Step inside a former Pilsen funeral home where Tan & Loose Press is keeping the 80s alive
By Andrea Bauer @dreabauerSign up for our newsletters Subscribe
"The plan for the summer was to get 'tan and loose,'" says Clay Hickson about the origin of his publishing project's name, Tan & Loose Press. "It started out as a joke and grew into something bigger than I had planned. It's a little goofy, but it does fit the aesthetic of the work we put out."
Specializing in limited-edition artists' prints and books, Tan & Loose puts out posters and zines that pop with bright colors and throwback 80s graphics. Hickson, an SAIC printmaking grad, runs the shop out of a small office in his Pilsen apartment, part of a cavernous building that was once a funeral home. For the three years he's lived there, the building has been a haven for a rotating cast of artists and roommates; today it's quiet, save for the occasional rustling of Hickson's three-legged canine associate, Wiley, and the hum of a Riso RP3700, an 80s-era printer.
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