And check out the progress on our test germination! I’m impressed! These guys are practically ready to eat! Okay, maybe they need a little bit more time, but still!

We had our Monday Morning Meeting today, as we do every week. Lately we’ve been brainstorming and playing with words and phrases for a new project that will hopefully launch this summer. I can’t say much but we’re toying with ideas of sidecards and tandem bicycles. Which leads us to ask you, our fans, our readers; Which do you prefer? Sidecars? Tandems? Why? What kind of imagery/ideas does each conjure? Tell us! We’re curious and excited!

We’re also going to be adding a few new items to our Facebook Store and our Etsy page, one of which is this super-rad little notebook with fantastic orange pages! Use it for shopping lists, doodles, a garden journal, cigar journal, or any other place to keep track of one’s awesomeness.What do you use little notebooks for?

Needless to say, we really like interacting with our followers. We like knowing what makes you tick, what makes you laugh, and what you like seeing and doing. In the spirit of fan-interaction, we’re going to start doing little trivia-type giveaways. We’ll ask a question via our Facebook page or our Twitter page, and we’ll have a sweet little paper prize for the winner! These exciting little events will start after our 500Fan givaway! Last week we gained over 500 fans on our Facebook page, and to reward them we’re sending out a little green something. Can’t wait to see what you guys think!

It’s Monday again. But at least that means we’re one Monday closer to springtime, right? Right. Actually this Monday is Monday Funday here at Porridge Papers. We’ve taken a break from our regular duties and are using today to explore some new projects and do some brainstorming. We’re also making room for all of the new equipment that is expected to arrive today.

I won’t say too much about our new toys, but I will say that they’re key players in a HUGE project underway here. Hopefully we’ll be able to unveil this new and exciting Porridge Project this summer. For now, though, I’ll just keep you satiated with pictures of  our project and fun news and discoveries along the way. Everyone here is very excited to get the ball rolling on this one, and it promises to be very exciting indeed!

The new equipment will also enable us to add new and better items to our Facebook and Etsy stores, so keep your eyes peeled for new paper goodies!

Speaking of new goodies, check out the progress on the test germination of our TOP SECRET seed mix for our super fun TOP SECRET project, set to unveil March 20th!

Only 5 days and they’re just exploding! That’s a lot of sprouts! YUM YUM! (that was a hint BTW)

We’ve also got some wildflowers itching to get some sun:

If seeing new plants sprout doesn’t make you itch for springtime, nothing will.

We’ve recently been blogged about by Andrea over at Lincoln Green Scene. She wrote up the loveliest little post about our Love on the Run. Thanks, Andrea! Fantastic article!

I know I had mentioned several times why I love our Love on the Run event, but each year there are one or two stories that people share that really are above and beyond what we could have expected. Last week we got a letter from Dave, who came in to type a note to his wife. He was kind enough to send us a letter sharing their thoughts:

“Dear Porridge Papers

Thank you for delivering my love note to my wife this Valentine’s Day. I know the “Love on the Run” service was complimentary, but I saw it as a gift. It should have been obvious to anyone who entered your store that great effort and care were given to planning and implimenting the set up of the old typewriters, packaging of the miniature bottles and mapping of the delivery routes. The snow falling on February 14th probably didn’t seem exceptionally unpleasant to your couriers, but mywife, Marianne, and I recently moved to Lincoln from Florida and don’t particularly enjoy going out in the cold; your commitment to deliver the notes in spite of the poor weather was appreciated. The fact that your couriers were giving up time that could have been spend with Valentines of their own did not go unnoticed, either.

Undoubtedly, the dedications made on your store front will be removed soon, but at the time I’m writing this letter, Marianne is still getting a smile from slowing down while driving on South Street to see her name drawn inside a heart with yellow marker on your window. Thanks again, and here’s hoping that the fortune you have spread will be returned to you.

Yours Truly,

Dave”

Honestly, if that doesn’t make us want to keep doing this, nothing will. Thank you, Dave, for sending such a touching and encouraging letter. It really means a lot to us to know that we are doing something that people truly appreciate.  Creating an event like Love on the Run was an attempt to inspire and encourage a small, thoughtful, token of appreciation from one person to another. To quote ourselves “we think handmade is better because there’s no real way to go digital with it (at least not as far as stationary goes). The simple fact that someone enjoys and is able to make something by hand every day for a living means that someone else (probably someone a lot like you) enjoys it enough to add their bit to it and share it with someone that they care about. That’s a big deal!”

