BuZzeS: Donald Evans postcards + Summery of Bookfuls

Dear Everyone ~

We are delighted to herald the arrival of Donald Evans postcards. We have selected a dozen designs depicting stamps of several of the 42 fictional realms the artist invented, from Achterdijk to Yteke. 

I first encountered Donald Evans postcards back in the ’90s, at the Newberry Library’s bookstore. I was instantly smitten and bought many on my many trips there (along with bookbinding and calligraphy books). When I discovered the beautiful book The World of Donald Evans, I acquired a copy… and learned that Donald Evans had died in a fire in the Netherlands in 1977. About the time I bought the book, I made a new friend, Alyson Kuhn, who would become my postal muse. She taught me to hand-fold envelopes without a template. What a serendipitous coincidence!  As much as I loved the Donald Evans book as a bookful of wonderful images, I couldn't resist the temptation to carefully slice out a few pages and hand-fold them into envelopes… which I enjoyed pairing up with the postcards—I admit to having kept a few, as seen here.

Fast forward about 25 years, and a customer, who was also a Donald Evans fan, gave me a gently used copy of the book. I vowed to myself to keep this copy intact. Though, as I type this post, I see that second-hand copies are available online….

A couple of days ago, Alyson texted me to suggest that the postcards themselves would make fabulous fodder for envelope backs. My heart said pitter-patter and I promptly whipped one up. 

As many of you know, we often mail postcards in an envelope, both to protect the card in transit and to leave more room for our actual message. Well, the Donald Evans cards lend themselves to being addressed and franked on the image side, which also leaves the entire back for your message—vaguement trompe l’oeil and very Griffin & Sabine! 

We are pleased as postal punch to be stocking these beguiling postcards. We are offering them singly or as a set of 12. The full dozen is presented in a chic sleeve (so an envelope sans flap) we’ve hand-folded from the map-happiest of Cavallini papers. The sleeve has a tiny re-useable closure, covered in a bitsy of Japanese decorative paper.

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Back in June, to celebrate our suite of 16 Bookfuls, Cat Bennett & I decided to make our full-length live recordings of workshops Nos. 1–16 available all summer, each complete with its sumptuous kit of materials. You can read about our summerful of bookfuls in enticing detail here. Our Bookful page will remain live on the website until 10pm Chicago time on Friday, September 20, for your perusal and purchase. And then we’ll be into our 17th Bookful adventure, as we are fond of saying!

When you buy a Bookful, its recordings—all 12-hours-ful—are available to watch and rewatch for as long as your hands, and heart, desire. We are also happy to answer any questions you may have as you watch & work. And, as always, we welcome your Bookful reports and photos of your oeuvres—Bon Bookish Voyage!

BuZzeS: Club Artful in September

Dear Everyone ~

We are delighted to announce our September theme for Club Artful: Hand-folded Envelopes + Loose Watercolour Flower Drawings. We will explain below in glorious detail what you’ll be making… but first we’d like to share a few lovely emails we received almost instantly after August’s Club “adjourned.”

Gabriele in Austria (where it was almost midnight when she completed her artful ensemble) wrote: Thank you for the wonderful (nighttime) class. I made several boxes and decided on the small one for my collection of mini portraits. The smaller size of the box was dictated by paper size and I think it fits perfectly. And I could not really imagine painting on those minute paper squares -- way too small -- but then I just could not stop and filled all 30 of my prepared squares. And had a lot of fun doing it. Looking forward to September. 

Gouri in Maryland (who flew into town the day after Artful, and here she is visiting BZS) said: This class was a delightful opportunity to be creative in multiple ways. Time flew by, and I just had a lot of fun!

Mariska in California (an appreciative newcomer) enthused: That was a fun time to get out of your head by drawing heads with Cat Bennett … and folding boxes (so calming) with Bari during club artful.

 Karen in Connecticut (who wins great guffaw for her subject line: They’re Multiplying!!) shared her creative delirium: I’m obsessed! Taking a mental health day today and did a little art therapy. These are made with Christmas-themed 12 x 12 papers. Can’t wait to make some with nicer paper.

