Ginger. Snap!

We love all our reps equally. They all do an amazing job for us—out there on the front lines, down in the trenches, hawking our wares to people who may or may not want them. It’s a tough job and we’re eternally grateful to each and every one of them for their service.

But this year, we feel compelled to recognize one particular rep for kicking so ridiculously much ass. And that rep’s name is Ginger McCleskey.

Ginger reps us in our former home base of Northern California. Since we signed on with her right around this time last year, she’s been an absolute animal. In a good way.

She’s opened more than 15 new accounts, gotten us tons of consistent reorders and is always hungry for more. She’s just a one-woman show, but she’s as productive as fifty salespeople combined.

A freak of sales nature? Perhaps. But we’re sure glad to be on her team.

For her incredible effort, we’d like to reward her with a humble $100 gift certificate to Chez Panisse, a world-renowned restaurant right in her neck of the woods. Just a tiny, but heartfelt, token of our appreciation.

Thank you to Ginger, and to all our sales reps, for a successful 2010. Our sales were up more than double from last year, and we couldn’t have done it without you.

Here’s to an even huge-er 2011.

Merry Christmas, girls and boys.

Finally, some modern-day holiday songs that aren't gag-me-with-a-spoon syrupy-sweet. Free for your downloading pleasure. Thank you, Target.

Here's the one we can't get out of our heads here at the Old Tom Foolery compound:

OTF Superfan Contest

Are you an Old Tom Foolery superfan? Tell us why and the person who has the craziest OTF superfan story will win SIX FREE CARDS of his or her choice. We might even share some of the stories if there are some doozies in there. Just email us at info@oldtomfoolery.com by December 31st and write "Superfan" in the subject line. Now have at it!

Holy totes! And tees, too.

Typestache fans, brace yourselves: "A Field Guide to Typestaches" is now available printed on tote bags and t-shirts. Did somebody say "holiday gift?"

Buy the totes here, men's shirts here, and women's shirts here. Oh yeah, we've got posters, too.

How do you say “Old Tom Foolery” in Japanese?

Lauren and I were recently interviewed for a super cool Japanese book about letterpress printing, written and compiled by the talented author Miki Usui. Though we can’t read the book (it’s written entirely in Japanese), we can only assume it’s as thoughtful and interesting as Miki herself.

We Old Tom Fools are in some good company in this book, including Dutch Door Press, Carrot & Stick, and Hello! Lucky. Pick up your own copy—even if you can’t read it, you’ll definitely be able to appreciate the pretty pictures.

 

Typestache Poster: Behind the Scenes

Screen-printing is a new technique for us at Old Tom Foolery and we think it's pretty cool. Our Minneapolitan printer-friend Mike Ritter has been printing our Typestache posters, which were designed by our San Franciscan friend, Tor Weeks. It's a sort of merging of our old and new worlds, if you will.

Anywho, Mike was kind enough to give us a behind-the-scenes tour of www.chuxprint.com during his last Typestache poster printing session. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing his shop and watching the posters come to life. The full set of photos from our tour can be viewed here.

**This project was brought to you under a collaborative effort from: Tor Weeks, Old Tom Foolery, Henley Mpls, Chux Screen Printing, Northwest Graphic Supply Co., Anchor Paper, the guy who gave away the free vacuum we use on the poster press, John Ritter's mechanical knowhow - elbow grease - and tools, and Saint Augustine of Hippo (the Patron Saint of Printers).

Puppy Love

We're thrilled to announce that Old Tom Foolery has a new mascot. His temporary name is Ryder Lee, and he's a sweet 'n' scruffy mutt from Kentucky. He doesn't know many tricks yet, but he is an excellent greeting card writer.

Retailer Spotlight: mac & murphy

If you're craving some good ol' southern hospitality, head on down to mac & murphy in Charleston, South Carolina. This southern belle of a shop is run by the lovely Liz and Ami, who we first met at the National Stationery Show in 2008. Not only does their shop have a bright, modern feel, but they also have a garden in the back where you can sip some tea and take some time to write thoughtful messages in your cards. They'll even stamp and mail them for you! If you can't make it to Charleston, they also feature lots of their fun products on their blog.

 

Todd Lamb is funny.

We all have funny ideas that never go anywhere. But this guy is a doer. He just grabs the bull by the horns and makes funny stuff. Kudos to him.

Get ready to laugh:




More "Notes From Chris" here.


And here's an episode from Todd's "Loud People" online video series:

Schwartz-nanigans

Check out this tutorial for The New Yorker iPad app, starring a mustachioed Jason Schwartzman and directed by one Roman Coppola (channeling his inner Wes Anderson).

Simple + smart + stupid = our favorite kind of humor.

The Minnesota State Fair: Looking at animals, eating animals, and more!

A few weeks ago, we finally visited the long-awaited Minnesota State Fair. And boy was it a sight to see. Here are some photo highlights (the full set of photos from the day can be found here).

Some fun Typestache press

f0nt.com:

Dutch Cowgirls:

Thinking for a Living:

Boing Boing:

From the "City by the Bay" to the "City of Lakes"

While our heart still sometimes aches for San Francisco, we're also really liking our new 'hood in Minneapolis. They call it the City of Lakes, and we're really loving that aspect of the city. We're located about two blocks from Lake Harriet, which has a nice 3-mile walking path around it and plenty of beautiful scenery. Here's a glimpse of what it has to offer. More photos can be found here.

Retailer Spotlight: wordshop.

A fantastic shop in Denver called wordshop. has been one of our favorite customers from the get-go. Self-proclaimed "Inkstress," Jill Alyn, picked up our line on our very first day in business at the National Stationery Show in May of 2008. In her own words, "wordshop. is Denver's premier indy stationery shop, offering over 100 lines of eco-friendly paper goods - wedding invitations, letterpress, baby announcements, greeting cards, personal stationery, gifts and more." Jill's enthusiasm for her shop (and everything else) is quite contagious and we highly recommend heading on over to Denver, if only to visit her shop.

This one goes out to Nick Loonan*

*who we recently found out is an avid reader of this blog.

Notepads?! No way!

It's true. We're now offering notepads on our online store. These 50-sheet "To do" pads are part of our Footnotes Collection, with a qualifying footnote that reads, "*Or not to do. That is the question."

Get 'em while they're hot.

Keep A-Votin'

Our Typestache poster (designed by the über-talented Tor Weeks) has been nominated for one of Kaboodle's top posters in their “Heart the Hottest Posters” Contest and Giveaway.

Just by voting for our poster,  you're are automatically entered for a chance to win a $100 Mastercard gift card. We're already in first place, but let's make sure it stays that way. Show some Typestache love and vote for us!

This just in: A Typestache poster giveway!

Want one of our Typestache posters, but too cheap to spend any money? Our friend Beth at Hello, Splendor is giving one away on her site. So head on over there and check out the rest of her fantastic blog while you're at it. She's one talented lady.