• You Can Take the Girl Out of Minnesota

    The odyssey began exactly three and a half miles West of the Mississippi during what would later be called “Friday.” No need for an alarm to be set because rising at 4am comes so naturally to me – getting a jump on the day makes me feel like a dynamo.

    First legs of journeys are often fueled by earnestness and without vigilance, that fuel can turn to ennui. (ahn-wee)fran-ennui

    Ennui can turn to desperation and when mixed with starvation, can lead to tragedy. Remember the Chilean rugby team? Their plane crashed in the Andes and they ate each other. Survival and cannibalism are in cahoots, everyone knows that.

    Our airline didn’t want that blood on their hands so they loaded us up with a rib-sticking breakfast.

    coffee-cookie-airtran

    Our plane did land safely on the ground and we were stuffed into a sweat lodge/taxi-cab that smelled like thousands of weary travelers. (Curry + pine tree + urine).

    I don’t remember my own birth but I bet it felt similar to exiting the taxi – the crying, the relief, the hotel cradling me in it’s arms.

    Like good tourists, we went right from the hotel to the subway. Now I know that when I go to Purgatory (and I know I will) it will look, feel, and smell like the subway.

    It will make heaven even more glorious.

    manhattan-night

    Because traveling underground on a train isn’t strange enough, the subway was filled with hundreds of boozed-up Santas.

    santa-subway-2

    santa-subway-1

    And because my touristy feet were killing me, I had to go to the T.J. Maxx on Wall street to buy slippers. I did see the Occupy Wall Street people and asked them if they wanted to occupy T.J. Maxx with me but they (all five of them) looked at me like I was crazy.

    occupy

    Oh, we also walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. Has anyone seen that thing? It’s pretty cool and people should really be aware of it.

    fran-and-lucy-brooklyn-bridge

    Don’t I look serious? I didn’t crack a smile all day.

     

    December 13, 2011
  • Farewell, No Coast OR Joy For Sale

    It’s hard to put a price tag on joy and laughter, but we did: $10.

    Actually, four cards for $10. This, and Jen not wearing a top, made our shoppers more giddy than usual.

    The Zeichen Press booth was a beacon of laughter bobbing in the sea of wrist-warmers, nose-rings, and ironic Christmas sweaters.

    no-coast-1 no-coast-2

    I hid behind our card racks for two days and talked to Jen about important things like iron lungs and Santa Clause while our customers snort-laughed (my favorite kind of laugh). There was even a gal that was laughing so hard she had to stamp her foot on the floor. Those responses made me feel like this:

    beaker

    And I think Jen felt like this:

    dr-bunsen

    Finally, a man came up to us and told us all about human exoskeletons. (See blog post #390: Freak-Magnet) Eventually, he rode away on a unicorn.

    What I guess I’m trying to say is that the No Coast Craft-O-Rama was, once again, awesome.

    PS: No show would be complete without a little danger and ours came in the form of an icy, yet beautiful, drive home.

    lakestreet-snow-carwash-sign lakestreet-snow-arbys-sign

    December 5, 2011
  • I DON’T MEAN TO BE PUSHY

    Yes, I do.

    That festive, urban craft fair (the No Coast Craft-O-Rama) is coming up this weekend and if you’ve never been, I will describe it to you:

    Have you ever legally died and felt yourself being drawn into the comforting white light?

    It’s just like that, only better.

    Think Holiday Bazaar. Just kidding. Don’t think that. Think table after table of handmade goodness, guaranteed to provoke gasps and tears of joy.

    To get ready for the show, I made these prints for our wall:no-coast-print

    And Jen did everything else.

    Also, I am thinking about getting my hair done.

    November 28, 2011
  • Surrender and Acceptance

    Jen and I were trying to enjoy the wholesome spirit of the annual Book Arts festivalmcba-2011

    when Winter walked into the party, tracked snow on the floor, didn’t laugh at my jokes, and clogged the toilet. I wasn’t surprised.

    To keep up morale, I invented a pack-less backpack and inflatable underpants. For some reason, this reminded Jen to tell me my fortune. She made one of these:

    closed-fortune

    and filled it with “fortunes.” But I don’t really think they were fortunes.

    open-fortune-arrows-2

    Oh, Jen! You’re such a kidder!

