• Here’s the part about salvaging letterpress equipment:

    People (my mom) always (whenever she feigns interest) ask me, “where do you get this stuff?” Type, cabinets, printer’s cuts, ink, chases, quoins, sticks, cutters, furniture, leads, slugs, tympan, rollers… letterpress takes up a lot more space than this tidy little laptop. I wonder if that’s one of the reasons people stopped using it? I doubt it.

    Jen and I both agreed that our favorite salvaging-situation involved a compulsive hoarder with a murder/torture-pit (alleged) in his basement. This house had it all; two commercial espresso machines:

    nera-new-2-group-rails-small-180x121nera-new-2-group-rails-small-180x121

    two Kluge Printing Presses:

    kluge-butner

    (just in case you’re wondering: TWO Kluge Printing presses are massive and would look like this if not covered in books, dvd’s, televisions, kleenex boxes, grocery bags, magazines and mail):

    SONY DSC

    a family-style restaurant booth: (this suspiciously barricaded the basement door)

    restaurant-booth-300x224

    dozens of old computers: (so sentimental)old_computer

     

    “stackable” type cabinets: (we took these)

    type-cabinets-butner-basement

    and this:

    galley-butner-basement

    and this:

    wood-type-butner-basement

    Oh, here’s a fun game:

    Can you find the treasure in this photographic vignette?:

    letterpress-library

    How about here?:pixelated-face-450x600don-butner

    °°°°

    Oh, well. Enough of the sweet, sweet memories. Here’s part of our latest salvage:cabinet-of-wood-type western-wood-type condensed-wood-type

    March 21, 2010
  • A long, long time ago there was no Tanek. Only empty space.

    I loved when Mom would get out the Scotch-tape and add my latest work to the dining room wall.

    fran-andy-dining-room-wall

    I’m not sure if one day she ran out of paper or tape – but she also let me paint right on the windows and the refrigerator.

    I spent the last 10 weeks art directing Tanek’s new website. It was very similar to painting on the refrigerator except without paints or a refrigerator. I worked on the project with my old boss. Don’t confuse this old boss with another old boss I had at the Leeann Chin in Richfield, circa 1989.

    You can go look at the new Tanek site. It’s not painted on the fridge or hanging on the dining room wall but it’s still super awesome. You can really build with the masthead blocks! … Actually, that gives me an idea… build something cool, take a screen grab and e-mail it to Zeichen Press - WHY? I’ll pick the best one, send out some fancy letterpress cards to the winner and publish it on the blog.

    HEY! This is fun!

    March 9, 2010
  • Potato-Guns and Make Magazine

    The other day, I needed to learn how to make a potato gun. It doesn’t matter why. Anyway, I made my way to the MAKE Magazine blog - If you haven’t been – I don’t know what to say. It’s not like we can’t be friends. It will just never be more than that.

    So, they are doing this Maker Business Series and I thought, “hey, I make things… I own a business…” The potato gun would just have to wait. Sorry Edmund. …I sent an e-mail to someone named Gareth (Jen keeps referring to Gareth as “her” – I don’t have the heart to correct her) and told him about Zeichen Press – he responded and then it turned into an interview and… Go read it!!

    March 5, 2010
  • Wake up call

    I try so hard. Really, I do. I try to follow the rules.

    I’m jealous of those people (is it everyone?) that climb out of bed at a respectable hour, get dressed, fuss with their hair, apply make-up, brush their teeth, read the paper, make and drink a cup of coffee…

    In high school, my morning carpool (I say “carpool” but really it was just my friends carting me around like some sort of package. A smoking, swearing package) would lay on her horn outside my house while I lay in my bed – dreaming that I was missing tests because I was laying in bed dreaming that I was missing tests.

    February 24, 2010
  • A whirly-what??

    A whirly-who?

    A metalsmithing kineticist/teacher  needed a business card and we made him this:

    whirligi-business-card-whol2-450x337 whirligig-business-card-450x337

    February 16, 2010
  • Flush

    Apparently, it’s healthy to flush your gallbladder. How? A delicious nightcap: A hearty blend of olive oil and grapefruit juice. Chilled, of course.

    In the spirit of the flush – I thought I’d flush out some old designs. These designs were rejected by clients.

    Not because they didn’t like the designs but because they are just jealous of me.caesar-line-color-bar-450x434 american-dream-diamond chef-hat-american-dream-log1 ne-factory-logo-alone ne-easel-logo1

    has-legs-technicolor

    February 15, 2010
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  • Vultures and Wood Type and Birthdays

    I won’t even speak of the weather BECAUSE IT’S UNSPEAKABLE.

    You can’t break me, Weather.

    You’ll never break me.