 In our next Club Artful—which convenes Sunday, September 7—we will hand-fold an envelope without a template. It measures 4¼" x 6¼", a perfect size for holding a postcard or two. We will also learn to neatly line an envelope with a piece of decorative paper. Cat will lead us in painting & collaging whimsical botanical images for our postcards. They can be mailed as postcards (with a seabreezy sailboat stamp, or a thematic autumn leaf) or in a hand-folded envelope. Or maybe you won’t part with your botanicals just yet, and will prop them somewhere you can enjoy them & bring a smile to your heart.

 Cat shares her inspiration for her botanical theme…  “ Summer will be on the wane when we meet for our second Club Artful—a perfect time to make whimsical flowers to keep the sunshine feel alive as we head into fall! We’ll look at real flowers for inspiration, perhaps from your garden or a potted plant. Or you might have books or postcards with flower images to have by your side as we work. We will not be making literal renderings but taking elements from what we see to make playful images—exaggerating the shapes and colors, even making things up. We’ll be using watercolor, colored pencil and gluing bits of ephemera into collaged flowers. Our focus will be on imagination and how we can draw and paint with a sense of freedom. ”

 Speaking of postcards: our trio (Van Gogh, Hockney, Delaunay) for Club Artful subscribers recently arrived from the printers and are now winging their way to Everyone, in our hand-folded Varese envelopes. Here you see Ruby at our center table, smiling in the creative act! Love stamps all ’round!

Let us re-remind Everyone: you do not need a specific kit of materials for the Club Artful projects. This is an opportunity to use papers you’ve collected and art supplies you have on hand. We will provide a list (right after you register) detailing exactly what you will need paperwise, including dimensions, and what supplies and tools we will use during the session.

That said, we couldn't resist trimming & assembling an assortment of papers for September’s project! Plus we’ve received numerous requests from students who would appreciate having their papers pre-cut. Our perfect project packet includes a double binder’s dozen (26!) of paper: one sheet each of 24 patterns & 2 sheets of Cat’s favourite drawing paper for practice, all pre-cut to 8" x 10¼". This is the exact size you’ll need for hand-folding an envelope to hold a botanical postcard or two. But wait, there’s more! The perfect project packet also includes a stacklet of 24 pre-cut pieces of Stonehenge measuring 4" x 6".

Club Artful
Perfect Project Packet

See you soonish in September, Bari & Cat

BuZzeS: Announcing Bookful of India

Dear Everyone ~

Last autumn, Zak was working at Gethsemane, an oasis of a garden supply center, and one of his quirkier tasks was deadheading rows of pots of marigolds. He brought the heads home to me, and I garlandized them, using a bookbinding needle (No. 18) and unwaxed linen thread. My garlands have faded in the window, but the memory of making them adds to my excitement about Bookful of India.   

This will be my seventeenth Bookful collaboration with artist, author & dear friend Cat Bennett. Our four-session workshop via Zoom will begin on Saturday, September 13. Cat reminisces & shares her inspiration for this Bookful:
 
“Just after I got out of college, I found myself in a tiny antique store in Montreal where I spotted some 18th century Indian miniature paintings. It was love at first sight—the bold flat colors, the decorative details, the whimsical renditions of people, plants and buildings. The proprietor explained they represented Hindu myths and royal court scenes. But it was the look of them I loved and the small scale. I felt this was the kind of art I could do with different subject matter, of course. Over the years, I’ve taken huge inspiration from the color, stylization and playfulness. Indian art really showed me how we can bring lightness, beauty and wit into art.”

Students will make a set of three ledger-style booklets with soft covers of Indian decorative papers: one landscape format (6” tall x 7” wide), one portrait (6” wide x 8” tall), and one square (6 x 6). Each booklet has five Stonehenge Japanese-fold panels—so a total of ten pages. Scoring the pages ensures that the book opens gracefully and can lie flat.

