Zeichen Press – Page 6 – Design & Letterpress for the people.

It’s time for Christmas rejects!

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.

December 18, 2009
Two-timing ZP

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.

December 13, 2009
Just a Christmas Card

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.”

December 10, 2009
No Coast 2009, Sleestacks and ANOTHER Doppelganger

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.

December 7, 2009
Mr. Heidelberg… you RASCAL!

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??

November 22, 2009
There Is No Turning Back

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.

November 17, 2009

The Perfect Christmas Cards

Thank you,�Religion News Service, for�appreciating�the ho-ho-Holiday-humdrum-hole-filling. �And thank you, Dinah the Cat, for understanding the true meaning of Christmas.And you’re right, you should be in the new Christmas card.

December 15, 2015
Holiday Season Opener

Oh,�No Coast Craft-o-Rama… You never let us down!�The�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?:

December 8, 2015
This Time of Year Fills Me With

The�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!Come 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!

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.

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?? �As 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.I’LL GET TO IT. As soon as I finish rewatching Mad Men.

And while I’m (not) doing that,�The Internis�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:Let’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:

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�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.

October 26, 2015
Gracias…

…El Ni�o.�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:And because I always plan ahead, here’s a new Father’s Day card:

October 17, 2015