Memories in Print is a new venture by Pen Station, Ltd., 11661 W. Bluemound Rd. Customers bring in photos of loved ones, or of objects they love, to be worked into a commemorative piece of art suitable for hanging.

"Five to six photos work best," says Dan Zarwell, who works with his father, Bob Zarwell, at Pen Station, Ltd.

Dan doesn't call the finished pieces "collage," since the photos are re-worked into a new, poster-sized whole to be mounted.

The Memories in Print pieces cost $149 each, but the company is offering a $20 discount until June 1.

The Memories in Print pieces have, until now, mostly been available online, but one room in the old farmhouse on Bluemound Road that is Pen Station, Ltd. is becoming a gallery for the Memories in Print offerings.

The gallery opens Monday, April 9. Its hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Bob opened Pen Station, Ltd. in 1982. The advertising and graphic design company's customers include Nordic Alpine Coolers. The company has four employees.

"We design cards, letterhead, banners and point-of-sale advertisements, among other things," says Dan. "We don't do quite as much printing as we did before, but it's still part of the business."

Taking people's photos, matting and framing them is something Pen Station had originally done 15 years ago but found to be too expensive at that time.

"A couple months ago, we started with a less expensive alternative. We now mount the art to wood and coat it," says Zarwell.

"Although we've gotten away framing and mounting in glass, we still do it that way upon request. Among the benefits of doing it that way are we can mount a physical object in there with the art, such as patches, medals and so on," says Dan.

The prices for this service vary, but are higher than the new method. Dan says they recently commemorated his grandfather's military service with a piece that included his medals.

At first, Memories in Print focused on commemorating relatives who had passed, but later moved on to cars, motorcycles, pets, new babies and military veterans.

Although dozens of the old format were created 15 years ago, only seven of the new ones have been made so far. Dan says they're excited to offer the new mounting method and really looking forward to the gallery opening.

In addition to the photos here, samples are currently displayed on the Memories in Print Facebook page. These same samples will also be in the gallery starting April 2.

"They're good to look at online, but once you see them in person, they look really cool," says Dan.

Dan joined his father 10 years ago after a stint in Colorado working at a ski resort. "My dad got busy and invited me home to work in the business," says Dan, who grew up in Brookfield and attended UW-Oshkosh, at least until his passion for snowboarding drew him away.

"My plan was to come back and finish school," he says with a laugh.

Bob, who's the art director as well as the owner of Pen Station, Ltd., is a talented illustrator and worked many years in the field before starting his own company.

"My father is big into cars," says Dan.

After commemorating relatives, Bob tried his hand at car art and began selling them at car shows where he also brings his 1969 Trans Am.

Memories in Print will have a booth at the Original GTO Club's All-Pontiac car show Sunday, August 5, in Muskego. Proceeds from the car show benefit the Milwaukee Athletes Against Cancer Fund and the Muskego food bank.

"My dad's Trans Am draws a lot of attention. There's less than 200 of them left," says Zarwell.