 The books are stitched with waxed-linen thread, including a handmade (by you, during the first workshop) diminutive decorative tassel.(You can adapt your new betasseling technique to make your bindings & giftings  bedazzling!)

In week #2: we’ll make a portrait of Gandhi and embellish his words of wisdom using the woodblock stamp (included in your kit) and brush drawing.

In week #3: we’ll make our own miniature paintings referencing Indian imagery. We will also fill the book with the profusion of joyful and fanciful blooms we see in the decorative woodblock prints of India. 

In week #4: we'll look at Indian mandalas and create our own. “India has a long tradition of stamping exuberant patterns on fabric with designs carved in wood. Mandalas are the beautiful, mostly circular paintings used to bring us into a meditative focus.” In all, we’ll explore how to stylize and enrich our art with strong, vibrant colour.

The papers I’ve selected for this Bookful are a fabulously floral array of Indian woodblock-printed patterns with a touch of gold accents. These papers, handmade in Rajasthan, are 100% cotton, so the sheets almost feel like fabric and fold elegantly. The paper is drapey rather than crisp; the word sensuous comes to mind.

Your kit includes two each of three designs, and the sheets are large enough for you to choose which pattern to use as the cover for which booklet. (This will yield some luscious scraps, which may find their way into your mandalas.) You will also receive a thread wand: five colours of waxed-linen thread wound on a piece of creamy white cardstock, so you can choose the colour that best complements each cover and tassels. We are including a mini woodblock; certainly, you are welcome to acquire additional blocks.

All levels, or no levels, of artistic skill & interest are welcome in Bookful. If you have bookbinding or artmaking experience, that’s great; if not, that’s great too! Our pace is relaxed & supportive, and the camaraderie is joyful. Plus, you will have four complete workshop videos (recorded in real time) to watch and rewatch at your leisure. We look forward to seeing you soonish via Zoom!

Bookful of India

Namaste, Bari

BuZzeS: Heralding 250 years of mail delivery!

Dear Everyone ~

In June, we celebrated Bari Zaki Studio’s tenth anniversary on Lincoln Avenue. Now, we are celebrating the United States Postal Services’ two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of delivering mail here, there & everywhere! Alyson Kuhn, my postal muse, bought many panes of the new commemorative stamps the first day they were available (July 23)... and her next order of postal business, so to speak, was sending a parcel to her correspondent Antonio Alcalá… using all 20 of the new stamps. Antonio was the USPS art director for the stamps, which he collaborated on with artist Chris Ware. Once Antonio had received his parcel, he and Alyson had a chat about the project in general and some of the design details in particular.

A bit of background about Antonio: He’s been an art director for the USPS since 2011. Here is a big envelope he sent Alyson in January 2022, franked exclusively with stamps from issuances Antonio has art directed. He is the designer of several as well, including the “love” stamp. Antonio’s hand lettering also appears on the Woodstock stamp and on the empanada,  whose Delicioso art is by John Parra. For Monster Messages, Elise Gravel created the creatures and their accessories; Antonio drew their speech balloons and the lettering at the top of the sheet. Other stamp artists on the envelope include Charles Chaisson, who did Yoga Berra’s portrait; Rico Worl, who did the dramatic Raven; and Luis Fitch, who did the Day of the Dead stamps. The Star Trek artwork is by Heads of State.

Here is Antonio’s July 4 communique to Alyson, with a message monster sporting a custom derby that accommodates its horns. Antonio begins his note by enthusing about his recent discovery of Cambridge Imprint stationery goods… and goes on to mention the new pane of stamps illustrated by Chris Ware. He concludes, “I hope your local postal carrier likes them!”

We are delighted to be able to share with Everyone selected snippets of Antonio’s conversation with Alyson.
 
AK:
Had you worked with Chris Ware before this project, or had you met him?
 