    Everyone knows that the only cure for the cold is wood type. And alcohol. western wood type case

    Jen and I have been having a debate about the next birthday card. And by debate, I mean she is, like, “I don’t care.” Doesn’t she know the dangers of Not Caring??

    ANYWAY, here’s the card. BTW, that’s a vulture, waiting for you to die.

    look good for your age.new size

    April 22, 2015
  • Merry Franmas!

    Whew! This birthday was a doozy!

    Yes, we played 221B Baker Street.221B Baker StreetYES, we ate ham & swiss sandwiches.

    Here’s a new birthday card… that girl and pig look familiar…farmer birthday cake

    April 13, 2015
  • Garbage Uncovered In the Backyard and Other Signs of Spring

    Oh, another Spring is here!

    Should I have photographically documented the first card printed for our Spring Release?

    Probably.

    But I was pretty busy having a Nurse Jackie marathon.

    I DID write/design these:oh cute reeal cuteegg instructionsSee how I give and give and give??

    April 7, 2015
  • Childhood/Parenthood

    Growing up one block South of Lake Calhoun in the 1970’s meant two things:

    1) Over-charging for watered-down Kool-Aid on the boulevard

    2) Wearing a neighbor’s pilly-bottomed blue leotard for a swimsuitHeefners&Steph&Fran&AndyLike little ducklings, we’d follow my mom down the block for a day at Thomas Beach; she’d stand ankle-deep in the water, hands on hips, plotting. And staring at the only skyscraper in the Minneapolis skyline.parenthood.like a hangover

    March 28, 2015
  • Out Like An Impolite Lamb

    Just when I thought it was safe to burn my foot-shaped Smartwool socks, Spring decided to retreat.smartwool standing 2At least I have feet.

    Am I right?? Although, I’d be grateful for stump-shaped Smartwool socks.

    I WOULD.

    Here’s a card:let go of the old bad memoriesOh, and Jen and I chose the cards for The Spring Release!*revised.vert.devoured by wolves*christmas miracle.dog antlers*new.blackmail revenge*dear snow*vert.success failures*vert.like like you*your love.defib.vert*BETTER DAYS AHEAD*LIFE.You better wear a nut cup*getting old*heaven is a castle*heaven is

    March 21, 2015
  • Selling Out

    WHAT??

    Who am I to deprive the masses of their Zeichen Press cards??

    Zeichen Press “art” was “punched up”, PDF’s were emailed to art licensing companies, and virtual hugs and kisses were exchanged. Look (soon) for some of our cards (NOT letterpress printed) in Big Box stores across the country.

    And by look, I mean buy.

    IF you don’t have some cute independent store near you. OR if you don’t care about letterpress printing. OR if you refuse to shop in our store. OR you are already buying a stroller and paper towels and light bulbs and ground beef and toilet paper and shampoo.

    A teaser:*rsvp.still young in dog years.revised

    March 15, 2015
  • Countdown or Tally

    Is Spring really here?

    Not sure…

    Let’s pretend it is. Let’s let me live in a world filled with hope! My obsessive weather-tracking (hourly checking my weather app) has proven to be successful.

    It won’t be long before smartwool socks are shed and (my) legs are shorn.

    Stay tuned…

    Here are a couple cards I made instead of penning a suicide note.

    (Graduation)you mathed so hard(Encouragement)shit creek grab

    March 8, 2015
  • Same (expletive), Same Day

    As I said goodbye to yet another kitten from our cat ranch,all kittens and dinah white chairI thought to myself, “I bet this is exactly how Beyoncé feels when she drops an album.” And then I thought, “My skin is so dry.”

    I wish I could travel back in time… back to the 1970’s when there were environmental chambers built into the walls of health club locker rooms… (I think this is a real memory and that I’m not just pasting a false memory on top of a traumatic childhood locker room incident… those topless moms blow-drying their hair… Wait, am I?? Omg… Beep beep boop: Tropical Rainforest?? Yes, please!)

    NO MATTER, here’s a new card!NOW the party can start

    February 27, 2015
  • No Surprise!

    Some things are predictable – and thank goodness! It’s important to have things to count on… runny noses in February, militant-radical beheadings, and birthdays.birthday tickles revisedThe kittens just stole the strand of toilet paper that I was using to wipe my runny nose… ISIS militants cover their faces in black balaclavas… and I write birthday cards.

    OH, LIFE.

    February 20, 2015
  • Send Cheese

    My grandpa’s battleship was bombed and he had to tread water for 13 hours WHILE he kept his unconscious buddy afloat. That was just like the time in 2009 that I swam out to meet the seal.

    SPEAKING OF TREADING WATER.

    It’s mid-February in Minnesota.*LIFE.You better wear a nut cup

    February 15, 2015
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