more “print shop-only” oriented, whereas the additional venue will heighten Firecracker’s ability to exist as a truly multi-functioning space. So, if you saw the play Gonne/Yeats performed at the shop in December 2012 or enjoyed a wine tasting in the same year, you can look forward to the new location’s stage and its bar long enough to accommodate 100 people standing.
Although this expansion stands as testament to Firecracker’s evolution as a business, individual growth is situated within the larger context of Old North St. Louis’s development as a hub for innovative minds and unhindered creativity. Woods’ shop will eventually share a neighborhood with a new plaza and winners of the Sustainable Land Lab Competition, including Bistro Box, a diner to be built from used shipping containers.
“I think just by the nature of the stuff we offer for sale—posters and unique books and things—we’re bringing people into that part of town that may not normally visit,” Woods says. “And once you visit, you know, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s a great place to eat down there.’ You know, it starts to take on a life of its own that way.”
Perhaps no amount of change, however, could alter Woods’ ultimate goal of helping the larger public realize the usefulness of the past in creating original art in a globalized, increasingly mass-produced present day. Several of the antique presses restored and utilized by Firecracker would have otherwise ended up in the trash. Woods explains he’s committed to a new, highly personalized method of manufacturing by which his customers expect quality and know him by name.
“I think that’s rare,” he explains. “I think that will become more [common]. I think people want to know who’s making what they’re wearing, what they’re eating, what they’re doing. And we’re doing that.”
Firecracker Press’ new North City location can be found at 2612 North 14th Street. For more information, call (314) 776-7271 or visit firecracker.com.
