• Here’s the part about salvaging letterpress equipment:

    People (my mom) always (whenever she feigns interest) ask me, “where do you get this stuff?” Type, cabinets, printer’s cuts, ink, chases, quoins, sticks, cutters, furniture, leads, slugs, tympan, rollers… letterpress takes up a lot more space than this tidy little laptop. I wonder if that’s one of the reasons people stopped using it? I doubt it.

    Jen and I both agreed that our favorite salvaging-situation involved a compulsive hoarder with a murder/torture-pit (alleged) in his basement. This house had it all; two commercial espresso machines:

    nera-new-2-group-rails-small-180x121nera-new-2-group-rails-small-180x121

    two Kluge Printing Presses:

    kluge-butner

    (just in case you’re wondering: TWO Kluge Printing presses are massive and would look like this if not covered in books, dvd’s, televisions, kleenex boxes, grocery bags, magazines and mail):

    SONY DSC

    a family-style restaurant booth: (this suspiciously barricaded the basement door)

    restaurant-booth-300x224

    dozens of old computers: (so sentimental)old_computer

     

    “stackable” type cabinets: (we took these)

    type-cabinets-butner-basement

    and this:

    galley-butner-basement

    and this:

    wood-type-butner-basement

    Oh, here’s a fun game:

    Can you find the treasure in this photographic vignette?:

    letterpress-library

    How about here?:pixelated-face-450x600don-butner

    °°°°

    Oh, well. Enough of the sweet, sweet memories. Here’s part of our latest salvage:cabinet-of-wood-type western-wood-type condensed-wood-type

    March 21, 2010
  • A long, long time ago there was no Tanek. Only empty space.

    I loved when Mom would get out the Scotch-tape and add my latest work to the dining room wall.

    fran-andy-dining-room-wall

    I’m not sure if one day she ran out of paper or tape – but she also let me paint right on the windows and the refrigerator.

    I spent the last 10 weeks art directing Tanek’s new website. It was very similar to painting on the refrigerator except without paints or a refrigerator. I worked on the project with my old boss. Don’t confuse this old boss with another old boss I had at the Leeann Chin in Richfield, circa 1989.

    You can go look at the new Tanek site. It’s not painted on the fridge or hanging on the dining room wall but it’s still super awesome. You can really build with the masthead blocks! … Actually, that gives me an idea… build something cool, take a screen grab and e-mail it to Zeichen Press - WHY? I’ll pick the best one, send out some fancy letterpress cards to the winner and publish it on the blog.

    HEY! This is fun!

    March 9, 2010
  • Potato-Guns and Make Magazine

    The other day, I needed to learn how to make a potato gun. It doesn’t matter why. Anyway, I made my way to the MAKE Magazine blog - If you haven’t been – I don’t know what to say. It’s not like we can’t be friends. It will just never be more than that.

    So, they are doing this Maker Business Series and I thought, “hey, I make things… I own a business…” The potato gun would just have to wait. Sorry Edmund. …I sent an e-mail to someone named Gareth (Jen keeps referring to Gareth as “her” – I don’t have the heart to correct her) and told him about Zeichen Press – he responded and then it turned into an interview and… Go read it!!

    March 5, 2010
  • Wake up call

    I try so hard. Really, I do. I try to follow the rules.

    I’m jealous of those people (is it everyone?) that climb out of bed at a respectable hour, get dressed, fuss with their hair, apply make-up, brush their teeth, read the paper, make and drink a cup of coffee…

    In high school, my morning carpool (I say “carpool” but really it was just my friends carting me around like some sort of package. A smoking, swearing package) would lay on her horn outside my house while I lay in my bed – dreaming that I was missing tests because I was laying in bed dreaming that I was missing tests.

    February 24, 2010
  • A whirly-what??

    A whirly-who?

    A metalsmithing kineticist/teacher  needed a business card and we made him this:

    whirligi-business-card-whol2-450x337 whirligig-business-card-450x337

    February 16, 2010
  • Flush

    Apparently, it’s healthy to flush your gallbladder. How? A delicious nightcap: A hearty blend of olive oil and grapefruit juice. Chilled, of course.

