My husband, Alex, is a man of many talents. He makes beautiful pottery and beautiful babies, he’s a handyman who built a functional and gorgeous studio with his bare hands, he cooks delicious food, and he makes digital collages of 80’s A list celebrities eating snacks in a manner that is always sloppy and often sexy. Of all of his interests, it is his passion for snacking celebrities that inspired his first letterpress greeting card. So here he is as my first guest blogger — my favorite man and snacker, Alex Lissenden:
There is something about the smell of a fresh Xerox copy that takes me away. This sensation generally lasts for just a moment until the paper transforms back into its cold, colorless, strictly functional form. On a good copy, I can get a solid 10 seconds of sniffing and coddling in before it goes lifeless again. Kinko’s can get awkward fast.
The ability to keep copies warm, tactile, and scented with their process is what makes Letterpress so appealing. I knew nothing about it until Nicole began working at a local print shop here in Asheville a few years ago. The whole medium can be traced back to a 14th century guy named Johannes, my second favorite Gutenberg1. As a blacksmith, goldsmith, publisher and printer, Gutenberg wasn’t that unlike the newest generation of letter pressers who simultaneously handle the design, color theory, ink mixing, physical printing, shop and business management aspects without losing a beat. It’s literally a renaissance medium, requiring figurative renaissance shop keepers. In keeping with the tradition of using outdated but incredibly efficient machinery, I designed my first card using Microsoft Paint on a used Asheville High School IBM2.
If the image looks foreign, go watch the movie Ghost, you will not be disappointed. If it looks delicious, then you had a similar childhood to me 3. I’m planning to make some counterpart cards to accompany Mr. Swayze, most likely including other 80’s/90’s film studs enjoying equally sexy snack breaks. If you want to tape this card to the inside of your fighter jet cockpit, or you simply want to mail one to a friend, you can get them here.
1 2nd only to Steve, of course
2If faced with a great deal of stress on a cold and dark day, this computer is old enough to legally purchase a pack of cigarettes, though Mink Letterpress would recommend against it.
3This applies to both the push-pop eating, and making out with Demi Moore (or Patrick Swayze for that matter).