We also got a short Thank You note from Joanna, who was volunteering her time and job shadowing with us during the Love on the Run event. She was SO fun to have around and a tremendous help! Thanks Joanna! We’re all glad you had fun and we hope you get to come back.

Each of us has had a lingering buzz from the great energy brought in over Valentine’s Day weekend. We’re all trying hard to keep the good vibes flowing, so we’ve been brainstorming on other little things to do for our fans and followers, and paper lovers in general. For starters, we’re having a small giveaway for our Facebook fans. If we can reach 500 fans by Saint Patrick’s Day (Wednesday, March 17th), we’re going to send out some goodies!

*Sales* are also a good way to share happy vibes so if you’re in the neighborhood, swing by and pick up a notebook or two. Today thru this Saturday, all notebooks are 20% off!!! Come and get them!

AND

We have the makings of a Top Secret plantable paper project in the works! The seeds arrived today here is a sneek peak:

This project promises to be superfantastic, and even good for you! Our ETA for the new goodies is March 20th- the first day of Spring! Keep your eyes on our Etsy site and the Facebook shop tab for a growing selection of new and fun paper yummies.

If you’re the curious type, check out our Formspring page! You can even ask us anything you want from right here on the blog page. Just type your question in the box on the right and submit! Now you can ask us all of those burning questions that have been waking you in the middle of the night. Hooray!

We had over 250 notes composed in just 2 days! Here’s a quick glimpse at the mushy-gushy mayhem:

Like every year, we get a fantastic response from recipients. Some were touched, some were anxiously waiting, and some were completely surprised. One of my favorite things about this event is hearing some of the stories of the deliveries! We are always so warmly received! With cookies baked for us, warm drinks offered, and smiles aplenty, no wonder we had some tearing up. Here are a couple of happy recipients:

Thanks again to our sponsors: The Cup, Hillis & Co., Screen Ink, Indigo Bridge Books, Bread & Cup, the Lichen. They truly made this year’s Love on the Run bigger and better than ever before. And thanks to Caleb Bailey for playing some lovely live music to set the mood on Saturday, and to Studio Orange for some great photos. Of course NONE of this would be possible without the 18 fantastic volunteers who sacrificed a few hours on their Valentine’s day to help us get all the notes delivered! Thank you, thank you, thank you!  We’re really looking forward to next year!

If you were the lucky recipient of one of these notes, or if you were a sender and got a noteworthy response, we’d like to hear it! Please share your experiences with us! You can comment here on the blog, or go to our Facebook page, or even Tweet your experience with hashtag: #loveontherun! Can’t wait to hear your stories!

Hey you lovely Porridgians! The time has come for me to remind you (not that you need reminding) to come in to the Papermill starting this Friday, February 12th at 11 am to type out your lovely love notes! The 3rd annual Love on the Run is just days away! We’re expecting the best turnout yet! If you haven’t experienced the joy of writing a letter on an antique typewriter, now is your chance. There’s just something about the click-clack of the old keys that makes anything you’ve got to say a little extra special.

Typewriters are available Friday, February 12th from 11am – 5pm. Or come to the Open House on Saturday between 10am – 6pm for great food, great music, and great fun!

Thanks to Robert of Studio Orange for taking these fantastic photos. Amazing, as usual

Can’t wait for Love on the Run?? Stop in today and pick up a card or two to scratch your stationery itch. All Love cards are 14% off now til Saturday! Great new designs in this year, sure to make you laugh, giggle, blush, and coo!

Also keep your eyes peeled for updates on Letterpress and Papermaking workshops this spring! We have 4 Kelsey tabletop presses that are being made over for their debut as stars in our Letterpress Lab! If you have any interest in working with these adorable little presses, either in a workshop setting, or on more of a free form basis, please don’t hesitate to contact us and let us know! For the papermaking enthusiasts, we’ve got a custom-built Hollander Beater on it’s way to us all the way from New Zealand! Hopefully we’ll be able to experiment and develop higher end art papers to offer in conjunction with our letterpress/printmaking workshops. We’re currently brainstorming on the best ways to let our fans have fun with our papers and presses. I’ll keep you updated with details as they solidify.

Stay funky-fresh, paper people.