AA:
I hadn’t, but I’ve been a big fan of Chris Ware’s for many years. I’m looking at my bookshelf right now, and I have ... 7, 8, 9 volumes of his work. Getting to work with him was a treat. He was a great collaborator, and our email exchanges were always fun and made me laugh. It was the best of the best.
 
AK:
And was he surprised to hear from you, especially with the opportunity to design not one stamp but 20 stamps? What was his reaction?
 
AA:
He was very interested, but not bubbly-excited like many other collaborators I’ve worked with on stamps. I had a pretty clear idea of what I was looking for, but Chris took it and gave it a much richer narrative that makes the piece fantastic. 
 
AK:
Agree! This is not just 20 stamps—the whole pane is greater than the sum of its parts. There is so much going on in every stamp. The sheet could be a quilt, or a tapestry, or a mural, something big. Do you know how Chris created the art?
 
AA:
He draws it by hand at a substantial size—it’s quite large, like a poster. I’m not measuring, but it’s probably 36 high x 24 wide-ish. He first draws in non-reproducible blue pencil, then inks by hand, and then adds the color digitally.
 
AK:
I have to ask: was any real mail exchanged in the course of the project?
 
AA:
I did mail Chris printouts of his sketches at actual stamp size so he could get a better idea of the scale we would be working with. And he mailed me the final artwork flat in a specially constructed cardboard and foamcore container of his own devising.
 
AK:
Let’s chat about a couple of the themes, in addition to the double delights of mail delivery and the passing of the seasons. I see the mail carrier delivering mail on every stamp until the last one, at lower right. On that one, I think we see her in the window of her fabulous sunporch, holding her baby.
 
AA:
Exactly. Let me mention that we didn’t have any discussions about the appearance of the mail carrier. I wasn’t surprised by Chris’s choice, as I’m so familiar with his work. He often has quiet, strong women going about their work—while the men are often caught up in various neuroses. Back to that stamp, her delivery day has ended, and she is at home with her partner and child. You can see her partner through the next window... and have you noticed what is on the table in that room?
 
AK:
Oh, it’s a toy mail truck! I had totally missed that. I actually have one of those! What else might I have missed? Let me add that I’m using a magnifying glass.

AA:
Well, speaking of magnifying glasses—one of my favorite details is in the bottom row. See the retired stamp collector, looking at one of his stamps through a magnifying glass?

AK:
O, that’s great. I did spot the man popping out of the manhole to hand the mail carrier an envelope. Was that your idea?

AA:
No, that was Chris’s idea. And if you look at the stamp just to the left of that, see if you can spot the theme of that particular stamp. It’s wheels—everyone on that stamp is on wheels.

AK:
O, that’s lovely. And we’re probably looking at three generations on that stamp. And across the street—over to the right— I see some young people at a bookstore or a library.

 
AA:
In my world, it is a bookstore. But if a viewer wants to read it as a library, that’s fine too.
 
AK:
I would have loved to see a stationery store! Would it be a stretch to describe the piece as a wonderful slice of Americana? The town seems so friendly, and civilized. And, of course, so postal.
 
AA:
It’s certainly idealized – it doesn’t feel frenetic. Chris’s stories and his longer forms of graphic novels tend to have a certain melancholy feeling. This pane is surprisingly upbeat in a Chris Ware world. I love that you can follow the mail carrier so easily along her route on each stamp.

AK:
Well, I think this pane of stamps is the perfect philatelic vehicle—oops, an inevitable pun—to celebrate 250 years of mail delivery. And I love that the first stamp, at the upper left, is a hive or a hub of postal activity. I see four USPS workers in addition to the mail carrier setting out for the day, two USPS trucks, and a couple of rolling carts. 

AA:
And don’t overlook the statue atop the pedestal. Does it remind you of anyone?

 
AK:
Well, is it commemorating the wild ride of Paul Revere? I know it’s not the headless horseman from the Legend of Sleepy Hollow—which is a stamp I love.
 
AA:
No, the statue is a nod to the Pony Express, and the design references an earlier stamp. And above that, a customer is coming up to the Post Office with an armful of Priority Mail boxes. There are so many postal details to discover.
 