    November 19, 2011
  • Asylum-For-One

    Listen, I could break out of this place if I had some sturdy cornhusks, one tablespoon of vaseline, two steel springs, and a puppy.

    But do I really want to?

    Jen is printing a card

    This time of year fills me with greed. Letterpress printed on recycled paper. Comes with coordinating envelope and packaged in cellophane sleeve.

    in preparation for the MCBA Festival, not the Mutation Chinchilla Breeders Association—a real thing—but the Minnesota Center for Book Arts festival. It’s Saturday, November 19th and if you like celebrating books via buying book-like items (handmade paper, journals, our cards) you should totally go.

    My contribution to the show is this lovely display signage I designed:only-losers-santa

    See you there!

    November 18, 2011
  • Endless Game

    If only I could play an instrument or sing or get along with a group of people, I would release an album full of music. I can’t do any of those things and so I stand

    fortress-of-solitude

    in my Fortress of Solitude and name imaginary albums. This has been going on for, like, 20 years. Here are a few:

    • Liar, You’ve Never Seen the Moon

    • Please Don’t Drive Away, My Leg is Hanging Out of the Car

    • Why Don’t You Need My Wagon?

    • That’s Not Cake (Don’t Eat it)

    • He Tries To Control Me With His Eggrolls

    And so on.

    I will eventually take it a step further and design the album art – a band will come to me and select one and most likely it will go double platinum. I’m pretty sure that’s the way it works.

    —

    My sister’s wedding was on Saturday

    cathedral-wedding-2and I cried like a baby because I felt nostalgic. My sister used to watch Lamb Chop’s Play-Along and I really miss Sherry Lewis.lambchop

    After the ceremony, I dried my eyes and went to the party. There was a lot of drinking and a lot of dancing. And this album cover was created:sad-bride

    I think it would be good for a funk metal group or maybe spoken word.

    October 17, 2011
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  • First, Poison The Ants

    An ANTfestation in the shop required aggressive use of insecticide. Two waves of spray-on poison were needed to completely wipe out the colony hiding behind the Great Wall Of Cards.shop-shelvesWe murdered thousands of antsantsbefore Jen and I had an important meeting to decide which cards should be included in our next release.

    Wait, after the genocide, but before the important meeting, Classic Pam got ahold of another baby rabbit. (See blog post: Fear and Dread) There was some backyard bedlam involving the dog and five kids chasing the cat… I got caught up in the chase but ended up somehow kicking the hopping baby rabbit. Don’t ask me how that happened.

    DON’T ASK.

    And without further adieu… the moment you’ve all been waiting for… OUR… NEW… CARDS!!!

    applause-sign-1forgive-me-fatherlet-us-not-dwell-2 sometimes-i-cry ruled-his-kingdom count-the-rings-2 happy-birthday-gandhi-no-image clown-card-orange this-too-shall-pass-meanwhile raise-the-roof water-vodka-2 i-cant-thank-you-enough evil-twin-2 

    September 2, 2013
  • Life Is But A Dream

    “We’re Creek People now, mom… We’re Creek People…”creek-photoWhat began as an optimistic, joy-filled journey down Minnehaha Creek turned into a somber, personal purgatory.

    The creek didn’t mean to be a metaphor for life, but it was.

    IT WAS.

    We made it out alive and I’m so glad, I didn’t want to have to eat one, or more, of my children.raise-the-roofDid you know it’s Jen’s birthday today?? She celebrated by printing cards for Paper Source in our studio-turned-Easy-Bake Oven. She treated herself with a fan pointed at her back.

    Tradition dictates that I make her a card. So, I did.gandhi

    August 26, 2013
  • Steel Perfing Rule And You

    I’ve had so many (one) requests for bookplates!

    Maybe you have a book that you don’t want someone (your mother) to “borrow” and “forget” to return? Maybe you need a bald man to protect your book?

    You do??

    I just made something for you AND because I’m generous (TO A FAULT), there are TWO bookplates on one piece of paper. 

