Arie Koelewyn

Visiting Dates

August 28, 2013 - May 2, 2014

Arie Koelewyn is an amateur letterpress printer and proprietor of The Paper Airplane Press. A native of Zaandam, the Netherlands who moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan at 7 years, he managed to squeak through the public school system and eventually obtained a BS degree in Geography from Western Michigan University (also a MS in Librarianship). Working as a reference librarian was fun, but not particularly lucrative. Further graduate study in Computer Science at the University of South Carolina led to no degree, but a job as Programmer/Systems Analyst and Data Warehousing Specialist with the State of Michigan.

After a 21 year career with the State, he retired to spend time in the print shop (currently consisting of six presses, about 100 cases of metal type and lots of miscellaneous bits of cast iron, wood and lead) and indulge the hobby of collecting hobbies. Current interests include letterpress printing, digital and film photography, reading (science fiction and fantasy, mostly), Minecraft, paper airplanes, thrift store shopping, needlework, coin and stamp collecting.

Arie is a member National Amateur Press Association, the American Amateur Press Association, The Amalgamated Printers Association, The Michigan Letterpress Guild, and the Experimental Aircraft Association. He publishes an irregular journal called Lake Effect which features the writing of young writers, especially poets.

Within the RCAH, Arie can be found down in the studio assisting in the Book Arts section of RCAH 291 and printing the occasional bit of ephemera.