Last words from Alyson:
And to help us discover them, the back of the pane includes some clues in bold type. The text concludes, “...and the joy of reading a greeting never grows old; opening the mailbox to find your note or card can make a friend’s day.” As you might imagine, I am sending Antonio a thank-you note for our chat. Because he is a new Cambridge Imprint enthusiast, I have made him a pair of envelopes using two of my favourite patterns. Selecting the stamp was no challenge: it had to be the Post Office!

Ta-dah!

May we recommend our MORE Art of the Hand-folded Envelope kit almost overflowing with Alyson & Bari’s hand-folding inspirations? Although a beautiful readymade envelope is nothing to scoff at, and you’ll find an international assortment here.

Toastily & postally, Alyson & Bari

BuZzeS: The first Club Artful convenes tomorrow!

Dear Everyone ~

Club Artful, my newest collaboration with my dear friend & co-teacher extraordinaire Cat Bennett, convenes for the first time tomorrow, Sunday, August 3. If you’ve already signed up, we’re looking forward to seeing you: in states coast to coast, and in Canada and Austria. If you have meant to sign up, but July got away from you: you aren’t too late to join the papery party! You don’t need a kit, and we can send you a list of supplies almost instantly.

Tomorrow we will start by making a petite origami box (2" x 2" x 1¼"), with fold-by-fold tutelage from me. In the second hour, Cat will lead the group in drawing & painting tiny portraits—both real & imagined. Together the box and portraits make a delightful papery treasure! 

We’ve created Club Artful as a peaceful and uplifting experience for two hours once a month on a Sunday afternoon. The projects will be kit-free; we’ve designed them to use materials you have on hand or can easily acquire. Our hope is that whatever we make together will inspire you to make more of them on your own. As with Cat’s and my Bookful workshops, a complete recording of the “Club Artful proceedings” will be available to you right after we meet. The projects are low-cost high-charm, so you can share your oeuvre—and the creative love—with your nearest & dearests. Good energy will abide and abound.

As always, we like to emphasize that truly no bookbinding experience is necessary, and all levels of artistic skill and interest are welcome. We look forward to seeing you on the morrow for a relaxing & artful Sunday afternoon!

Club Artful
 
Until then, Bari & Cat

BuZzeS: Summery splash of papery pursuits

Dear Everyone ~

We are delighted to announce our Blooming Bundle of Summery Stationery Joy. They are so florabundlissimi that we have enveloped each bundle in a hand-folded (by me) backless envelope with a charming string-and-(paper!) button closure. The highly re-useable envelope measures 8⅝ x 11½.

For Everyone who may have forgotten about backless envelopes, we’ll back up a bit: We call them “backless” because the paper on the front is not what we use for the back. In happy fact, the backside is a separate piece of paper, in this case complementary cardstock (made in Michigan by French Paper Co.) The backs are Lemon Drop, the paper buttons are Sno Cone, and of course we have colour-coordinated the eyelets (baby grommets). The string is unwaxed Irish linen thread.

Each bundle contains a fresh array of notecards & envelopes by artists and designers from the UK and the Continent: James Winrow, Hadley Paper Goods, Rossi, Cambridge Imprint, Season Paper, Kiran Ravilious, Art Press, and textile designer Neisha Crosland. And from Brooklyn, seemingly the creative epicenter of the Eastern Seaboard, a triple-thick sunny golden card, hand-edged in gold foil, with a matching sunny golden envelope (scene here at 4:ish o’clock), designed by Wms & Co. And, petitest but not leastest, postcards from truly everywhere, from my vast collection. The bundle itself is enveloped in our signature white tissue secured with French embroidery thread.

Back to our backless envelopes. We’ve made them from three Varese floral patterns: Primavera, Millefiori, and Splendido Azzuro. Their wrap-around flaps are 2½", and their chic button makes them the happiest flaps ever.

