Speaking of letters! The new prints arrived at all of the Room and Board stores across this great land. The photographs on their website are gorgeous and make me feel like I live in a crack house.
I have nothing against crack houses, I’m sure the people that live in them are perfectly lovely and are just misunderstood.
The legendary, Katie Dohman (Minnesota Monthly) already wrote a little something about them. I’m feeling pretty fancy.
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:
Isn’t that nice?
OH, also: It only seems appropriate that on the eve of the launching of the new site, the dog was caught nursing the kittens.
Enjoy.
I’ve never met a middle-aged man at a BP in Grantsburg and given him money for a Kitchen-Aid mixer — until now! The ZP intern was the recipient of the gift. She cried and looked like she was just crowned Princess Kay of the Milky Way.
It was beautiful.
I spent the last 56 hours holed up in my room (cell) uploading content for the new Zeichen Press website. And just to make it interesting, I didn’t shower or change my clothes. I DID leave once to get a new iPhone because my old one decided it would rather be a hot plate than a phone.
So be it/good riddance.
Fran Sheas résumé
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
1988-1988 (Nov. 1-Dec 23) Lyndale Garden Center
My first job. Silly me, I heard making Christmas wreaths and thought Id be making Christmas wreaths. Pre-made wreaths were heaped onto a lunch table my job was to choose the sprigs for the wreaths. “Sprigs” was an industry term for cheap Christmassy crap.
1989-1989 (Sept. 1-Sept 15) Pearsons Family Restaurant
I bussed tables and was told to clear as much of the table as would fit in the gray bin. It would have been very satisfying if I were training to be a power-lifter. Two weeks was too long.
1989-1990 (Oct. 1-March 1) Leeann Chin, Richfield
As a server, I wore a little white hat and jacket. Like a chef. A disgruntled, panicked, 17-year-old chef.
1990-1990 (June 1-Aug. 15) GJs SuperValu
A block walk from my apartment above Ribizza – this job required speed and superhuman strength. Bagging groceries during a rush filled me with doubt and indecision eggs before bread or bread before eggs?? Should I take my smoke break now??
1990-1990 (Sept. 1-Nov. 1) Telemarketing for the Special Olympics
I dont even know how I found this job it was in a bland office in a bland office building on University Avenue. The script we were handed was written in the 1950?s and we were supposed to offer lots of garbage bags in exchange for donating to the Special Olympics. Our boss was, I think, Bob Saget.
1990-1991 (Nov. 15-Jan 15) Meyers Bakery
A job that required cash register skills. Id rather wash old peoples bottoms than use a cash register Id try to push customers into buying things that would result in even dollar amounts so I wouldnt have to make difficult change. Three cookies? Why not four? Two loaves of bread? Why not two loaves of bread AND a cookie??
Fast Forward>
1993-1996 : Carney Studio
The interview went something like this:
So, you want to be a graphic designer?
A what?
Youre hired.
1996-1997 : Odney Advertising
This is where I learned about advertising. And stealing office supplies.
1997-present : Stay At Home Mom
This is where I learned about cleaning up poop.
2006-present : Owner of Zeichen Press
The culmination of a life-long set of painfully acquired skills.
Jen and I share many things: Type wash, paper towels, dirty looks But nothing nothing even comes close to this weekend
Whew! That was a tear-jerker! Um there is no easy way to segue from a cat eating a placenta
Well, other things happened this weekend, too I biked 8 million miles to Hopkins to take some pictures of the new Pizza Lucé I wrote about that on the Tanek blog And, well I guess nothing can really compare to the moment when Jen and Susie the Cat locked eyes and Jen stated firmly (but tenderly) I love you.
Sigh.
That’s where I am. Will I ever be able to get back to Minneapolis? Stay tuned.