<3

Being a sweet little papermill/letterpress studio/card shop, we just have to get excited about Valentine’s day. After all, it’s a great card giving holiday, and we happen to like cards! And if that isn’t enough, we’ve gone and created Love on the Run, which, in my opinion, is one of the best things to happen to Valentine’s day yet.  This fantastic event is only a week away and we couldn’t be more excited. Lots of work has gone into getting ready. Typewriters have been tested. Windows painted. Boxes made. Pink and red sparkly decor decorates the store. We just can’t wait.

In case you haven’t heard, Love on the Run is a free event, hosted at our little store at 1422 South Street. We have a collection of antique typewriters ready and waiting for you to come in and type out a note for someone special. After you have your thoughts in print, you’ll roll up your note, place it in a tiny bottle, and leave it with us (along with an address and phone number) so that we can deliver it for you on Valentine’s day. We’ll have the typewriters available next Friday the 12th from 11am-5pm and on Saturday you can stop by for an open house (10 am- 6pm) with treats, coffee, and live music.

What really makes this year special is the great collaboration that we were able to do with some other local businesses. Gorgeous posters have been designed by Ella of The Lichen and silk screened by Screen Ink and hung around town. This year we’ll have cookies provided by Kristin of The Cup, who also did our great Sweet 16 cake. Cafe Indigo will be donating Cultiva coffee, and a cheese plate will be donated by Hillis and Company.

Each year this event has grown and grown. Its been amazing to see the community response. People just can’t believe that we’re willing and able to do something so great for free! And for those of you that aren’t big fans of Valentine’s day, this event is not just for lovers. While there’s been a fair share of love notes from husbands and wives, boyfriends, fiancees, and the like; we’ve also had kids writing sweet notes to parents. Brothers, sisters, friends, co-workers have come  in and fill our store to share kind words in a simple and thoughtful way. It’s really quite awesome. If you haven’t been in, I encourage you to come and check it out.

Unfortunately we are only able to deliver within Lincoln city limits. Now, I know that many of you have sweeties abroad. Don’t fret, darlings we have THESE:

Sweet little valentine’s just like the ones you used to send in gradeschool! They’re fantastic! Thanks to Melanie of Lucky and Lovely for creating these great designs for us. The best part is, each card features a plantable paper heart so your sweetie can grow a mini garden full of wildflowers! They’re sold in packs of 8 (2 of each design) for $8. Perfect to send to all of your friends! We also have a fantastic selection of other greeting cards and stationery here in the store so stop by and check them out! Come in the week before Valentine’s day and save too! Starting Saturday, February 6th we’ll be offering 14% off all Valentine’s day cards until Saturday Feb 13th!!! Come on in! We’re sure to have the most unique cards in town!

See you soon! <3

Hello again, Porridgians!

The time has come for us to plan for our favorite event of the year! The 3rd annual Love on the Run will begin on Friday February 12th from 11am – 6pm when we will have our gorgeous antique typewriters available to put your best sonnets to print. If you can’t make it in on Friday, stop in on Saturday between 10am – 6pm and catch some live music, and pick up a free treat courtesy of The Cup. On Valentine’s day, February 14th, we’ll have several generous volunteers flying around town spreading love to boyfriends, wives, fiancees, moms, dads, aunts, and the like- all free of charge.

You’ll soon be seeing posters and fliers all around town featuring designs by Ella of the Lichen and screen printing by Jason over at Screen Ink.

So now you’re wondering how we do it! The past two years that we’ve put on this fantastic event, we’ve seen Lincoln’s community pull together in such amazing ways. Our response last year was overwhelming, and it’s sure to be even more so this year. Love on the Run is, and will always be a free way for the people of Lincoln to let each other know they’re loved with the help of Porridge Papers and other gracious volunteers.

We’re anticipating a bigger and better Love on the Run this year, and we can’t do it without your help! If you would like to volunteer a bit of your time on Valentine’s day to help deliver love notes- or try to find another way to lend a hand, please attend our Love on the Run planning meeting, Saturday, February 6th from 2pm-3pm. We’ll be swapping ideas and signing people up for areas where we need help. By signing up, you’ll be supporting not only a few great local Lincoln businesses, but the Lincoln community, and good feelings abound!

We look forward to seeing you there!

Also, don’t forget to stop into the shop to pick up your awesome letterpress Valentine’s day card for friends, lovers, and family that might (sadly) be out of our delivery range. They need love too!

Cheers!