Speaking of making envelopes: We’ve recently become a huge fan of Sookwang (a.k.a. Scor-tape) double-adhesive roll tape, so we’ve begun stocking them in ⅛" and ¼" rolls! Brilliant for sealing your hand-folded envelopes’ side flaps, for constructing your backless envelopes, and for preparing any envelope that you are going to seal later. Scene here is Ruby attaching the Sookwang for a Blooming Bundle of Summery Stationery Joy backless envelope.

I’ve become quite the Sookwang kook, and now use it for all manner of adhering whilst making books. We will be “deploying” it extensively in my upcoming Art of The Hinge workshop, and I plan to include a full roll in Everyone’s kit.

The Sookwang rolls are mysteriously, even deliriously, modestly priced. They make a fabulous little gift, especially if you enclose them in a square backless envelope (SBE). (Scene here is the envelope in which my Postal Muse sent me my first two rolls. She wrote, “It’s so great, it’s scary. No, it’s score-y!”)

In other BZS noteworthy news: Paper Sheep enclosure cards are back in stock, as well as British Seaweed postcards in all four sets: Nos. 1, 2, 3, and The Isle of Scilly. 

And last but never least, Cambridge Imprint has recently reconfigured the packaging for their Garlands kits of origami papers. They are now presented in a delightful square envelope made from sturdy cardstock, sealed with a large round matching sticker. We are pleased to mention that we have already figured out a way to open the envelope while keeping it in fine form. (See the shop listing for a photo or two!)  If you wish you had bought a set with one of the original Cambridge keepsake boxes, you still can. We have four final boxes available here.

Blooming Bundle of Summery Stationery Joy
Sookwang
Cambridge Imprint origami papers
 
Stationery but nary stationary, Bari
 
PS:
Last week we introduced Club Artful, my new co-teaching collaboration with my dear friend Cat Bennett. Club Artful will meet the first Sunday of the month from 2–4pm (Chicago time). In each session, students will make a papery structure with me in the first hour, and in the second hour Cat will lead students in exploring several different drawing & painting techniques with our theme of the month. Our first session meets Sunday, August 3: Origami Box + Tiny Portraits is our inaugural theme. You can read more about Club Artful here!

BuZzeS: Announcing Club Artful

Dear Everyone ~

Cat Bennett—my dear friend and co-teacher extraordinaire—& I are thrilled to announce our latest collaboration: Club Artful, a monthly art club via group Zoom! Club Artful will meet the first Sunday of the month from 2–4pm (Chicago time). In each session, students will make a papery structure with me in the first hour, and in the second hour Cat will lead students in exploring several different drawing & painting techniques with our theme of the month. We have designed the Club projects to not require a specific kit of materials. These new single-session workshops are shorter and less pricey than our Bookfuls or BZS group Zooms.

The Club is an opportunity to use papers you’ve collected and art supplies you have on hand. We will provide a list (right after you register) detailing exactly what you will need paperwise, including dimensions, and what supplies and tools we will use during the session. Students are welcome to join in for a single session (We announce them three weeks before we meet.) 0r to purchase a 3-month subscription at a slight discount.

Cat shares her creative vision and anticipation for Club Artful:
 
“ Bari and I decided to launch Club Artful when discussing how we both get inspired working together. We envisioned a monthly Club that could help us all hone our skills, learn new things and keep our creative energy high.
 
I’ll be sharing my lifelong passion for art and how we can grow our creativity. We’ll be drawing with ink, brush and colored pencils, painting in watercolor and gouache. We’ll work from observation and imagination to expand not only our skills but our vision too.

As Bari and I mused together, we imagined how we might share these works in the world—a gift of a box of tiny portraits, an accordion book for exhibition, a small stitched pamphlet book to share with friends. And, of course, we can post on Instagram too. We aim to fill our work with good energy and share it too. 
 
We especially want the Club to support people on their creative journeys both in the studio and in the world.
 
We’d love to have you join us! Let’s amplify our creative energy together and have some fun too!
 
