Ladyfingers NewsLetter Press: Email #4

What Teaching Teaches Me

This past weekend, I taught an Advanced Hand-Lettering class here at the shop and I am still feeling the buzz from it, 4 days later.

For this particular class, we had a public school teacher from Chicago join us to further her love for lettering. It’s not the first time we’ve had folks travel to learn with us but I’m usually terrible at looking at the billing addresses and sometimes don’t realize I have a pair of friends on a gal-pal trip from Portland until they’re sitting right in front of me. This time though, this traveling Chicagoan had been in touch with us in advance via email, through which she explained that she was booking this trip as a gift to herself after navigating a personally challenging year. She seemed resilient though, and determined to jump start this new chapter of her life with a weekend of inspiration, learning and a lot of self-care. She arrived with a giant box of donuts to share with the class, so obviously she was already succeeding!

Now What?

We Value Your Privacy

ut what if you just want us to help you print your zine on the risograph, or have an idea for a letterpress card that you really want to make? If a class setting is not quite what you have in mind, remember that we also host private lessons and group classes! With the holiday season soon upon us (which to some people includes work parties or hosting guests from out of town), keep in mind that you can book a party, event or creative experience at Ladyfingers! Because making stuff together is so much more fun than doing trust falls with someone you don't actually trust to catch you or trying to avoid talking politics with your drunk uncle! Let us know if you would like more info and we can chat!

This Week At The Shop

Sometimes you read about a celebrity’s passing in the news and go, “Tsk, that’s a shame, I loved him/her/them in (some movie/TV show/that band they were in).” And then after you try googling how they died, you move on to the next item on the day’s agenda. Oh, wait, that’s only me? 😬

Anyway, I don’t know if there has been a passing of a human being that has touched so many people in such a profound way. Sure, it SUCKED when Prince and David Bowie died within like 3 months of each other, but while that shock wave was felt really hard by a lot of people, I’d wager that the effects of that wave started to fizzle out once it passed over the giant mountain of passionate music fans.*

But Dolly? Dolly, man...

Years ago, our oldest kid had a first grade teacher who was a Dolly Parton mega-fan. Like, mega-dega fan. I remember wondering to myself, why the heck would anyone be so into Dolly Parton?** It seemed so random to me at the time, but as the school year progressed, we learned about her Imagination Library, philanthropy, and general approach to life that just oozed grace, generosity and goodness.

I started to lurk on the Dolly Parton subreddit and while I’d find the occasional post about a song here or an album there, it's almost like the sub was moonlighting as a place for people to discuss how to be a better human being. (And license plates. Apparently her fans love discussing Dolly-themed license plates.)

Notes Worth Noting!

• We'll be closed this Sunday, September 6, 2026 for Labor Day!
• Morgan just re-merchandised the store with lots of new goodies!
• If you’re in town, don’t miss the Labor Day Lift-Off this weekend!
• We recently went to the Mesa Drive-In and you should too!
• We recently went to Urgent Care for x-rays, which you shouldn’t do! (Don’t worry, our skateboarding kiddo is ok!)

What's Hot What Snot!

It's Your Birthday Tiny Card!

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