• We want to be more than just friends with: Portobello Road and Rags

    Portobello Road and Rags -> 4 Dock Street Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard, MA

    ANOTHER profile in that special series dedicated to bringing our readers biased reviews of shops that carry our goods.

    Great. Now I HAVE to go to Martha’s Vineyard.portobello road.rags signageBut I’ll do it for you, reader, because I’m a giver. A GIVER.

    Will residents of Martha’s Vineyard embrace Zeichen Press cards? Will they clutch them to their breast while weeping tears of joy and relief?? WILL THEY??carly simon

    Oh, Carly Simon! Let us both wear our overalls, place one of our feet delicately upon a fieldstone wall, and laugh and laugh while we read Zeichen Press cards that we (you) bought from Portobello Road!

    Yes, LET’S.portobello road interior inside portobello road

    September 6, 2014
  • American Made… FINALIST!

    Zeichen Press is a finalist for Martha Stewart’s American Made contest. 

    YOU HEARD ME.

    american made finalist badge

    The Grand Prize is $10,000 and Martha legally adopting the winner. Alexis is so tired of being an only child. Remember when I told you to SHARE the American Made Zeichen Press page on Facebook and twitter??

    WHY?

    BECAUSE I’M ACTIVATING MY SOCIAL NETWORK TO EARN A FINALIST SPOT!2014 wildcard bannerHelp!

    And don’t worry, I’ll be harassing you on Sept 15th to vote for us…

    Here’s the script they gave me: The judges have named me a 2014 @AmericanMadeMSL Awards finalist. Support & share my work to get involved! #celebratethemaker

    September 1, 2014
  • American Made!

    We make things!

    We live in America! 

    martha stewart american made logo“American Made spotlights the maker, supports the local, and celebrates the handmade. The program is made up of people and communities that have turned their passion for quality craftsmanship and well-designed goods into a way of life.”

    A WAY OF LIFE.

    BAM.

    In order for Martha to notice Zeichen Press (umm, she should really just ask Alexis about us) YOU need to SHARE our American Made nomination page with all of your Facebook friends and twitter followers:

    • Step one: Click this link.

    • Step two: Scroll down a teensy bit on that page.

    • Step three: Click button that looks like this:american made share buttons(WARNING: The above image IS NOT AN ACTUAL BUTTON, MOM)

    • Step four: Follow instructions.

    PS: I love you.

    PPS: Deadline is Friday! NO BIG DEAL.
    August 27, 2014
  • Ode to Jen

    Merry Jenmas, everyone!

    MY dog must have been confused, she left birthday presents for Jen on my living room floor last night? Oh, Millie…Millie-wearing-a-wig

    Thomas Edison’s quote is so true: Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent spray bleach.dont step in the birthday present I made for you

    August 26, 2014
  • Adiós Diablo

    I had a pretty big realization when I was 23. This revelation came as I was drifting off to sleep and caused me to sit straight up in bed.

    CRUELLA DE VIL = CRUEL DEVIL!!!CRUELLA DE VILHow could I have been so blind for so long?!

    No matter. Here’s a card.going going going gone

    August 23, 2014
  • Oh, that old saying!

    You know what I’m talking about??

    Read the card out loud for full effect.the saw that woke the sherpas yak

    August 14, 2014
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  • Airplane Safety Card

    The trip to the Cape always begins with studying the airplane safety card.
    screwed-still-screwed-2
    When we land alive, I kiss the filthy airport carpeting and raise my fists in the air in triumph.
    The drive from Boston to the Cape included a pit-stop for newborn-sized burritos and an impromptu visit to a little stationery store in Hingham called social graces - adorable! This just proves my theory that Hingham has newborn-sized burritos and little stationery stores.
    The Cape is paradise, as usual – except for the E. coli outbreak – that’s Electronic coli. We had to boil our water – it reminded me of Mexico – without the drug mules. And everything else.
    To be continued…
    barn-on-commerce-450x427 cobb-hill-2010-450x427
    July 26, 2010
  • 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
    July 22, 2010
  • 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.

    July 18, 2010
  • 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

    July 15, 2010
  • Tortured (commercial) Artist

    I need to get into character for the big Room and Board project… “WHAT’S MY MOTIVATION??!”

    Backstory:

    In a post-apocalyptic world, one breathtakingly beautiful woman finds herself wandering through the residential remains of South Minneapolis. She stumbles upon a letterpress print shop – it is impossibly intact. She drags her shopping cart of possessions inside and studies her surroundings. Type, ink, paper, a giant wrench and an autographed photograph of Kelly Clarkson. This is exactly like her dream – except without Abraham Lincoln. There isn’t much time before the feral cats find her…  But she finally has a method to preserve the dying language – at last! At long last… 

    Whew! That was intense! Okay, enough screwing around – the clock is ticking and the cats are coming.

    July 13, 2010
  • My New Computer

    I lived in Uptown when Chino Latino was Annie’s Parlor and the threat of a good bus-stop knifing made my morning commute thrilling.