    Using radical letterpress technology (steel perfing rule) I was able to lay out TWO bald men PLUS a message in lead, that can be neatly separated and pasted into a beloved book.this-book-belongs-toNo, no… it’s not a miracle. Just one woman’s attempt to make the world a better place.

    And on that note, here’s a card that touches on a preeetty sensitive subject:

    hide-and-seek-champion

    August 21, 2013
  • Fear and Dread

    I’m not afraid of heights or clowns or rats or bats or cemeteries or sharks. But I AM afraid of centipedes.centipede7

    Once upon a time, I vacuumed up a centipede that was wearing Bill Cosby’s sweater.

    bill_cosby_and_sweaters-copy

    But enough of that!

    It’s August and time to dread Winter.

    My research shows that Hell is being trapped in a snow cave with 1,000 centipedes. And here’s a card for Christmas.

    WHAT?!beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-christmas-2

    August 12, 2013
  • Bionic Fran Goes To the Post Office

    The much-anticipated matchup between Bionic Fran and Wonder Woman is finally here! bionic-woman-vs-wonder-womanTickets are available by our back gate and the fight will be held in the driveway.

    Come early and pick an unripened tomato to throw at the loser.

    The event takes place as soon as Jen finds her way out of the mountains — I know her pockets were stuffed with breadcrumbs, so I’m sure she’ll be fine.

    I’ve been pretty busy while she’s been gone… The intern and I talked a lot, I picked up two dead birds and one dead baby rabbit… I brought orders to the post office… I made this birthday card…count-the-rings-2

    July 24, 2013
  • Ampersands And Counting Skills

    Counting is not as easy as it looks. The intern and I had to count cards (we love to gamble) for a big Kate’s Paperie order.

    Holiday cards in June?are-we-there-yetMy life is an endless sacrifice.

    All of that counting tasted terrible, and so to cleanse her palette, the intern put a lot of ampersands together. That looked exactly like this:ampersandsAnd because I need attention, I made this:is-there-an-app-for-thisSee, it’s a profound cultural statement? DO YOU SEE?!

    July 20, 2013
  • And Classic Pam Taketh Away

    Jen held the garbage-pail lid and I swung the hammer, it is our shop gong and is ceremoniously banged when we receive an order over $1,000.

    We bang it one thousand times and then Jen gets to printing.

    Paper Source ordered a new (for them) card:what-the-duckOh, what do I do after the gong show? I chase and scold the cat.

    Classic Pam has single-pawedly wiped out an entire rabbit family.

    Tsk, tsk!

    This one survived…bunnyuntil it peed and died in my hands.

    ALSO, Urban Outfitters (a real mom and pop joint) wants samples of some of our cards.high-fiveSettle down. SETTLE DOWN. They’ve led us on before — I’m not going to fashion a wooden stool into a potty chair so that I can sit by the phone day and night.

    I’m not. I’M NOT.

    July 15, 2013
  • Vacation Drama

    Jen has been toiling away at Zeichen Press Headquarters and I have been thinking about her toiling away at Zeichen Press Headquarters.

    It’s hard for me to think about that when I am so busy staring at the ocean.shore-sandwich

    kids-ocean-wellfleetthis-too-shall-pass-meanwhileI also took the time to create this:

    (I’m a giver.)

    But I did make her a card.

    (I hope she doesn’t really want me to help though.)real-dry-horseshoe-crab-copySo I think that makes us even.

    July 11, 2013
  • Pilgrimage Part XXXI (Return to Brigadoon)

    The pilgrimage to Cape Cod was like a lil’ slice of Purgatory and I wept with joy as we pulled into the driveway. I also wept when we discovered the house-mascot had been murdered in cold blood.mouse-ratWho would do such a thing?

    Don’t worry, everything else was in order:

    The boats are in the harbor.

    lucy-millwayThe hydrangeas are blue enough.hydrangeas-and-rosesAnd the dead people are still dead.cemeteryPHEW!

    wish-you-were-here

    July 2, 2013
  • Monkeys On Pogo-Sticks

    My application for Mensa included a $20 bill and a film.

    I hope they accept me — I want that laminated membership card.

    I also incuded a couple of my own cards:usually-unusualfitting-metaphor

    June 12, 2013
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