• 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
  • Black ink can be so nice

    It’s unofficially Summer around here and to celebrate I’m going to make some more prints for Room & Board. People always ask me (no, they don’t) if I feel lonely or maybe a little afraid working out in the studio/shop/time warp at night. But how could I feel lonely or afraid out there when I have all of those cabinets of cold, lead type and Mark Wheat‘s voice coming from the plastic radio?

    newest-room-board-print-450x440

    June 2, 2010
  • More letterpress for Room & Board??!

    I hit my head on the asphalt yesterday and when I snapped out of that familiar concussive daze, I thought to myself: Again? And: That wasn’t as bad as running into the tree. Or the windshield. Or the Christmas tree-stand. Or the windshield. 

    Walking my bicycle and openly weeping, I made it home just in time to work on the new Room & Board project:

    r-and-b-4-450x439 r-and-b-3-450x439 r-and-b-2-450x439 r-and-b-1-450x439r-and-b-layout-450x439

    Thanks MADGE for introducing me to the Polaroid app for my iPhone!!

    May 27, 2010
  • A Typical Day for Zeichen Press (Minneapolis Design and Letterpress Studio At Large)

    “Yeah, you should wear the wig.”

    May 22, 2010
  • Achieving perfect balance

    People always ask me, “Fran, how do you balance everything so well?? Zeichen Press, kids, marriage, hypochondria, facebook, animal-taming, daydreaming – It doesn’t even seem possible!” I wish I had some fluffy (Oprah-approved) secret to share but it’s really much more simple: Evil twin. What?! Yes. You’d be surprised by how many people actually have evil twins.

    This has been a regular rat king of a week: The big Tanek party is tomorrow and Jen and I have been planning the whole thing – From venue to letterpress printed coaster to life-jackets. One of my favorite things is the Tanek 10 Year CD - a music mix and letterpress printed sleeve/party favor/door prize. My playlist skills were honed as a teenager – hour after hour spent with the dual cassette player… see, mom?? I told you it was more important than algebra.

    Tanek 10 Year Party CD Sleeve
    Tanek 10 Year Party CD Sleeve

     

    Tanek 10 Year Party CD Sleeve

    As soon as this party is done I can get rid of that mannequin.

    lucy-and-other-mother

    May 19, 2010
←Previous Page
1 … 57 58 59 60 61 … 79
Next Page→
  • 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
←Previous Page
1 … 4 5 6 7 8 … 48
Next Page→

Notifications