• Hello, my name is

    Remember when I talked about my naming skills? No? That’s okay, I barely remember it myself. Anyway, I did a project with The Carney Group - I named a product that debuted at the 2011 MacWorld Expo to much adulation. Wait, that’s a pretty strong word. To much curiosity. They made the Top 3 Happening Booths but I think that had more to do with the bearded CodeWeavers COO dressing as Cher (I think that’s Cher?? Yucky!)jon-parshall-as-cher

    than the name I chose for the product – which was, by the way: Impersonator. See, it’s software that let’s your Mac run Windows apps without running Windows.

    So brilliant.

    David Pogue of the New York Times called it “hilarious” and one of the most creative pitches he’d seen all year.

    I wonder if he meant last year because otherwise it would just be one of the most creative pitches he’d seen in January. I also wonder if he meant it was one of the most disturbing pitches he’d seen.

    I wrote a lot of funny lines and made some cool logosimpersonator-logo-police-man-web_

    BUT all of my creative was for naught.

    For naught.

    They wrote their own lines and made their own logo. That’s cool. I don’t even care. I don’t. I totally let it go. Totally. I’m fine. Oh, here’s a little video I made (rejected by them – which I’m totally fine with. I am. I’m fine. It’s cool. Whatever. It doesn’t even bother me.) to go with the name. Close the blinds and turn on the projector, here’s IMPERSONATOR:

    January 31, 2011
  • Working in the Bathtub

    I love the ladies of the Jelly Shot Test Kitchen. And when I say I love them it means I love that they trust us. Trust us to create business cards of the future. We’re not sure how lasers work but we all saw Superman II.generalzod

    These days, lasers are used for more than just pulverizing concrete. And I can prove it:

    jstk-polaroid

    The latest project for JSTK has nothing to do with lasers. Or letterpress - don’t they know we do LETTERPRESS??  They asked us to create some instructional films.

    Naturally, I cleaned my bathtub and got to work:fran-bathtub

    Here’s what I made:

    January 9, 2011
  • Goodbye 2010

    2010 has a short driveway and as we backed down it we (I) felt wistful. It seems like only last year we were freezing in Brainerd. Here we are again, eating thick-cut bacon and praying for the strength to survive round after round of Name That Tune. I don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions because the prisons are overcrowded as it is and also because the world isn’t ready for my style of leadership. (Deer-in-the-headlights.)

    deer

    This was a big year for Zeichen Press – and as I sit in my Fiberglass Insulated Cell, I feel gratitude. I also feel greasy from all of the bacon, but like the sparrow, I will take a sand-bath to freshen up when the time is right. A new website, a fleet of reps, prints in Room & Board, the dog’s wig:

    millie-wearing-a-wig

    Who wouldn’t be grateful? I believe Jen and I are coming up on The Five Year Anniversary of Our Zeichen Press Partnership – we will celebrate by not murdering each other in cold blood.

    Don’t worry, we’ll send out Save-The-Date cards.

    January 1, 2011
  • Magic Birthday

    Aunt Clare –>

    not-clare

    In other words, it’s her Magic Birthday!  The Orange Five print was created especially for her:orange-fives-blog

    It’s pretty tasty and she may try to lick the ink but I can’t be responsible for that. Just like I can’t be responsible for anything I did from 1985 – 1995.

    December 29, 2010
  • Are we there yet?

    Christmas is just around the corner and that can only mean one (or more) thing(s): The shop is closed and the kitchen is open.

    img_0013

    ALSO, it means that the children and animals are underfoot (more than usual) because of the 5 foot snowdrifts blocking the exits. snow-out-shop-window

    But don’t worry if you haven’t sent (or bought) your Christmas cards, yet! We (Jen and I, mostly Jen) are here to hold your hand straight through this blustery season! Did you know that (legally) you can send “Christmas” cards until January 6? THAT, is the official end of the Christmas Season because that’s when the Wise Men hauled it to the manger.3-wise-men

    *Playmobile dramatization.

    I used to mark the end of the Christmas Season by my son’s birthday (February 7). That day meant it was time to shove the Christmas tree out the second story window before the arrival of the birthday party guests. Now the tree stays until it becomes a fire hazard, and not a moment longer. So responsible!

    So, speaking of an Epiphany: Don’t waste another minute reading this scatology! Go and buy some Seasonal Cards!

    Are we there yet? Letterpress printed on recycled paper. Comes with coordinating envelope and packaged in cellophane sleeve.

    December 22, 2010
  • Snow on Snow on Snow

    Ummmmmmmmmm… it’s, like, snowing.

    We tried to venture out in it today but then we saw this:blizzard-2010

    And this:snow-plow-in-ditch

    That’s a snow plow in a ditch on the side of the highway.

