Zeichen Press

Tag: Letterpress

  • The mysterious mating practice of the praying mantis, AND YOU!

    Ah, romance! One couple might choose dinner and a movie… Another couple might choose post-coital cannibalism.

  • I’ve Never Been To Paris

    But I did take French in high school so I know all about magnetephones, l’autobus, et la lunettes pour Luc.

    For the foreseeable future, I will stay within a 30 mile radius of the Zeichen Press headquarters and dream of faraway lands.merciFeeling the need for a Field Trip, I went to the Other Side Of Minneapolis and visited Rex Mills. I walked through the front door, broke the tenth commandment, (You shall not covet - geez, get your mind out of the gutter) pretended I had something in my eye, snapped some photos, threw a drink in the owner’s face, stole five pounds of ink, and left.rex-mills-klugeThat man in the photograph is not the owner — Rex Mills has Press Operators.

    I will kidnap him as soon as my taser gun arrives in the mail.

  • Speaking of Snakes

    There was a pet store in my neighborhood (Petcetera) that had all kinds of fascinating creatures. The best creature was a full-size (5 feet, from snout to tip of tail) alligator in a steel tub. The tub had a makeshift screen cover so that the alligator couldn’t escape.

    A screen cover. 

    So the ALLIGATOR couldn’t escape.

    I think it was drugged anyway — it just laid there, blinking it’s beautiful eyes.

    Of course there were snakes, and I don’t know much about snakes, but what I do know is pretty scientifically accurate. When snakes speak, they drag out their s’s. thanks-grabThey’re usually pretty shy but if you give one a frozen mouse they are your friend for at least 5 seconds.

  • Happy Mother’s Day! -AND- Some Other Tidbits

    The Craftstravaganza is o-v-e-r. And in case you missed it, Jen gave a stirring performance as Janet Jackson circa 1989 – here’s a photo I took at the event, right before she threw down her cardboard and got totally into it. craftstravaganza-2012

    That was really something.

    Also, and I don’t know why, I made this card after the show:here-for-youHappy Mother’s Day, all you mothers!!

  • Scatology 101

    My interests are broad and highbrow — sometimes I think about zombies and sometimes I think about bowel movements. I guess I’m not the only one. The reaction to the zombie card I posted on Easter caught me off guard.

    Caught me off guard like a show poodle at the dog park. (See, I’m the poodle, and the big dirty dogs come out of nowhere and molest me).

    And that brings me to bowel movements. I just realized that both of the cards Paper Source chose to carry are poop-related. How childish! How jejune!sleep-eat-poop-orangecrap

  • Belated Easter Cards

    Something (the cat mistaking my bathroom floor for her litter box) woke me up this morning and although I completely resented being awake, I wrote three cards.

    Here they are.

    Don’t send me hate mail.new-lasershe-knew-that-easternobody-celebrates-2

  • We want to be more than just friends with: The Artisan Center (Denver)

    Artisan Center -> 2757 East Third Avenue, Denver, CO 80206

    ANOTHER profile in that special series dedicated to bringing our readers biased reviews of shops that carry our goods.

    Okay, so I began my exhaustive research with the Yelp reviews. One phrase stood out, “This place hasn’t been around for 30 years by sucking.”

    That should be their slogan.

    Do you need soaps, jewelry, mobiles, salad bowls, stained glass, OUR CARDS, or a bird house made of a Minnesota license plate??artisan-center-table-displayYou do? After reading those reviews, I had to go check this place out for myself:artisan-center-staff-and-fran

    Those people are small. And blurry.

  • Clichés and Slogans

    Are non-Western cultures conversations peppered with trite, colloquial sayings?

    Like, in Kapushi, Zambia (population: 26 people per mile) — does one friend say to another (in Kaonde) upon receiving news that their baby was trampled by antelope, “Everything happens for a reason”? 

    These condensed and optimistic phrases are woven into our chats and unless you are a hermit or deaf, we are all guaranteed to hear at least one per day.a-blessing-in-disguise-blue

  • Mister Eat All The Things OR Three Acres And A Cow

    There once was a Frenchman that could, and would, eat large objects. He ate them bit by bit and was able to digest bicycles, televisions, shopping carts, chandeliers, and even an airplane. This took patience and, reportedly, gallons of mineral oil.

    Bit by bit.

    This wasn’t some sort of performance art piece — he never meant for it to be a metaphor.

    But he ate a plane.

    Such deliberateness! I like to imagine that he carefully considered each piece as he pried it off and swallowed it.

    Mister Eat All The Things (Monsieur Mangetout) could be an inspiring mascot for an economic philosophy.

    I’ve been told that a printing press in the shop is just as good as three acres and a cow. We’ll see. WE’LL SEE.

    Anyway, I made this card for the president of The Society of Distributism because he has a fancy book signing coming up — 150 lucky people will receive the card. Oh, and a signed book.there-is-no-place-like-small

  • In January It’s So Nice

    Hello, January. I hate you. Not as much as February, but I still hate you. I tell my children that you are full of fun and possibilities but I am lying.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NOJIYe6qoI

    Perhaps this card captures my true feelings:what-fresh-hell