    Alas, that Uptown is no more.

    The filthy (come ON! You know it was filthy!!) Uptown Bar has been replaced by a giant, sparkly Apple Store and the smelly Uptown Bar bouncer has been replaced with fresh-faced (sober) computer geeks. Did I shed a tear during the demolition of this Minneapolis Institution?

    former-uptown-bar-450x337

    No. I did not. Don’t send me hate mail. 

    I loved the Uptown Bar – when I was 21. I also loved smoking a pack of cigarettes every day and getting my furniture from the Salvation Army.

    I love the new Apple Store – all brushed metal and snowy white… Perfectly climate controlled, smelling of new electronics, buzzing with energy… A 30 foot-tall-wall of tempered glass keeps the noise and heat of Hennepin Avenue out and the Apple-Zen in. Machines are tethered to maple tables so they won’t float away and maybe to prevent shoplifting.

    I bought one of those machines – my old machine was jealous but it was time for it to be replaced. Laptops shouldn’t cause 1st degree burns on a lap. I know I’ve made some very poor decisions recently, but I can give you my complete assurance that my work will be back to normal. I’ve still got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission. And I want to help you.

    What?! I know. My new computer would never say something like that.

    July 6, 2010
  • Seriously??!

    I’ve heard that some people use their kitchen table FOR EATING.

    The squirrel came back again – this time looking for Fig Newtons.

    still-life-with-squirrel-450x337

    Maybe if people (me) remember to shut the back door she wouldn’t think I was inviting her in for lunch. After I waved goodbye (screamed hysterically and jumped up on a chair) I had time to use the table for other things. : Project photographs for the new website!

    M. Palm Card

    touchpoint-mixpak-450x427 d-blasdell-vintage-450x426 tanek-peppermint-card-450x428

    I am tempted to leave my door open to see what other wildlife will enter my kitchen.

    bear-in-the-kitchen1

    June 30, 2010
  • PR for Tanek, a pregnant cat and a squirrel in my kitchen

    Something weird(er) is going on around here. First, we witnessed a large orange cat date-raping our little Siamese (cat) – and THEN there was a squirrel sitting at my kitchen table eating an avocado.

    squirrel-lunch1-450x337

    LATER, I drove myself (I did!) to the edge of downtown for a stand-up meeting with the managing editor for Minnesota Business* and the guys from Tanek and Touchpoint. The meeting was in Touchpoint’s new (unfinished) space – which happens to be in the building that I imagine owning. So that’s a weird coincidence.

    *The Managing Editor for Minnesota Business can be found here:

    June 24, 2010
  • Tater Tots, Kings Wine Bar, Letterpress, Deer John,

    Let’s talk about the kitchen in my first apartment: A room the size of an airplane galley* with the bonus feature of a countertop hinged to the wall. If that countertop was not in the lift and stow position (just like an airplane tray-table) it wasn’t possible to open the refrigerator or the oven.

    This was great incentive (for my roommate) to do the dishes. I preferred moving the dirty dishes to the living room. *I’ve peeked in an airplane galley – it’s usually hidden behind a curtain (that matches the drapes) – the flight attendant works mechanically, loading up that cumbersome cart to roll down the aisle.

    The delicacies that came out of that first apartment kitchen included (and were limited to) chicken pot-pies and tater tots. The crisper drawer in my refrigerator contained a large amount of an herb – but that was none of my business.

    Oh, but the tater tots!

    Straight from the freezer and onto my cast-iron skillet: washed down with an Old Milwaukee and a Camel Lights cigarette.*camel-lights-34110Whew! Did I mention I had 18 by the balls? ALSO, if I had a hankering for ribs OR pizza, I only had to walk down the stairs. That’s right, the one and only Ribizza fulfilled that strange combination requirement for Uptown, Minneapolis.

    Exactly five minutes West of my house is Kings Wine Bar - a newish (rhymes with Jewish) little neighborhood restaurant. They serve tater tots but with sauces far fancier than ketchup.  I was there last night and there didn’t seem to be any Old Milwaukee or Camel cigarettes on the menu but somehow, after we ate our tater tots, our table was magically covered with candy.

    This doesn’t have anything to do with the card I wrote/designed last night. Or does it?Deer-John-June-13

    June 13, 2010
  • Letterpress in Minneapolis

    Sunday: The Corpus Christi procession brought oodles of the Devout through Loring Park – all busses were rerouted and the Minneapolis Police department was on high alert for any shenanigans. Still, I couldn’t help but feel a little emotional as the church bell solemnly rang out and I watched Barb perform CPR on my husband.

    Tuesday: Our new intern (Andrea Sanow) showed up with the enthusiasm of a 22 year old girl. We love her – and we’re not just saying that because she reads the blog and is, like, the strangest mix of a Type A Personality and totally laid back. What?! It’s true. Thanks to her, I got so much done: Here are the Room & Board prints in color:

    room-and-board-in-color-on-piano

     

    June 9, 2010
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