With heart—Cat ”

Cat has had another lovely idea: We will start each session by answering two or three questions that students are invited to email us before the session. We will select those that we think have the broadest appeal for the Club. Your question can be about technique or inspiration or something else you’re curious about.

As always, we like to emphasize that truly no drawing or bookbinding experience is necessary—all levels of artistic skill & interest are welcome. Each session will be recorded and available to you later the same afternoon to watch & re-watch at your leisure. 

Club Artful

We look forward to seeing you in Club Artful!

Artfully, Bari

BuZzeS: A voluptuoso Varese paperpalooza

Dear Everyone ~

We are mildly deliriosa (not heat related) & molto delighted to announce the arrival of 13 new patterns (yes, a binder’s dozen!) from Carta Pura in Italy. Our official repertoire has now expanded to 21 patterns, all excellent for beholding and folding, glueing and ooh-ing, flapping and wrapping. Not to mention mixing & matching and pairing & layering.

We could not resist creating three new mixy-matchy palettes for my upcoming Ultimate Hardcover Paper Frame workshop. They are Giardiniera, Alta Moda, and Dolcezza.

The red-&-navy combo is the original workshop palette, Classico, which is still available.

Seen below is a frame in the new Dolcezza palette. If you've already registered for the workshop you are welcome to switch your kit to one of the new palettes if you’d like. Please simply call or e me with your choice. Our kit assembling will commence in earnest next week, and we plan to dispatch the kits with time to spare, including internationally.

Alyson (my postal muse), suggested rolling the sheets quite tightly and placing them in a vase. This idea inspired us to make several Carta Pura Varese bouquets for our shop windows. 

Meanwhile, back in the studio, Ruby has already hand-folded a set of nesting envelopes with her favourite patterns, from grande to piccolo: Primavera, Olivetti, and Millefiori.

I, true to form, have made a quintetto of piccolo buttonhole-stitch books, each measuring 2¾ x 3⅞ x 1⅛ with 36 (72 serendipitous sides) Stonehenge pages. And I may feel the ”need” to make a few more. Five books in the hand make me feel quite grand.

Whatever your papery pursuits, these papers will suit perfectly!

Carta Pura Varese papers
 
Molto motto, Bari

BuZzeS: Your atTENtion please!

Dear Everyone ~

Thursday, June 26, is the tenth anniversary of Bari Zaki Studio on Lincoln Avenue. I am reminiscing and reflecting about the people who’ve helped BZS become what it is—and reveling in the richness of the community I’d fantasized about creating. I still marvel at the serendipity of finding a studio space where I can connect with kindred spirits, receiving visitors from far & wide & even abroad, and enjoying the fond friendship of my shopkeeping neighbors. As you might expect, I’m about to express my gratitude exactly ten times… before telling Everyone about the shop specials commemorating this occasion.

1.
To my beloved Zak, for being my No. 1 Fan from the very moment I wanted to learn to make books. That was 36 years ago, and his encouragement, enthusiasm, and support are still keeping pace with my insatiable appetite for paper. 

2.
To Alyson, a.k.a. My Postal Muse, for being my longest-time collaborator and folder of exquisite envelopes. Her way with words has brought BZS to life in a way I could only dream about, but am now here (or maybe here now!). 

3.
To Ruby, Emmy, and Tammy, for their immeasurable creative camaraderie, lively imaginations, general adorableness, and dear friendship. It may be my name on the door, but their hearts and nimble fingers (See Ruby’s below.) are with me in the shop.

4.
To Cat Bennett, for sixteen Bookful collaborations (and counting) and for being an endless source of teaching inspiration, a fount of positive energy and encouragement to so many students—including me!

5.
To Janet Bouldin (seen at right above, with Cat) for watercolouring her way into my heart and onto my card rack. I truly love that my dear friend’s whimsical illustrations have become a prominent feature in the shop.

6.
To Will, for being the most reliable, thoughtful, appreciative (and photogenic) mail carrier in the Zakiverse. I like to think that Will’s wonderful energy personally protects all of BZS’s mail & parcels, both coming and going.