Samantha

t. 402.742.5415 p. 402.742.5411
a. 1422 south street, lincoln nebraska 68502

Now if you’ve been following us on Twitter or Facebook you probably already know that last Friday our doors were closed most of the day while we trekked over to the Durham Museum in Omaha to see the American Letterpress exhibit featuring Hatch Show Print. First of all, if you’ve never been to the Durham, go.  The museum is inside of an old railroad station and the entire thing is completely decked out in Art Deco designs. I was totally smitten. here’s a picture from directly underneath one of the amazing light fixtures:

Gorgeous!

Of course, if you’re going to have a museum inside of a railroad station, you have to have tons of fun train-related goodies in the gift shop. A conductor’s cap, for example:

There should also definitely be several bronze statues of railroad workers and passengers to give you an idea of what the station would have been like back in it’s glory days. Kim got a little smitten with one of the bronze soldiers.

Such a heartbreaker, that one.

Unfortunately we were unable to take any photos inside of the Hatch exhibit. Believe me, it was difficult not to. The layers of color and the textures of the enormous woodcuts was completely unbelievable. We definitely left feeling inspired and excited to try some new ideas and hunt for larger format presses.  We’ll see what the future holds. At the moment it feels like we have our hands full with so many other projects, such as the 3rd Annual Love on the Run. If you don’t know anything about our annual Love on the Run… you’re in for a treat! Keep your eyes peeled for details coming very soon!

Concluding our trip to Omaha, we went down into the Old Market and had lunch at Upstream Brewing Company. The beer and the food were incredible.  Then, we stopped off to visit our friends over at Bozell to drop off the first run of their new business cards. They loved the cards and it was great to see the inner workings of such a large design and marketing firm.

All in all I would say that was a pretty satisfying trip. We should find good excuses to do things like that more often.

Kaelan asked us to make him a paper with spruce tree seeds in it for his book cover. He’s going to be biking from Los Angeles to Boston to promote his book. All along the way he’s going to be stopping for signings and readings. His tour is going to take place this summer and he’ll be blogging about it along the way! Read more about him and his amazing project here.

More awesome to come!!! stay tuned!

Happy 2010 Porridgians!

I hope the holidays were warm and full of family and friends. And hopefully you had a moment or two to relax and energize yourself to get ready for the year ahead. I know that here in Nebraska it’s been hard just to get out of a warm bed in the mornings! The weather here seems to be making some kind of statement! Its as if every inch of snow that was supposed to fall in the last decade needed to come back- all at once for a last hoorah. What’s worse is that we’re supposed to get another huge storm on Wednesday! We’re doing our best to stay bundled and warm until spring… in the mean time at least ice and snow make for some pretty stunning sights. I took the camera out to catch some ice around the building this morning. So Pretty!

and here’s a shot of our sidewalks last week before we got hit with another few inches:

and there’s more on the way!

As we mentioned before, we were hustling and bustling around here over the holidays to get out some last-minute holiday orders. for the last few weeks there has been paper EVERYWHERE! The dust is finally starting to settle and things are looking normal again. Its nice not to be buried neck-deep in stacks of paper. Here’s a glimpse of the holiday mayhem:

Now that the holiday season is over time to make room and start planning for what has become one of my favorite holidays – Valentine’s day. I was never really a big fan of this holiday, not until moving to Lincoln and doing Love on the Run every year. I honestly can’t help getting excited about this. I’ve been waiting for months to put some of my ideas into action! Its amazing to see the turnout that we’ve had. More and more people get involved every year, and this year we’re even branching out and trying to include some local businesses and designers. I’ll post more details as we get the kinks worked out but you can look forward to plenty of fantastic goodies! so much to do!!! First thing’s first:

SALE!!!

If you’re in the Lincoln area, stop by to say hello and pick up some of our clearance holiday cards and stationery for next year. Stock up and pack them with your holiday decorations and tree, then you’ll be one step ahead on your cards! We also have some great winter wrapping paper and a couple of fantastic 2010 calendars left! Come by this week and save 40% on our holiday items! The sale will last until Saturday.

This Friday, January 8th we’ll be closed for our late employee holiday party. Christopher is taking us all on a field trip to visit the American  Letterpress exhibit that is currently on display at the Durham museum in Omaha! It’s sure to be a treat for any paper or letterpress lover. If you’re in the area you should check it out! The exhibit is on display until January 24th.