• Letterpress for you, Minneapolis! (And the Greater Twin Cities Metropolitan Area)

    The No-Coast Craft-O-Rama is behind us and – like so many weekends – it’s all a blur.

    I do remember Jen yelling “yahtzee!” whenever someone ordered the Show Special (two eggs, a slice of bacon and Texas toast with a dozen cards). And I remember feeling drunk with power. The top-selling card of the weekend was:

    If by different, you mean awesome. Letterpress printed on recycled paper. Comes with coordinating envelope and packaged in cellophane sleeve.

    That tells me that Minneapolis is full of a lot of weirdos. Like me.

    This card was also a big seller:

    The strong would survive the Winter. The weak would, of course, be eaten. Letterpress printed on recycled paper. Comes with coordinating envelope and packaged in cellophane sleeve.

    And that tells me that Minneapolis is full of a lot of moral ambiguity.

    That reminds me! We had a snowstorm on Friday!

    snowstorm-on-chicago-ave

    Luckily nobody had to eat anyone else to survive. Whew, right? That would not have been great for sales.

    December 7, 2010
  • Would You Rather?/No-Coast Craft-O-Rama

    Would you rather have your significant other’s hands be replaced with Flounders OR your lips be replaced with a duckbill?

    62787_4-flounder

    That’s a toughy.

    How about: Would you rather have to wear a Kiss the Cook apron everyday (for the rest of your life) OR a multi-colored clown wig?

    clown

    Sorry about that.

    Okay, would you rather do your holiday shopping at the Midtown Market – where there will be 100 venders, vending beautiful/original handmade goodness – the air filled with the smells of exotic foods and the spirit of gift-giving??? OR maybe you’d rather sit at your computer and click on an Add To Cart button??

    no_coast2010

    We’ll see you there! Zeichen Press is at table E-35!

    December 3, 2010
  • Trading letterpress cards for cash

    The Big No-Coast show is only 5 days away.To prepare ourselves, Jen and I are watching hour after hour of training videos. We have found that the only way we can really get into the spirit of a craft show is with a Dolly Parton soundtrack. But I’m sure that’s true for everyone.

    November 28, 2010
  • We want to be more than just friends with: i like you

    i like you –> 501 First Ave. NE Minneapolis, MN 55413

    The first in a new series devoted to (not racially) profiling shops that carry Zeichen Press goods. I can assure you, it won’t be the last.

    Sarah and Angela (or is it Angela and Sarah?)sarah-angela-on-the-grass-2

    are craft benefactors. Every square inch of their shop is filled with sweetness via craftiness. The gals (that’s what I call them – I’m sure they call me something) have packed all of the fun (and none of the lunch tables) of an urban craft fair into their North East shop. It’s a wonder to behold…

    own-it

    October 21, 2010
  • 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

     

    October 21, 2010
  • 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. 

    October 16, 2010
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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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