Directors
Rolph Blythe, Director of the Press
Rolph Blythe has worked in the publishing industry for over twenty-five years. Prior to joining Arion in 2020 he worked as Publisher of Counterpoint LLC where he oversaw the Counterpoint Press and Soft Skull Press imprints, publishing over 65 original titles a year. He has worked at Basic Books and Graywolf Press in marketing capacities and at the Dunow, Carlson and Lerner Literary Agency as a literary agent. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management.
Ted Gioia, Program & Development Director
Ted Gioia is a writer, critic, and seasoned nonprofit professional. Before joining Arion in 2021, he was the Partnerships Director of McSweeney’s and worked on development teams at La Casa de las Madres and the University of the Underground. Ted is also the co-founder of the poetry nonprofit Blank Verse Films, the curator of the "Rising Writers” reading series at the Mechanics Institute, and a former juror on the California Book Awards. His writing on food and culture has appeared in The New Republic, The Believer, and The American Scholar. Currently he is writing a book of essays about food and class in the 21st century. Ted is a graduate of Harvard University (writing his senior thesis under James Wood) and is also a member of the San Francisco Writers Grotto.
Blake Riley, Creative Director, Lead Printer
With a background in non-profit arts organizations and for-profit graphic design, Blake joined Arion as its first apprentice in 2001. Initially assigned to work with master bookbinder Leif Erlandsson, after several years he began to assist Arion stalwart Jerry Reddan on press. Upon Jerry’s retirement in 2012, he began to oversee the activities in the pressroom and his responsibilities have since expanded to include creative direction and new project development. He is a member of the NorCal Chapter of the American Printing History Association and the Colophon Club and publisher of TapRoot Editions, a small imprint that endeavors to leverage letterpress traditions in the service of non-traditional texts.
Production
Joel Benson, Senior Printer
Joel Benson began his career in the book arts with a class at the Cowell Press at UC Santa Cruz. He apprenticed at The Yolla Bolly Press in Covelo California and later worked for Julie Holcomb Printers in San Francisco where he learned to run Heidelberg presses and the discipline in production printing. From 2002 until joining Arion, he ran Dependable Letterpress, a job printing shop in San Francisco that specialized in fine letterpress printing. He is very happy to have closed the circle by joining Arion Press and returning to the type of work that drew him to printing in the first place.
Kris Branco, Typefoundry Apprentice
Kris is originally from Massachusetts. A former professional musician, he studied graphic design at the California College of the Arts and worked as a book and graphic designer. He’d been on no fewer than three Arion tours before applying to learn type founding at M&H Type.
Brian Ferrett, Typecaster, Press Operator
Brian has a printing degree from MATC and worked in offset web and screen printing. In 2008 he joined M&H Type as a typecasting apprentice under Lewis Mitchell. These days he co-manages M&H's daily operations, maintains the historic casting machines and presses, and works the presses as needed. Brian is a member of the Northern California chapter of the American Printing History Association, the American Typecaster Fellowship, and volunteers with San Francisco Public Library's annual Valentine’s Day broadside event.
Megan Gibes, Lead Bookbinder
A life-long love of working with her hands led Megan to study bookbinding at the North Bennet Street School in Boston. Upon graduation in 2015, she went to work in Santa Barbara as the Head Bookbinder for Heirloom Bindery until a chance encounter revealed the Arion Press apprenticeship program. Working under Rochelle Youk, Megan began her apprenticeship in 2016 and now runs day-to-day production in the bindery. An active member of the Guild of Bookworkers and board member of the Hand Bookbinders of California, she also creates her own work as Long Arrow Bindery.
Jocelyn Lee, Apprentice Bookbinder
Jocelyn is from San Francisco and grew up in the Crocker Amazon. She graduated from UC Santa Cruz with degrees in cognitive science and studio art, with an emphasis in printmaking. It was during her final semester bookbinding course that she learned about Arion Press and its apprenticeship program, and she now trains as the newest bindery apprentice. After a brief stint in a corporate office she is thrilled to be working with her hands and in the arts. Her art has been acquired by the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts and shown at the de Young Museum, Healdsburg Center for the Arts, Mary Porter Sesnon Gallery, and Kala Art Institute, where she is a former artist in residence.
Programming & Development
Sienna McCulley, Program & Development Assistant
Originally from Rhode Island, Sienna graduated from Amherst College with a bachelor's degree in English, with special interests in libraries, archives, and film studies. Prior to Arion, she interned at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts and then returned to Amherst to work in arts administration and the Frost Library. One month into a cross-country move to California, Sienna came to Arion to work on a short-term archival project and instead became a permanent member of the Program & Development team.
Sales & Fulfillment
Alex Miller, Sales Manager
Alex studied Fine Art and Art History at Loughborough College of Art and Design, and grew up in households both in England and France, surrounded by art, antiques and antiquarian books. Prior to joining Arion, he worked in real estate for twenty-five years in West London. Alex is a keen musician and has written soundtracks for The BBC, independent documentary and film makers, and for various artists. He has had a long affiliation with San Francisco and, as a semi-professional chef and qualified sommelier, enjoys exploring farmers markets and vineyards, in addition to the many cultural treasures this beautiful city has to offer.
Nguyen Trinh, Customer Service and Fulfillment Coordinator
Nguyen graduated from Davidson College with a degree in Asian American Studies, with a focus on interdisciplinary art. During their time at Davidson, a professor introduced them to the world of artist books and letterpress printing and opened them to new ways of thinking about text, the book as an art object, and tactility. Eager to learn firsthand about fine press bookmaking from talented artists and craftsmen, they joined the Arion Press team in 2022 and began to investigate further the many aspects of the craft. Outside of the Press, Nguyen hopes to continue to experiment with their art, incorporating what they learn on the job.
Operations
Huong Trinh, Operations Manager
Huong graduated with a dual degree in English Literature and Arts Leadership at Queens University of Charlotte, with a focus in publishing and not-for-profits, specifically. After six years working at various museums and non-for-profit organizations on the east coast, she left for the west coast and eventually joined the Arion Press team. In her free time, Huong freelances as an editor and designer for best-selling authors, using skills picked up from her time as a Los Angeles Review of Books publishing fellow. Since becoming the operations manager at the press, Huong has also been taking letterpress lessons and hopes to one day own her own tabletop press.
Finance
Hella Habtewold, Accountant/Bookkeeper
Hella is a 2016 graduate from Lake Forest College, Illinois, with a bachelor’s degree majoring in Finance and minoring in Mathematics & studio art. She is originally from Ethiopia and immigrated to the U.S. while a teenager. She worked as a staff accountant for six years at Meseret Y. Zeleke, CPA and is currently a candidate to sit for the CPA exam. Outside of accounting work, she spends her spare time practicing various visual arts, including sketching and painting.
