Zeichen Press

Category: Letterpress

  • Letterpress studio in Minneapolis meets Apartment Therapy in New York, the Streets Run With Blood

    Where was Apartment Therapy when I lived in an apartment?? I could have used some advice — My television sat on two empty Old Milwaukee cases and the only chair was my bed. I guess my source of income (cat breeding, just kidding. Grocery bagging. Just kidding. Stripping.) didn’t really provide a lot of extra money for decorating anyway. See “Tater Tots, Kings Wine Bar, Letterpress, Deer John” 
    Every year, Apartment Therapy branches out of their usual home decorating palette to recognize “the best” letterpress cards. This year, we made the cut. I’d like to thank all of the families that send out those creepy holiday newsletters – you are an inspiration. You know who you are.

    friendsandfamilya friendsandfamilyb friendsandfamilyc

     

  • Letterpress in the heart of the beast

    The car was packed and I squeezed myself between a card rack, a change box, some stuffed animals and one dozen boxes. I was just lucky there was room for me at all. Okay? OKAY?

    Jen and I have gotten pretty good at setting up for a show. It goes like this: I ask Jen which cards I should put where. She tells me. I do it. She dismantles what I did and does it a different way. It’s very efficient.

    All the big names (in printmaking) were at MCBA on Thursday for the Mid America Print Council Conference Press Fair. Jenni Undis (of Lunalux) and I put on our roller skates and got into a battle – it ended with lots of hair-pulling and some teeth (hers) on the floor. It was worth it because I earned the title of “Letterpress Queen.” Maybe next year, Jenni. Maybe next year.

    A fair wouldn’t be complete without, at least, one doppelganger:

    still-stalking-you

    What a pleasant stalker!

    OH, ALSO: Miss Amy Jo was there! Good Lord, her work makes me love her. I’m sorry you had to hear that, Miss Amy Jo. 

  • *A Woman of Letters/Serious Letterpress/Room and Board/Minnesota Monthly*

    Speaking of letters! The new prints arrived at all of the Room and Board stores across this great land. The photographs on their website are gorgeous and make me feel like I live in a crack house.

    Room & Board red

    I have nothing against crack houses, I’m sure the people that live in them are perfectly lovely and are just misunderstood.

    The legendary, Katie Dohman (Minnesota Monthly) already wrote a little something about them. I’m feeling pretty fancy.

  • Some New Cards and Some Other Things

    Katie Dohman, style editor for Minnesota Monthly, made a special guest appearance in the shop. She was just delightful and for that she got one of these:

    Wounds & Shame

    The moral of the story on that broadside would be the theme of the weekend. Don’t ask questions – just accept my cryptic storytelling. JUST ACCEPT.
    On to other matters of no importance to anyone. The following photographs were taken in three different Ladies Rooms (for LADIES) in Minneapolis – Can you guess the venue? If you can, I (or someone that works for that empire called Zeichen Press) will send you a fancy letterpress card. Fun! *You are instantly disqualified if you are in the photograph. Sorry. But don’t act like I don’t give you free cards anyway.
    fran-and-jenny-bathroom helen-fran-bathroom
    katie-fran-bathroom
    I just need, like, 500 more photographs for a lovely coffee table book.
    Enough small talk! On to the new cards:
     if-by-different-you-mean-aw thank-you-for-putting-up-bl youre-welcome-blog_ im-calling-to-thank-you-foplease-accept-this-as-a-tok
    PS: I know the card above looks like a black blob but it’s a man carrying a baby elephant. Don’t worry, the real card will be perfect.

  • Alright, back to work

    Fran Shea’s résumé

    °°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

    1988-1988 (Nov. 1-Dec 23) Lyndale Garden Center

    My first job. Silly me, I heard “making Christmas wreaths” and thought I’d be “making Christmas wreaths.” Pre-made wreaths were heaped onto a lunch table – my job was to choose the sprigs for the wreaths. “Sprigs” was an industry term for cheap Christmassy crap.

    *christmas_wreath
    1989-1989 (Sept. 1-Sept 15) Pearson’s Family Restaurant

    I bussed tables and was told to clear as much of the table as would fit in the gray bin. It would have been very satisfying if I were training to be a power-lifter. Two weeks was too long.

    1989-1990 (Oct. 1-March 1) Leeann Chin, Richfield

    As a server, I wore a little white hat and jacket. Like a chef. A disgruntled, panicked, 17-year-old chef.

    1990-1990 (June 1-Aug. 15) GJ’s SuperValu

    A block walk from my apartment above Ribizza – this job required speed and superhuman strength. Bagging groceries during a “rush” filled me with doubt and indecision – eggs before bread or bread before eggs?? Should I take my smoke break now??

