speechless and truly humbled! that about sums it up for me. now let me sum it up for you.

here is a little background story. i started this event 5 years ago with the idea of giving love back to my community.  nothing more, nothing less, no strings attached. during the event, participants attend an open house where they compose original love notes on antique typewriters. each note is left with a recipient’s address and hand-delivered by volunteers on valentine’s day. it started small, the first year i ended filling 90ish bottles that weekend and set out to deliver them myself that valentine’s day. it was so much fun, i could not wait until next year to do it all over again, but even bigger and better. now fast forward 5 years later and oh my, how has it grown.  it has grown so much that i am branching out with my idea to other businesses that want to participate in the coming years (more on that later).

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ladies’ night!!  the time was 4pm on friday the 10th. we locked the doors, and began the last minute preparations for our private evening for ladies only. i thought to myself, would the guys stay away? (yes they did!) . flowers to put out, candles to light, typewriters to set out ,signs to hang, wine to uncork, cheese and cracker tray to set out and last but not least, rose petals to sprinkle out front just in case they could not find us. six o’clock came very fast and the ladies of lincoln started to trickle in, i was feeling pretty good about the turn out! then, before i knew it there were so many ladies you could barely get from one end to the other!

all i can say is…wow! they came, they stayed, they drank and. they. drank!! it was so much fun and a enormous hit. we were open for 4 hours and many of them stayed for 2-3 hours. as one women told me “what did you expect, we were greeted at the door with a glass of wine and cheesecake on a stick, of course we are going to stay”. none of us including my staff, the wonderful valenteers, or I could have ever imagined it would have been as fun as it was. so as the night came to a close i have decided that in the coming years ladies night will be a part of love on the run!

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nine hours later and i was back at it prepping the typewriters, meeting kristin from studio k so she could set up the wonderful cupcake bar, and sprinkling the petals on the sidewalk. once the doors opened it was a steady stream of people, young and old alike. children sending a note to their mom and dad, grandparents to grandchildren, friends to friends and of course lovers to lovers! it was wonderful. the support from the community was amazing and everyone was so excited to be a part of it all. and the mood was set with the great guys from  dj ol’ moanin & the gettin’ hipper fun bunch, spinning the records the entire day! it was fun, it was lively, and i think we were all hoping that they would be back to fill our studio with some funky, groovy, and smooth sounds next year.

sunday morning came quicker than i had hoped! i for one was exhausted, and on a love high! (i mean how can you not be?) for the last two days we had done close to 250 bottles of love. 250!! at this point i was wondering if we would hit our goal of 500 (150 more than last year). The day started off right, another delivery from studio k, and coffee from  meadowlark. now here is where you can tell i have started to lose my mind. i made a trip to our local big box electronic store and purchased a web cam. why you ask? “let’s broadcast the event live all day long” and man that was a bunch of fun! here is a few points to remember…

1. know that if your standing under it and the camera can not see you the voice recorder can.

2. make sure if you’re a vegan, don’t get caught eating a cookie that is not vegan friendly, you never know who might be watching the live video stream.

3. dancing to the music will be broadcast to anyone watching, so have fun and don’t be afraid to make a fool out of yourself!

we had a steady stream all day long. one after another they came. they sat at the typewriters and the sound of “click, clack” filled our studio all day long. one of the last two steps was to write the name on the outside of our windows, and that they did, they filled up all 90 feet of windows. the final step was to write a message in our book of love! this book comes out each year for love on the run and acts as a yearbook of sorts. once again, there was message after message thanking porridge papers for making valentine’s fun again! believe me,  reading those messages brought me to tears. as they day went on i thought for sure we will have plenty of bottles. well, when all was said and done the number of bottles came in around 480, thats 20 shy of our limit. that was amazing!!!  it is safe to say we were all very exhausted, even bartelby the cat was ready to call it a night. so at six o’clock that sunday we locked the doors, put the typewriters away, cleaned up the food, and did a little reminiscing about the weekend’s memories.

one of my favorite parts to ths event is the photo booth. the leekers set up a photo booth for all three days and took mini polaroids to include in the bag that was delivered. after all was said and done thy made a flip book video of everyone that got their picture taken. it is so fun, and amazing to watch. it just shows how much love was spread over those three days. my hat’s of to josh and aubrey for their continued support of this event.

and here is the video!

Love On The Run – Lincoln 2012 from The Leekers Photography on Vimeo.

