Zeichen Press

Category: New Cards

  • Mawkish

    [maw-kish] adjective sentimental in a feeble or sickly way • archaic having a faint sickly flavor : the mawkish smell of warm beer

    I don’t think I understand the definition. Or, maybe I do. Aren’t a lot of greeting cards mawkish?

    mawkish-birthday-card

    Who would give that card? Wait, who made that card? Probably a very nice person. A person who loves hearts and roses and rhymes and sparkles.

    I tried to make a mawkish card. thnking-of-hugh-grayThat’s Hugh Beaumont, the kindly father from Leave it to Beaver.hugh-beaumont-screen-grabHugh hated that he was typecast and later opened a Christmas tree farm in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. I don’t think he opened the Christmas tree farm because he hated that he was typecast. But I don’t know – he was obviously a complicated man.

  • Perspective, Passive Aggression, and Printing

    I complain about January, but secretly, I love it. In January, my skin returns to its natural pasty-white color. I know this because I disrobe weekly for a quick shower and pat myself down with a damp towel. That’s not true, I also see my bare legs as I change from my pajama pants to my less-pajama-ish pants.

    But enough about my enchanting facade, onto the chewy nougat:

    Jen has almost finished printing the cards for our March Release.new-cards-winter-2012-blogI can’t wait for her to be finished because then we can get back to all of our gabbing.

    While I am forced to sit quietly with my own thoughts, I decided to be productive — I made two new cards: Guess which one will become an uncategorized orphan:you-forgot-my-birthdaymauled-to-death

  • Midwinter Night’s Dream

    Jen is printing the new cards for the March release and I have decided to wear the off-brand Forever Lazy suit until April 1.

    The following is a dramatization of me wearing the suit.

  • I’m, Like, a Pretty Big Deal

    But I don’t need to tell you that.

    Sometimes it’s hard to stay humble. Luckily, humility is one of my greatest traits. That, and my perfect attitude and face make it difficult for everyone around me to go about their average lives.

    Wait, let me throw down a little manna:when-god-closes-again

  • In January It’s So Nice

    Hello, January. I hate you. Not as much as February, but I still hate you. I tell my children that you are full of fun and possibilities but I am lying.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NOJIYe6qoI

    Perhaps this card captures my true feelings:what-fresh-hell

  • Tribulation Consolation

    Sometimes (not very often) I find myself at a loss for words. Speechless. Struck dumb by powerful emotion. “I’m stunned. I mean, I’m in a state of… somebody should just throw a blanket over me, you know?” – Woody Allen (Manhattan)

    Sometimes an empathy card is better than a sympathy card.

    Sometimes a bear playing violin says it all.there-are-no-words

  • International Internetter

    The intern packed up her carpetbag and rode away. I felt like we should hug but we didn’t – hugs are best left out of print shops. She made this before she left:barns-print

    Go, my young grasshopper, go and use the life-skills I so generously shared with you.

    Fred photographed the new cards - here’s my favorite:She knew kids loved surprises and so she filled the piñata with real animal entrails. Letterpress printed on recycled paper. Comes with coordinating envelope and packaged in cellophane sleeve.

    That’s a true story.

    ALSO: Becki Iverson at Metro Magazine wrote a nice thing about us. I think we’ll keep giving out that photo until we are 60 years old.jen & fran june 2009 press kit smiling.cabinet

    Nobody needs to see a photo of us taken in February.

  • A Grateful Robot and a Ladies Night Out

    My grandma kept a drawer-full of greeting cards in her buffet. An entire drawer, devoted to spontaneous correspondence!

    What a woman.

    She also kept plastic on her sofa and carpet on her kitchen floor. She really wanted to protect her furniture and linoleum.

    The Thank-You Note is a classic greeting card and should be the foundation of any collection. Receiving a thank-you note in the mail is a little bit like finding money in last Winter’s coat or a good hat in a snowbank.

    Let’s write one together!

    First, choose a card:grateful-robotNow on to the writing… We’ll break it down into 5 easy steps:

    1) Begin with a greeting: Dear Aunt Shirley,

    She loves to hear her name because cats can’t talk.

    2) This is the meat of the note and notice there is no appetizer. This is a “note” not a letter. Cut right to it: Thank you so much for the medical marijuana! If the gift from Aunt Shirley was cash, do not mention it. Speak instead of her “generosity.” Thank you for your generosity!

    3) Say a little bit about how you use or will use the gift: I smoke it everyday!

    4) Mention the last time you saw Aunt Shirley and hint at a future meeting: It was lovely to see you at Uncle Bob’s funeral, I hope to see you again before your funeral!

    5) And scene: Love, Fran

    Oh, and here’s another card that will be added to the line:the-only-rule

  • 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.

  • 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!