    Now we’re doing our Christmas shopping sans danger from our computer - you can too!

     

    December 11, 2010
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  • The Perfect Christmas Cards

    Thank you, Religion News Service, for appreciating the ho-ho-Holiday-humdrum-hole-filling.  religion news service devoured by wolvesAnd thank you, Dinah the Cat, for understanding the true meaning of Christmas.Dinah Christmas 2015And you’re right, you should be in the new Christmas card.merry christmas perfect family

    December 15, 2015
  • Holiday Season Opener

    Oh, No Coast Craft-o-Rama… You never let us down! becky no coast 2015The Midtown Market’s halls were decked and bedazzled with all things Holiday… And handmade goodness was traded for cold-hard-cash.

    The Zeichen Press Empire is always draped in black fabric because black is slimming.

    Here’s a new Christmas card/fantasy?:back door christmas cookies

    December 8, 2015
  • This Time of Year Fills Me With

    this time of yearThe No Coast Craft-O-Rama is TODAY and tomorrow (December 4th and 5th) and Jen has been feverishly printing in preparation.

    She must have been too busy to notice my new woodpile!wood pile.IMG_7916Come see all of the Holiday Goodies at the Midtown Global Market today — Jen will be giving out free hugs with every purchase!

    December 4, 2015
  • THANK YOU!

    Once Upon A Time, my sister got the stomach flu so bad. Poor thing… up in the middle of the night… every bit of food evacuating her body post-haste. Who knew the colon could churn and transform loose stool into clear liquid? Well, my brother found out when he sleep-stumbled into the bathroom and slipped and skated on the translucent trots that never made it into the toilet-bowl.

    See? Analogy. Our gratitude just pours out of us! It’s almost like a medical condition.

    To “give back”, we are hosting Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade!

    Tune in!frand and jen parade-hosts

    November 26, 2015
  • FINE. We can be friends.

    **An Open Letter to Alexis Stewart:

    Dear Alexis Stewart,

    If you want to be friends with me, just ask. You don’t need to buy all of your Christmas and birthday AND Mother’s Day cards from me.

    Friends Forever,

    Fran

    —

    Whew! I’m glad I got that out of the way! Thanks to Mail Chimp, our email-blast campaign was full of success.mail chimp rock on

    Wanna know what Mother’s Day card Martha Stewart is getting in 2016???

    I’LL NEVER TELL!!!

    November 21, 2015
  • Wherein One Woman Does NOT Go Gentle Into That Good Night

    Does my IQ have to be higher to understand Sci-Fi films??  interstellarAs the credits rolled for Interstellar, I whispered, to myself, “whaaat???” Maybe I should have taken 100 classes to prep me? All of that technlogy and time-talk made me wish I was working on the new Zeichen Press catalog that Jen so agressively marked-up.marked up catalog 2016I’LL GET TO IT. As soon as I finish rewatching Mad Men.

    And while I’m (not) doing that, The Internsmall.jen & fran june 2009 and Madge.smiling.cabinetis gallivanting about in Italy like some sort of hippie. Well, let’s just see if you have a studio to come home to. (OMG, I’M KIDDING. Please come home. And bring us souvenirs.)

    November 13, 2015
  • #empathycards

    “WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT??”

    ~Fran Shea

    These cards stopped me right in my (dog) poop-covered tracks:emily mcdowell.kill you strongerLet’s be friends, Emily McDowell.

    Too needy? 

    November 4, 2015
  • Non! Je Ne Regrette Rien!

    Dinah always makes such a big deal about choosing paper and envelope color for a new release.

    First, she has Jen print a card:IMG_7551

    And then she does this:

    She is such a taskmaster.

    October 27, 2015
  • NOT YOUR DOORMAT

    Greeting cards would be better if they were huge. And I could wipe my feet on them.

    And what better way to spread the Good Word of Zeichen Press than by emblazoning it upon the doormat of every doorstep for every home throughout the land?High Cotton.revised wrapped in baconHigh Cotton makes lots of things, for lots of people. And now they will make doormats for us. I mean, for you. They’ll make doormats for you. Designed by us.high cotton.what the duck gray

    October 26, 2015
  • Gracias…

    …El Nińo. I know I’m supposed to be cursing Climate Change… I KNOW.

    But how can I curse when meteorologists are predicting a warmer-than-usual winter??

    I must embrace the phenomenon the way a mother embraces her wayward son.

    IN OTHER NEWS, Jen and I chose 12 cards for the next release using darts, a cardboard cutout of Steve Buscemi, and our first-aid kit.

    Here’s a teaser:curse this curse.vertAnd because I always plan ahead, here’s a new Father’s Day card:GOLF browner

    October 17, 2015
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