7.
To Julie Wildman, master calligrapher & artist, for showing me how to teach via Zoom in the early days of the pandemic. Julie taught in-studio workshops at BZS in the early days; she also calligraphed the beloved banners in my windows.
 
8.
To my customers, occasional as well as frequent, for appreciating my sensibilities and the forms of creative self-expression and connection that I want to promote. It is All of You who keep my inspiration for what comes next, moving and grooving and flowing.
 
9.
To my students, including those I've yet to meet, for being eager to learn about glueing & stitching, for being curious and asking great questions. And for sharing the books, or boxes, they've made with the people they love.
 
10.
To my correspondents in any medium, for sharing, for reaching out, for taking the time, for believing in the power & the magic of sharing your heartwarming personal stories, art, enthusiasm, and appreciation.

We’ve created a commemorative gift with purchase (a.k.a. GWP). Actually, it’s a PPPPGWP, which is to say: a pad of paper and a petite pencil GWP. The ensemble is an homage to mix-&-matchiness and the intersection of ho-humble office supplies and decorative fine papers. The jaunty jotter is a ⅜ in. stack of 3 x 5 sheets of Cat’s favourite drawing paper, with stripes of Canson cardstock. Maybe it looks like a slice of vanilla layer cake with veins of different jams; maybe it looks like a luxurious beach towel.

The sheets are held together with a Madame Butterfly clip covered in Japanese decorative paper. The companion mini-pencil is likewise wrapped in Japanese decorative paper. The ensemble is presented in a chic (and surely re-useable) sleeve of Tassotti, sealed with a teeny butterfly clip. We will include the PPPPGWP with every order of $100 or more (excluding shipping and tax), both online and in-shop, beginning right …NOW, until close-of-business day on July 5 (and midnight online). 

AND: From my personal collection of long-time favourite books I’ve made, I am ‘liberating’ ten books to go to new homes. All are one-of-a-kind and once-upon-a-papery-time. (Yes, I’ve discounted them 10% from my usual price-points.)

One-of-a-kind BZ blank books
 
With lots of papery love, Bari

P.S.
The 10 Years Here paper garland, including the origami stars (seen at top), was made by Ruby using the Carta Pura Varese papers. As you can see, the garland is currently holding court on our paper cabinet.

BuZzeS: Summertime and the mailing is easy

Dear Everyone ~

The summer solstice is nearly upon us! To celebrate the season, we are delighted to herald the arrival of five new notecard portfolios by artists from the U.K. Summery themes of picnicking, gardening, and swimming, as well as the perennial favourite: whimsical domesticity. The portfolios are all beautifully produced and easily, even ingeniously, repurpose-able. The cardstocks are all a delight to write on and take all manner (in your manor or manse, or garden) of medium, smoothly and beautifully. 
 
In all their noteworthy splendor…

Two beguiling notecard portfolios from British publisher (and artist) James Ellis, presenting petite cards that are paragons of pleasant pastimes.

Alice Patullo is an East London-based illustrator. These are lovely for correspondents who love to garden or gardeners who love to send mail year-round.

If you would love to be sitting opposite Mary Fedden (1915–2012) at her table, sipping spirits and breathing in the landscape she captures so whimsically, these cards are as close as one can get!

Eric Ravilious’s cards are no less captivating for being the least colourful images in BZS’s repertoire. (Ravilous was the first British war artist to die on active duty, when the plane he was in was lost off Iceland in 1942.)

Emily Maude’s pen & ink illustrations are like little snippets of domesticity from a bygone era … brought back to life with her whimsical style, which she says is inspired by Eric Ravilious. 

Last but nary least, there’s a new washi in town! Whenever we are wrapping, no matter how many rolls of washi are at hand, we always wish we had more. In this case it’s Hedgehog Garden by artist Lisa Larson. We love its peachy background, and the hedgehogs are, no hedging, adorable!

Noteworthy Notecards
Hedgehog Garden

In the mailing mood? Bari