Dear Everyone ~
Organizing truly is one of my favourite pastimes. I find it quite calming to arrange, to sort, and even to file. Somehow, these activities help me focus on what I need to focus on. For me, having someone who has an exceptional eye and gifted hands to refresh the shop is an almost indescribable pleasure.
This past Saturday, My Inspired Merchandise Angel swooped in for a thorough “shop refreshing”, after five months of rigorous sheltering. She arrived well before I did, working her magic with exquisite intention. It was lovely to visit with her, although too briefly. Somehow, her fondness for each & every item imbues everything she touches with positive energy. It’s almost as if she juxtaposes things so they can converse, or at least commune, with each other. The gluesticks from Japan are new neighbors with the sumi-e ink. The Leoni paperclips from Italy are now next to the Serizawa buttonhole-stitch sketchbooks. And in the Petites department, the mini-pencils with rosy erasers are now cozy with the Bundlini and the Bundlissimi. And thanks to My Inspired Merchandise Angel, I can gaze out from the studio upon fresh displays that fill my paper-loving heart with pure joy.
In the spirit of refreshing, I’m going to share with everyone a photo I’ve just taken of my desk at home. I do quite a lot of mail assemblage and cut-paper collage and drawing at home, and I love having so many artifacts and supplies and pieces of correspondence close at hand. Several years ago, I wrote about how my desk is the first place I settle when I get up in the morning. (Funnily, as I was typing this, Spell Cheek improved “place” to “palace.” Yes, thank you, my desk is my palace!)
The assemblage of materials on my desk takes shape totally organically ...and if I need more space for something I’m working on, I rearrange. My sketchbooks & postcards propped up aren’t crowding me—they are keeping me company. I don’t think creativity happens “in tidy.” So, I’d like to encourage you to keep the epistolary & arty supplies and tools that bring you joy close at hand. Sometimes, just seeing them together, and being able to reach them, can summon inspiration.
If you’d like to dress up your desk or an adjacent wall with a mini-refresh … I’ve just replenished the shop’s seriously depleted supply of washi tapes: bookish, botanicals, and “attachments” including envelope/eyelets (string-and-button) and dress pins. All the better to adhere almost anything. For a light embellishment, I’ve added super-narrow washi with a little floral pattern. On the wide side, here is a truly beachy washi!
NEW Summery Washi Tapes
Resuming, Bari