And, just because I’m a little obsessed with the weather, I gathered some very important figures. - Record low temperatures in The United States of America:
| State | Temp. | Date | Station | Elevation |
| Alabama | -27 | Jan. 30, 1966 | New Market | 760 |
| Alaska | -80 | Jan. 23, 1971 | Prospect Creek | 1,100 |
| Arizona | -40 | Jan. 7, 1971 | Hawley Lake | 8,180 |
| Arkansas | -29 | Feb. 13, 1905 | Pond | 1,250 |
| California | -45 | Jan. 20, 1937 | Boca | 5,532 |
| Colorado | -61 | Feb. 1, 1985 | Maybell | 5,920 |
| Connecticut | -32 | Feb. 16, 1943 | Falls Village | 585 |
| Delaware | -17 | Jan. 17, 1893 | Millsboro | 20 |
| Florida | – 2 | Feb. 13, 1899 | Tallahassee | 193 |
| Georgia | -17 | Jan. 27, 1940 | Mauna Kea | 13,770 |
| Idaho | -60 | Jan. 18, 1943 | Island Park Dam | 6,285 |
| Illinois | -36 | Jan. 5, 1999 | Congerville | 722 |
| Indiana | -36 | Jan. 19, 1994 | New Whiteland | 785 |
| Iowa | -47 | Feb. 3, 1996* | Elkader | 770 |
| Kansas | -40 | Feb. 13, 1905 | Lebanon | 1,812 |
| Kentucky | -37 | Jan. 19, 1994 | Shelbyville | 730 |
| Louisiana | -16 | Feb. 13, 1899 | Minden | 194 |
| Maine | -48 | Jan. 19, 1925 | Van Buren | 458 |
| Maryland | -40 | Jan. 13, 1912 | Oakland | 2,461 |
| Massachusetts | -35 | Jan. 12, 1981 | Chester | 640 |
| Michigan | -51 | Feb. 9, 1934 | Vanderbilt | 785 |
| Minnesota | -60 | Feb. 2, 1996 | Tower | 1,430 |
| Mississippi | -19 | Jan. 30, 1966 | Corinth | 420 |
| Missouri | -40 | Feb. 13, 1905 | Warsaw | 700 |
| Montana | -70 | Jan. 20, 1954 | Rogers Pass | 5,470 |
| Nebraska | -47 | Feb. 12, 1899 | Camp Clarke | 3,700 |
| Nevada | -50 | Jan. 8, 1937 | San Jacinto | 5,200 |
| New Hampshire | -47 | Jan. 29, 1934 | Mt. Washington | 6,288 |
| New Jersey | -34 | Jan. 5, 1904 | River Vale | 70 |
| New Mexico | -50 | Feb. 1, 1951 | Gavilan | 7,350 |
| New York | -52 | Feb. 18, 1979* | Old Forge | 1,720 |
| North Carolina | -34 | Jan. 21, 1985 | Mt. Mitchell | 6,525 |
| North Dakota | -60 | Feb. 15, 1936 | Parshall | 1,929 |
| Ohio | -39 | Feb. 10, 1899 | Milligan | 800 |
| Oklahoma | -27 | Jan. 18, 1930 | Watts | 958 |
| Oregon | -54 | Feb. 10, 1933* | Seneca | 4,700 |
| Pennsylvania | -42 | Jan. 5, 1904 | Smethport | est. 1,500 |
| Rhode Island | -25 | Feb. 5, 1996 | Greene | 425 |
| South Carolina | -19 | Jan. 21, 1985 | Caesars Head | 3,100 |
| South Dakota | -58 | Feb. 17, 1936 | McIntosh | 2,277 |
| Tennessee | -32 | Dec. 30, 1917 | Mountain City | 2,471 |
| Texas | -23 | Feb. 8, 1933* | Seminole | 3,275 |
| Utah | -69 | Feb. 1, 1985 | Peter’s Sink | 8,092 |
| Vermont | -50 | Dec. 30, 1933 | Bloomfield | 915 |
| Virginia | -30 | Jan. 22, 1985 | Mountain Lake | 3,870 |
| Washington | -48 | Dec. 30, 1968 | Mazama | 2,120 |
| West Virginia | -37 | Dec. 30, 1917 | Lewisburg | 2,200 |
| Wisconsin | -55 | Feb.4, 1996 | Couderay | 1,300 |
| Wyoming | -66 | Feb. 9, 1933 | Riverside | 6,650 |
AND before we start killing and eating each other, we are entertaining ourselves by throwing boiling water into the cold air.
Why is it that the one time I leave my house something awesome happens?? Jack drove the Heidelberg Windmill down from Wahpeton, North Dakota this morning. Drove it right down to our fancy studio.
I’m in Brainerd not running around the house in my underwear and Jen is back at ZP headquarters. Who knew (Jack the mover knew) that the press was going to be delivered TODAY? Apparently, the hydraulic part of the pallet jack (not Jack the mover) didn’t love the 0°. I guess it was frozen and I’m no expert but that seems like a setback. Jen called me wondering where she could find a hair dryer. I don’t know why she wanted to style her hair but I’m not going to judge. Apparently, Jen’s beautiful hair did the trick because the new press is safe and sound in the SW corner of the shop.
Alphabetically speaking, Zeichen follows Warhol in the Room and Board dictionary. Andy Warhol and Zeichen Press sit side-by-side on the Wall Art page - I don’t want to speak for Mr. Warhol BUT I’ll bet he is thrilled with the proximity… This might be just the thing to jump-start his career… Good luck, Andy!! You weird, prolific little man!!