    1990-1990 (Sept. 1-Nov. 1) Telemarketing for the Special Olympics

    I don’t even know how I found this job – it was in a bland office in a bland office building on University Avenue.  The script we were handed was written in the 1950?s and we were supposed to offer lots of garbage bags in exchange for donating to the Special Olympics. Our boss was, I think, Bob Saget.*sagetphoto04b
    1990-1991 (Nov. 15-Jan 15) Meyer’s Bakery

    A job that required cash register skills. I’d rather wash old peoples bottoms than use a cash register – I’d try to push customers into buying things that would result in even dollar amounts so I wouldn’t have to make difficult change. Three cookies? Why not four?… Two loaves of bread? Why not two loaves of bread AND a cookie??

    Fast Forward—>

    1993-1996 : Carney Studio

    The interview went something like this:

    “So, you want to be a graphic designer?”

    “A what?”

    “You’re hired.”

    1996-1997 : Odney Advertising

    This is where I learned about advertising. And stealing office supplies.

    1997-present : Stay At Home Mom

    This is where I learned about cleaning up poop.

    2006-present : Owner of Zeichen Press

    The culmination of a life-long set of painfully acquired skills.

  • A Special Weekend

    Jen and I share many things: Type wash, paper towels, dirty looks… But nothing… nothing even comes close to this weekend…

    Whew! That was a tear-jerker! Um… there is no easy way to segue from a cat eating a placenta…

    Well, other things happened this weekend, too… I biked 8 million miles to Hopkins to take some pictures of the new Pizza Lucé…  I wrote about that on the Tanek blog… And, well I guess nothing can really compare to the moment when Jen and Susie the Cat locked eyes and Jen stated firmly (but tenderly) “I love you.”

    Sigh.

  • Overdue Cat, a new letterpress greeting card and a little bit about the weather

    Well, Susie hasn’t had her kittens yet – and like every other overdue/expecting mother – she is watching Oprah and eating tubs of Ben & Jerry’s.

    Meanwhile, I biked through the Heat™bike-computer

    to bring Fred a card so he could photograph it. It isn’t any ordinary card – it is the card to introduce our new website.

    a-real-card-pixelate
    Aren’t you intrigued?? It must say something sweet – just look at that cute little bellhop! I’ve been waiting to use him for a long time – thanks, cute little bellhop!

  • Lord of the Letterpress Flies

    I remember some sort of Mexican-standoff In an early apartment that involved my roommate, dirty dishes and refried beans. Neither of us wanted to do the dishes and so they were stacked, teetering on the counter – pots and plates on top of other pots and plates – the bottom of the pile forgotten like a lost tribe. My roommate, a vegetarian, had a particular pot that she favored for heating her refried beans – she used this day after day until one day it was forgotten – and the pot joined the pile. But not before she filled it with water, she believed in the pre-soak method. I’m not sure how much time passed – a forensic scientist would be able to determine that based on the evidence in the kitchen.

    One morning (or was it afternoon?) I discovered something disturbing: the kitchen windows alive with hundreds of flies. I don’t remember either of us being overly surprised. I do remember having to do the dishes in the bathtub.
    There are no dirty dishes in the shop and certainly no vegetarians – and yet, I awoke to the same disturbing scene: windows alive with flies. The only conclusion that makes any sense has something to do with the devil. I’d like to believe that our printing projects aren’t evil but I guess I can’t be the judge of that.flies
    Oh, by the way: Before the flies, I finished those prints for Room & Board:new room and board

  • Canada: You’re strange and wonderful.

    You're strange and wonderful. Letterpress printed on recycled paper. Comes with coordinating envelope and packaged in cellophane sleeve.So, I (meaning the Zeichen Press intern) pulled one of everything (x3) for our new Canadian reps

    shipping-to-canada-450x427

    while I sat on the cold concrete floor and worried. Andrea is learning so much from me.

    Our new reps will be taking our goods to the the CGTA and from there I guess back to their ice palace. Canada is so different than America!

    I found a short list of shops in Toronto that I imagine will soon be carrying some letterpress from Minnesota… but that’s for the reps to decide. I’m not some kind of control freak.

  • Sweat Shop

    The shop has been a very sultry 90° for the past couple of days – which makes for nearly nude printing. The latest Room & Board project is half done and it’s looking frantastic – the ink loves the heat and lays down like a whipped dog – I also love the heat and yet I stand. And stand. I’d like to thank cold-press coffee from Sisters’ Sludge for helping me to keep it real.

    fran-in-the-sweat-shop-2-450x428 fran-in-the-sweat-shop-450x427