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there is no way i could spread this much love without help and donations from others! i had such an overwhelming response, both from other business’s and from individuals. towards the end i even had to turn away people that wanted to help and some who even offered to deliver. really, when does that ever happen? that is amazing. lincoln is amazing. i would like to extend a special thanks to the 50 + valenteers that offered to help out, it could not be done without your help!

i must thank my wife ellen most of all for her support! you see for us, valentines day comes and goes without a relaxing, romantic evening that we can share. i start planning love on the run in december and by mid january my 50 hour weeks turn into 60-70 hour weeks. there are more nights i come home when my wife and kids are sound asleep then awake. by the time the 14th comes around it’s too late to plan a special evening for our own. while she supports me and knows how important love on the run is to myself and our community i do owe her her own valentines day, maybe for us it will be 4-28!

i would like to thank josh and aubrey leeker for putting on the photo booth and joining me for 20 hours of pure cheesy love and for all the amazing photos that were taken. also, to robert wurth with studio orange for being our resident photographer and capturing some amazing moments through out the three days.

what about the 500 roses, (yes i said 500 roses!)  that we sprinkled all over south street, and the beautiful flower arrangements and candles? well, that would be our wonderful friends over at cutts floral! a shout out goes out to the great bunch over at screen ink for the valenteers t shirts, all 50 of them(t shirts that is), thanks guys! then there is the amazing food! i can always count on kristin from studio k to out do herself, you rock! karen and kevin with bread and cup once again came through with dozens and dozens of cinnamon rolls and baguettes. to all those ladies that enjoyed the cheese and crackers, wine (and more wine, 24 bottles!!), cheesecake, vanilla chocolate porter, ice cream, and the sounds of caleb baily you can thank, hillis and co., bin 105, the buxom baxter (our own samantha), modern monks brewery,  ivanna cone and caleb baily! more thanks goes to meadowlark coffee and espresso, dj ol’ moanin & the gettin’ hipper fun bunch for the amazing tunes, a novel idea bookstore for sponsoring the library of love, and kevin with signature bindery for his amazing friendship over the years and his help, collaboration, and use of his space as we take over lincoln!

it does not stop there! we had even more support from other business’s that wanted to donate raffle prizes to all the valenteers that helped. i can not thank all of you enough!

iron brush, lincoln yoga center,  pepe’s cafe, maggie’s vegetarian cafe, lincoln symphony orchestra, glo skin solutions, djedu massage, modern monks brewery, oobbles, varga drum studio

i love you all, see you next year!

Hello, Porridgians! And happy Monday to you! I’m really excited to be writing to you today… because, as you may or may not know, we’re getting ready for our 5th Annual Love on the Run event on this Valentine’s day!!! I’ll admit, I was a naysayer when it came to Valentine’s day. The idea of someone buying something for their lover on this day because they thought they had to was simply insulting to me. “Why can’t people show their love every day?” I wondered. “What’s with all of these silly thoughtless gifts?? Nonsense!” I thought.

WELL. Then Christopher went and started Love on the Run. I was only working at Porridge part time in those days, so I took part in the event as most people do, by coming in and typing up a note to my sweetheart that year. Maybe it was the typewriters (I have a thing for them) , or maybe it was the fact that it was so simple. It could have even had something to do with the fact that it was FREE- either way, my general attitude about  Valentine’s day quickly went from being “begrudgingly obligated” to “fanatic enthusiast”.

Each year since, I’ve had the pleasure of helping this event come together. And year after year, it has grown exponentially. This year, we’re going to have 500 bottles ready to fill with love notes destined to be delivered around Lincoln on Valentine’s day. The few days preceding February 14th will be filled with click-clacking keys, sultry sounds, and warm fuzzy feelings. We’ll have more support from local businesses that you know and even MORE help from people in our community, spending their time helping to spread the love. Love on the Run truly is something you have to participate in to understand the magnitude of the impact it makes.

This year will be our fifth year of hosting Love on the Run, and now- more than ever before- we need your help! Volunteers are the fuel that keeps this baby movin’! So if you’re local, please consider spending a bit of your time giving us a hand!  Become a Valenteer!

There are many ways to help. We are always looking for:

typewriter lenders-  as you know, love on the run features the quirky click-clack of antique typewriters. if you have a functioning typewriter that you’d like to lend to the event, please just let us know!

helper cupids- there are many tasks that need extra love before and during the love on the run event. if you’re interested in helping with anything from bag assembly, typewriter trouble shooting, ushering during the open house, or anything else you can think of, we could sure use your help!

delivery cupids- know your way around town? we’ve got just the job for you! every year, we’ve delivered a growing number of love notes thanks to our fantastic delivery volunteers! whether you’ve got all day, or even just an hour or two- spending time as a delivery cupid is sure to be one of the best things you could do to get yourself into the mood on valentine’s day.

sponsors- each year we’ve had a variety of delicious treats, fun photos, and fantastic goodies that have added to love on the run to make it special. if you have a local business and you’d like to donate a service or product, please let us know!

if you’re interested in volunteering in any way- please contact us!

Have you attended one of our Love on the Run events? Tell us what you thought. Share your memory by emailing us or Posting to our Love On the Run Facebook Page! And be sure to check out our OFFICIAL love on the run Website!

DON’T LIVE IN LINCOLN???

Still wanna feel the LOVE???

NO PROBLEM! 

We are raising money for trademarking Love on the Run. This event is, and always has been, a free event focused on giving love back to the local community. This year will be our 5th year of hosting Love on the Run, and our goal is to trademark the event for use in other cities regionally and even nationwide. The purpose of trademarking the event is to protect the charm and simplicity of Love on the Run and keep it free for the communities that participate. SO to get the ball rolling, we’ve launched a Kickstarter Campaign!! Check out our Kickstarter video for a bit more info. 