So, back on the R&B website – here’s what the description DOESN’T say:
Produced entirely by hand using
vintage (super old) printing equipment,
Zeichen Press creates this letterpress
design exclusively for us in their
Minneapolis studio. Actually, they call
it a studio but really it was once the
family garage – an issue that nearly
cost the owner (Fran Shea) her marriage,
and more importantly, the garage.
I mean, studio. Using a centuries-old
manual printing method, they set salvaged,
antique type by hand in limited print runs
to give the work a one-of-a-kind quality
that feels both modern and classic.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
They edited that copy down to the nub! But I suppose they know best.
Have a look at these photos: GASP! They make me want to buy one of my own prints!
The Long Winter is the true tale of a Minnesota family surviving one of the most brutal Winters in our recorded history. Trapped in the house – day after day after day – the blizzard makes it impossible to see out the window or even walk out to the barn without getting lost. Good ol’ Pa rigs up a rope to follow, he is always coming up with some creative solution! Ma follows that rope because Pa finds himself trapped in a ditch by the creek. The wood pile dwindles to nothing and the family is forced to twist hay into little bundles – they would burn these in the cast-iron stove to heat their little house. … Tough, brown bread is the only food left to eat.
Or is it?
What if that was on the jacket flap? I’d totally read that book.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SH1j1luFOw&feature=related
Gosh, that’s a scary movie! Those poor misfit toys… the choo-choo with the square wheels, the pistol that shoots jelly, the effeminate jack-in-the-box… I think the jack-in-the-box and that little dentist-elf would make a cute couple.
Okay, so I keep trying to design something to print on these FIVE THOUSAND BEVERAGE COASTERS that we have lying around. I guess no one cares about preserving the shine and luster of their finished furniture.
I think that’s barbaric.
Maybe they think it sends the wrong message? I don’t. I think it’s perfectly acceptable to booze it up through the 12 days of Christmas. In fact, it is acceptable all year round IF you set your drink on one of our beverage coasters. (Was that some sort of plug?? Yes. Here’s a link: AND here’s one I designed just for Touchpoint Retail. It has the recipe for a candy cane martini right on it. Isn’t that handy?? 
They decided to go with a card design from the Zeichen Press line but JUST TO BE DIFFICULT (I mean, sui generis.) they had us print it on an oversized SQUARE coaster. But I must admit, it’s pretty darn nice.
But I LOVE you Zeichen Press! I do. It’s just that Tanek has something (money) that you don’t have. Does that sound shallow? It’s not, I swear. It’s not just the money. They make me coffee. AND they tell me I do good work. You just sit there and take. And take and take and take – a word that comes to mind is “relentless.” But not in a bad way. Did I mention they’re architects? I know! Restaurants, retail, residential… Wait, did I mention restaurants?… Of course you had to know, the signs were everywhere. Remember when I made those Tanek paper dolls? 
Or that 4-color halftone?
Wait, that was just last week. Anyway, I’m totally NOT breaking up with you. I’m just going to be seeing them too. But that’s cool, right? Don’t be so selfish.
**Editor’s Note: What does this mean??? Zeichen Press is just doing some marketing for Tanek.
No big deal.
Just a photoshopped-four-color-halftone-letterpress-printed Christmas Card.
Jen and I were like, “Oh, that’s cool. For a Christmas card.”
WHEW! What a weekend!
First of all, Amanda came to my house to do my hair.
She did.
Shut up.
I totally care about how I look. It seemed strange to look so beautiful AND carry 500 lbs of cards from a loading dock to a folding table. But I did it for the kids. Jen and I have worked out a system of communication that really facilitates a speedy set up: Jen orders me around like some sort of slave and I stifle sobs behind my Crying Scarf.
There was another letterpress company about 10 feet away from us and we had to fight to defend our turf. Zeichen Press ended up winning because we have better dance moves and we bribed the judges with Bazooka gum.
I figured out something pretty important on Saturday morning: I look like a Sleestack.
OH! Another thing that was pretty amazing: That dapper gent from one of our new cards actually bought the card that he is on!
I love a handsome man with a wallet full of cash. (Do you hear me, Kenny?!)
Let’s see… oh, yes.. the show was jam-packed and we made gobs of moola. I mean, we spread the joy of the season through letterpress goodness.
Here’s me laughing at one of my own jokes:
And here’s Jen endlessly fussing over a display:
I almost forgot to share this bit of news: Somebody actually stole an entire stack of these:
What the???
She must be a professional stalker.
If all goes according to my master plan, 2,500 pounds of love will soon be mine.
2,500 pounds…
That’s one of these:
Or two of him:
Are you intrigued??
The new logo has been crafted of copper and is ready for printing.
…But who are those people supposed to be?? And why does the woman wear her hair as if it were 1986?? Only I know the answers to these mysteries and I have just boarded a train headed for Zermatt.
