• 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
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  • Oh, YOU again.

    I’m not sure if he was gently curb-stomped, or he bit into a fresh apple. Either way, he lost his front teeth.happy birthday no nailed it

    October 8, 2015
  • Stamp-Lickin’ So You Don’t Have To

    Do you fantasize about a service that would lick your stamps (and mail awesome cards to a list of people in your address book)??

    YOU DO??

    Have you heard of Postable??

    POSTABLE logopostable grab how it worksDid I mention that there are Zeichen Press cards in their line?? (NOT letterpress printed, BUT STILL.)Merdankcias postableprinting and mailing circle tenderlyNow there really is zero excuse to NOT send a card IN THE MAIL.

    *Stay tuned: Postable will be adding MORE Zeichen Press cards this week.*

    WAIT, I didn’t mention the most important part:

    September 28, 2015
  • Groucho Marx + Turkey = FUNNY

    Hoohoo! I’m laughing already!

    More for RSVP:rsvp.revised.turkey where

    September 19, 2015
  • WOOT.

    Does Jen hate letterpress printing SO much that I have to create and license all of the art and farm it off to art licensing companies??

    Maybe.

    The latest for RSVP:rsvp.weird honeymoon.front and inside.grabrsvp.woot.front and inside.grabI know one thing for sure. ONE THING. Jen would really hate to print these multi-colored designs. She makes me live in a monochromatic world. But see how I defy?? FIVE colors??

    FIVE.

    And now they want more cards! FINE.rsvp.chanukah.sneeze.front and insideI’m such a rebel.

    September 12, 2015
  • So NOT Letterpress

    Tanek demanded a new website, and who am I to argue?? tanek. index page.harvestor grabI just do what I’m told.

    I designed/art directed it and the good folks at Carney, made my wishes their command.I dream of JeannieObserve the fancy bells and whistles!

    Rollovers… PDF Downloads… Video Portraits…

    And observe what you WON’T observe: My own, personal, Content Management System.tanek CMS grabIt’s okay to cry. It’s beautiful.

    September 7, 2015
  • Tradition Dictates So I Don’t Have To!

    Did I even see Jen on her birthday last week??

    Hmm, I don’t think so… But I still made her a card because my love for her just bubbles over and soils the stovetop with a sort of gravy that becomes crusty and has to be scraped off months later with steel wool and maybe a knife.

    Whew!

    That’s a lot of love!CATSUPGET IT?!?! CAT-SUP???

    Omg, it just doesn’t stop over here!

    August 30, 2015
  • Put a Cat On It

    Do you need to sell something? You do??

    PUT A CAT ON IT.kitty sweatshirtThat sweatshirt is not to be worn ironically and can be yours for a mere $65.

    But really, it’s not even realistic. What sort of galaxy is full of white kittens and multi-colored roses??

    And where’s the wine and unicorn??

    All of those adorable kittens in space DID inspire a graduation card. Don’t ask me why. DON’T ASK ME.may the road rise to meet you.better

    August 23, 2015
  • What’s A Gal Gotta Do??

    Oh, *I* know!BE BOLD PRINT

    No problem.
    August 13, 2015
  • BE A WOMAN

    Don’t tell Blockbuster Video, but I still have a VHS copy of Alive in my attic. Alive screen grabI just love survival dramas. *I* survived the heat last week, it was pretty dramatic… But I ate no one, despite feeling very hungry. To celebrate, the Intern and I set some type.BE bold lock upAND THEN I wrote/designed more cards for RSVP, deadline is TOMORROW. rsvp.snail mailNo big deal. Chosen card(s) just go into the Major Supermarkets.

    August 2, 2015
  • ART Licensing

    ART, I say!

    ART!

    RSVP asked me for some new art, SPECIFICALLY for 16th birthdays, BUT stay away from the subject of driving?

    Um, ok.

    How about the subject of dog poop?rsvp.dont step inI KNOW this is a derivative of MY OWN card.dont step inAND a card I made for ANOTHER Art Licensor. Recycled Paper Greetings.

    They also asked for some Wedding Cards… Maybe I’ll say something about flatulence, MAYBE I WON’T.

    July 24, 2015
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