• 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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  • Merry Christmas!

    As is custom in our culture, piñatas will be stuffed with liver sausage!pinatas

    December 24, 2013
  • Blog Post Meridiem

    Nighttime is just like daytime but with fewer socks and more Professor Blastoff.

    Who is Professor Blastoff??professor-blastoff-poster

    Professor Blastoff is a podcast/my gateway to dreamland. Not because it’s boring! Shut your pretty mouth. But because these three comedians lull me me to sleep with their soothing silliness. How can silliness be soothing?? Just listen to it and quit judging me.

    Speaking of professors, a(n) (assistant) professor (Alicia Erian) at Northeastern University (Department of English and Tomfoolery) took such a shine to Zeichen Press that she is our new (virtual) intern! Responsibilities include (but aren’t limited to): Telling me how awesome I am.

    She didn’t love this next card but I still love her.marriage-is-2

    December 17, 2013
  • How two women spun straw into gold at the No Coast Craft-o-Rama

    In this story, the ‘straw’ is paper-and-ink and the ‘gold’ is a cash box full of cash.

    If only mortgage companies and grocery stores accepted hugs and back rubs in exchange for their products and services! Alas, they do not, and so we are forced to peddle our wares. no-coast-2013Normally, shops around the WORLD (that’s right) peddle our goods for us, but once a year, we come out of hiding, and on horseback, to peddle our own goods at the beloved No Coast Craft-o-Rama.

    Is it because we love laughter and the spirit of the Holiday Season? Or is it because we love money?

    Oh, the reformed Scrooge inside of me says it’s not about the money. IT’S NOT.money-doesnt-buy-happiness

    December 10, 2013
  • See You There!

    Where?

    AT THE MIDTOWN GLOBAL MARKET FOR THE NO COAST CRAFT-O-RAMA!!

    Directions:

    1) Put on all of your clothes and coats.

    2) Hitch sled-dogs to sled.

    3) MUSH!!

    sled-dogs

    4) Do ALL of your Holiday shopping. And eating.

    Is there a better way to embrace the Holiday season??

    NO.must-enjoy-winter

    December 6, 2013
  • Halls (Of The Midtown Global Market) Will Be Decked With Such Goodness

    There is always SO MUCH TO DO this time of year! Jen has to print and fold about a million cards and I have to sit still so my daughter can do my nails.panda-nails-2Yes, those are adorable pandas. And yes, that is stigmata.

    The No Coast Craft-o-Rama has an amazing line up this year (as usual), there is Miss Amy Jo, Adam Turman, glass|wares, Cosmo’s Collars, Moss Love Terrariums, Oh Dier, Soup Hunter Guitars, and… so… much… MORE!!

    SO, bring your money and your eyeballs and get ready to check everyone off your Christmas list! AND send a belated Chanukah card (is that a thing??)funky-beat-30-f8

    December 3, 2013
  • Eight Days of Thanksgiving

    Postable asked me to create a card that celebrates a very rare occurrence: Thanksgiving and Hanukkah falling on the same day. I don’t know much about the Jewish Faith but I think that means eight days of leftovers.happy-thanksgivukkahThis mash-up won’t happen again for another 77,000 years.

    It’s true.

    In other news… Jen and I will celebrate Thanksgiving the way we always do: in period costume. Twist: Jen will be dunked in the dunking chair until she confesses to being a witch.

    Happy Thanksgiving!

    November 27, 2013
  • A Winter Cocoon

    Now that the temperature has dropped to depressing lows, I’ve turned to TLC reruns for comfort. …My Strange Addiction is the best thing on television… Why wouldn’t I gorge myself on other people’s dysfunction?

    But enough about women addicted to drinking their own urine. Here’s a card about perspective.feeling-bad

    November 26, 2013
  • How To Be A Supercentenarian

    It’s easy!Misao Okawa

    Old folks like Misao Okawa credit their longevity to poached eggs and whiskey.

    Oh, I can do that.

    November 18, 2013
  • Norway? YESway!

    We’ve had some big orders come in from a shop in Oslo… I’ve been trying to figure out how they heard of Zeichen Press…

    Here’s how: If you take a running start, and are a good swimmer, you can get to Oslo from Denmark, and Denmark is just Germany’s top hat… And Germany, as you know, is the birthplace of Gutenberg.44858_print_pressAnd of letterpress… Right? LETTER press?? ZEICHEN Press?? Clearly Zeichen Press is synonymous with letterpress in that part of the world. All they had to do was google letterpress to find this:fran and jen vintage hair updo.words

    There you have it.

    Mystery solved.

    Takk Liebling.

    Oh, clearly they speak English, but I don’t speak Norwegian — and that’s where the interweb comes in handy:liebling page about us nowegianTranslator says:lieblig page about us englishClass dismissed.

    November 15, 2013
  • Alexis and Martha Stewart DO Love Zeichen Press

    I knew it!

    They’ve only been pretending to not see me chase them down the street! Kidders!
    Alexis just ordered all of her Holiday cards from the Zeichen Press shop… which card will she send to Martha??moose-30-f8
    November 9, 2013
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