    In the spirit of the flush – I thought I’d flush out some old designs. These designs were rejected by clients.

    Not because they didn’t like the designs but because they are just jealous of me.caesar-line-color-bar-450x434 american-dream-diamond chef-hat-american-dream-log1 ne-factory-logo-alone ne-easel-logo1

    has-legs-technicolor

    February 15, 2010
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  • COLOR ME IMPRESSED!

    Do you need ANOTHER thing to do this Holiday Season?

    YES, PLEASE.

    How about a COLORING CONTEST??

    But, Fran, how could I possibly fit this into my busy schedule??

    THAT’S EASY BECAUSE WE BROKE IT DOWN INTO STEPS!
    ~ Step 1: print this picture
    ~ Step 2: color the picture like your life depends on it
    ~ Step 3: take a photo of your colored masterpiece with your super smartphone OR scan
    ~ Step 4: send to info@zeichenpress.com ~ or snailmail to us
    Zeichen Press will choose the winner AND and that person will receive free cards!!! 

    color-mezeichen-press

    HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

    December 8, 2016
  • We want to be more than just friends with: i like you too

    i like you too -> 416 Snelling South Saint Paul, Minnesota 55105

    ANOTHER profile in that special series dedicated to bringing our readers biased reviews of shops that carry our goods.

    The gals  sarah-angela-i-like-you

    knew it wasn’t right to deprive the good people of St. Paul all of that hand-crafted goodness for one more minute. After all, they are THE purveyors of one-of-a-kind-locally-made-gifts.

    They remind me of me and Jen except Jen has way more tattoos and piercings. Some day you’ll be as cool as us, ladies. SOME DAY.

    They transformed i-like-you-too-paintinga blank canvas on Snellingne-i-like-you-too-space

    into something WORTHY ENOUGH to carry Zeichen Press cards.cards-at-i-like-you-too 

    And they have other cute stuff too. Or whatever.

    PS:

    color-i-like-like-you-new-card

    November 28, 2016
  • Custom Customer & Choirs of Angels

    Now that my fireplace is ready for Winter,fire-fall-2016

    Jen can finally print Holiday cards for our favorite custom customer.akustiks-chase-lock-up Akustiks is a fancy company of acousticians who design the architectural acoustics for theaters and concert halls.must-enjoy-winter-for-akustics

    And, correct me if I’m wrong, but a group of acousticians were actually hired by God to assure the residents of Bethlehem that His choir of angels sounded better than some music pouring out of the earbuds crammed in my earholes.

    Despite my lo-fi circumstances, I created a new card. Only 38 shopping days till Christmas!

    hark4

     

    November 18, 2016
  • House Calls

    Sometimes your web developerkelly-living-room-cropped

    has to come over and gnaw on bricks (gluten-free scones) and discuss dogs wearing sweaters so your mobile site can function properly.

    TECHNOLOGY.

    And Jen loves meetings because she’s a social butterfly jen-living-room

    and craves attention. Oh, Jen! When will it be enough??

    November 14, 2016
  • My Heart(h) Will Go On

    As my eyeball filled with blood,bloody-eyeball

    I thought to myself, “should I have someone redo my hearth,

    or stop working on our 2017 catalog?”

    2017-catalog-on-couch

    I decided to both because I’m an over-achiever.

    AND THEN I wrote a card

    winter-brought-back-2

    because it’s cheaper than therapy.

     

    November 10, 2016
  • Poop Sandwich vs. Soup

    top-of-mailchimp-blastI'm sorry life handed you that poop sandwich when you obviously ordered the soup.body-of-mailchimp-blastxo-mailchimp-blast

    November 3, 2016
  • Hello!

    October 26, 2016
  • Always happy, never mad.

    October 26, 2016
  • Loretta “Daredevil” Shea

    October 26, 2016
  • Behind The Scenes

    October 26, 2016
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