When this Kickstarter campaign reaches its goal, we’ll have the funds that we need to create a how-to manual that will draw from our years of experience with this event. This manual will include everything from tips on locating and servicing typewriters that are almost 100 years old, to ideas on organizing delivery of each and every note in your community. The trademarking will help us ensure that the Love on the Run event and the ideas and values that it was created from will be upheld no matter how many cities participate.

Now- just imagine all of that momentum, energy, and love in your city. What would your love note say?

Please do what you can to help us reach our goal. We have less than 30 days to do it! And tell ALL of your friends, too! Let’s put some more thought and meaning back into Valentine’s day. One bottle at a time! CLICK HERE to help!

We’ve got a couple of quick and exciting things to share with you today, Porridgians!  First of all, there are still a few holiday shopping days left before Christmas hits!  Take care of any last-minute gift giving with something handmade or vintage from our shop! Check out some of these great ideas!

Of course, it goes without saying that we’ll also have our usual variety of letterpress holiday stationery for you to choose from. Just in case you need some extra special cards for some extra special folks on your list.

As always, our store hours are Monday-Friday from 10am-6pm and Saturday from 10am-3pm. We will be closed Saturday, December 24th as well as Monday, December 26th to spend time with our families over the holiday. We will also be closed Monday, January 2nd to wrap up our New Years’ celebrations.

Speaking of the new year, we’ve got some exciting events in the works!

For example, Check out our Saturday Pulp Kids’ Papermaking class on January 21st! Have you ever wanted to make paper with your kids, but didn’t want to have pulp all over your kitchen? Never fear! We’ve created the perfect solution!

We will supply lots of pulp, coloring, and other fun stuff to add to your paper. For only $10, you will learn to form and ouch your sheets of paper. When you’re finished, we’ll press it, dry it, and make sure it’s ready for you to pick up within the next week!

This class is limited to 6 parent/kid duos! (parents must be present) If you RSVP to the Facebook event, be sure that you also contact Porridge Papers (pulp@porridgepapers.com or call 402.742.5415) to reserve your spot.

If you can’t get in for the first class, don’t worry! We’re going to be having one every month!

AAAANNNNNND… those of you who are long time fans of Porridge, know all about our Love on the Run event that takes place every year… well I won’t say much, but I WILL tell you that this year’s event is going to be BIGGER AND BETTER THAN *EVER*!  This will be our 5th annual Love on the Run and we’ve got some really great ideas coming along! If you’re interested in helping with this year’s event, please feel free to give us a shout!  We’ll need more volunteers than ever before to help with everything from coordination, setup, typewriter help, and of course, delivery on Valentine’s Day!  Participating is truly a warm-and-fuzzy feeling inspiring experience, and help from our fantastic volunteers and sponsors is what keeps the Love a-flowin!  If you have any questions, suggestions, or ideas, send us an email at hello@ porridgepapers.com!

Lots of fun stuff is going on here at the studio lately! We’ve been shopping for all KINDS of holiday goodies! This year will be the best holiday season ever at Porridge Papers, for us AND for you .

If you haven’t been in since the remodel, now is a great time. We have just finished decorating the new(ish) space for the holidays and it looks AMAZING in here! Since the remodel, we’ve also started getting in a variety of vintage and handmade gift items in addition to our usual letterpress and handmade stationary. You’ll find new handmade bags, aprons, fountain pens, wooden watches, locally made soaps, antique magazines and many other nifty gifty things!  For example, check out the pop-out plantable ornament cards, made right here!

It should also go without saying that you’ll be able to pick up some fantastic holiday cards while you’re here. We’ve got a great selection of cards from our usual favorite stationery companies, as well as a handful of designs that were printed right here in our studio!

 OR if you’re looking for personalized holiday cards, we’ve got them! Check out the designs!

You can have your name printed on the outside or inside of the card at no additional cost. that’s 25 personalized letterpressed holiday cards for only $50!!! And if you want to save on all of these fun new things, come in this Saturday During our  ”holly jolly” sale, complete with eggnog and cookies! All paper and cards will be 10% off and personalized holiday cards will be $40 per 25 (normally $50).  AND if you spend $50 or more you’ll get a porridge papers canvas tote bag!

See you Saturday!

taryn and jon from 10/11 news stopped by yesterday to film a segment for the first anniversary of their show! why you ask? did you know that paper is the first year anniversary gift. we thought it fitting to honor them with a hand set print commemorating the success. but it was not that easy, taryn had to pull the print herself! after a few times practicing  she was good to go live. you can watch the video right here!

it has been fun playing around with all the new type and cuts we picked up a few months back. we are still finding interesting fonts and old advertising cuts. in the coming months we will be hosting print sessions where you can come in on saturday and for a small fee have access to all the type and a few proofing presses. stay tuned for details.

bryan

kimberly

chandler and price 10x15 with a kluge feeder {a.k.a the claw} - our newest automatic feed press, the claw is of c & p lineage and is capable of cranking out letterpress brilliance on our handmade papers! what more could a machine ask for?!

heidelberg windmill 10x15 {a.k.a heidi} - she is our windmill. she traveled with us all the way from albuquerque where she grew up. while she may be quiet, it’s enchanting to watch her at work.

ally