  The idea of a letterpress studio for Annika Buxman emerged gradually out of a desire for work that went beyond “pixel pushing” and entertained her proclivity toward romance. Fresh from Art Center College of Design in 1995 with a degree in Graphic and Packaging she had to do something about those student loans! The dotcom wave was sweeping southern California and that paid the bills for awhile while she practiced her hobby of letterpress printing. Quite miraculously affordable studio space became available in Old Town Pasadena, the swankiest part of town at the time, and the business started to seem real. At that time some friends were getting married and they bravely offered to let Annika experiment on their invitations (pictured at left, it later became the Shakespeare design that many have enjoyed since then.) Somehow word got out (even as far as Japan, England and Kuwait) and soon she had to quit her web design job in favor of running the presses.
  The name “De Milo Design” was born one day with a snapshot of a demure Venus de Milo figure under a sprawling California Oak tree in the eclectic hillside garden of a teacher and friend from Art Center College of design. It was a photo taken on a whim because Annika’s hostess had rescued two snails and carefully placed them on Venus’ shoulder. It was a sinister act, letting the slimy creatures live, since she had spent the morning cursing and squashing them. But the juxtaposition of loveliness and creepiness was surprisingly fresh, beautiful, and surreal with an air of antiquity. Research revealed that the Venus was the Goddess of Love and Romance and in Greek mythology considered the ultimate in beauty. And that, of the many Venus figures, de Milo in particular with a non-classical twist to her body resembles an ecclectic blend of stylistic time periods. It seemed a good fit for the combination of old letterpress, new design...and weddings. More than a decade later the name still fits, though maybe Annika has grown more practical and a little less romantic since then!
 Businesses don’t start with only one person. Annika had so much help. A patient husband and family, encouraging co-workers and friends, friendly trade resources and listserv members...too many to name here. One person in particular was a local printer, Regis Graden, who made it a practice of taking “newbies” under his wing and mentoring them into experienced letterpress printers. Annika’s wish for all letterpress hopefuls is that they find someone like Regis when they first start. She’s happy to “pay it forward” by offering help in any way she can. Regis passed away in December 2005, so Annika and many others were lucky to meet him when they did. When she first learned of his illness, Annika wrote a tribute in her blog—Pressing Matters: Musings of a Young Fart about an Old Fart.
 De Milo Design is committed to providing top-notch design, clean letterpress printing, and personal customer service...all in a timely manner. Typography and design are largely influenced by classical styles and typefaces are often selected that have special historical significance. Paper is either individually handmade by an artist, or a high quality machine-made artist’s stock. Printing is done by the centuries old tradition of letterpress on fully functional presses that are over a century old. De Milo is known for its classical but unique design approach, personal attention to detail, sensitivity to a variety of budget constraints, and for creating a product that enhances the experience.
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