A summary of new papery pleasures

Dear Everyone ~

Some dreamy delights have drifted into the shop,
especially for correspondents, watercolourists, sketchers,
doodlers, listers, collagers … and packaging admirers.

I’m so very thrilled about accordion books (a.k.a. concertinas)
from Germany in a quartet of sizes; 30 cold-press watercolour “postcards”
in a very pretty protective tin; and fountain pen inks from Japan
in fourteen nature-honouring colours.

The accordion sketchbooks are made from natural white
Hahnemühle heavy watercolour paper.
(It is truly two-sided, which is not always the case.)
The covers are charcoal grey cloth with a bit of sheen and subtle texture.
The red elastic closure wraps from the back to hook over
the upper front corner—something I’ve never seen before.

Don’t feel left out if you aren’t a watercolourist.
These books make lovely travel albums, swatch collectors,
or celebratory cards where everyone gets his or her own panel to inscribe and decorate.
An accordion book left open on a mantel or shelf is a lovely enticement to remember an(y) occasion.
The Hahnemühle paper is also great for coloured pencils and for pen and ink.

Speaking of ink: these fountain pen inks are made by Kyo-no-oto. Yes, in Kyoto.
Why would I resist nine numbered inks plus five special-edition colours?
Their boxes are little jewels (2¾ x 1⅞ x 1½) of packaging detail.
The numbered inks come in a superb letterpress-printed box
made of ultra-heavy natural white watercolour paper.
The wrap-around label is printed on slightly glazed white paper.
The combination is exquisite.
The five special-edition inks are in a different palette,
with a different box design, and the ink bottle itself is definitely luxe.

These perfectly portable postcards come in a tin that is noteworthy in its own right.
The 4 x 6 postcards have rounded corners and rule-lines for an address.
The card surface is ideal for watercolour, pen and ink, coloured pencil,
and even markers. The cold-press stock is natural white …
and the raised Hahnemühle logo on the lid is the best little crest.

Link to the ink
Click here to the accordion books
Click here to the tin of postcards

Capering with paper,

Bari

Hugely good things come in small packages

Dear Everyone ~

I have always been attracted to desk accessories in general,
and to mini-versions of things in particular.
My very newest “big little news” is a set of mini memopads from Japan.
Each measures only 2¼ x 1⅜ x ⅝ thick.

The covers are so charmola.
The spine view reminds me of a box of matches AND of a miniature book
AND of the vintage packaging for red-bordered labels.
Each cover features a delightful cut-paper illustration: a red bird, an apple tree,
blue lotuses, a bookish girl, and a chrysanthemum close-up.

These are eye-catching as a set, and even a single pad makes a great party favor.
I couldn’t resist wrapping one and tying on a half pencil covered in Japanese paper.

I use butterfly clips pretty much every day, for organizing,
for gifting, and for sealing packages in the shop.
The smaller sizes remind me of bonbons:
my tiny butterfly clips covered in Japanese paper are ¾ wide;
the teeniest are ⅜ wide.
They are as practical as they are pretty, and pretty sweet.

Few paper things are more endearing than a minuscule envelope.
You can use them for postage stamps, little messages,
tooth fairy you-know-whats, and Blackwing eraser refills.
My tiny envelopes measure 1 x 1 and my teeny envelopes measure 1¼ x 1¼.

Last but not least, another new arrival in the shop are paperclips made of paper.
Each little box contains 6 white, 6 tan, and 6 black.
They are a stylish accent and a great alternative to stapling or sticky-noting.

Diminutively,

Bari

Boston: A Convergence of Creative Spirits

Dear Everyone ~

I’ve recently returned from my second “teaching trip”
to Studio Carta in Boston. Everything felt familiar, and all the logistics went smoothly.
Best of all, there were wonderful surprises…

I have a few customers in Canada, including Mya, who lives in Toronto.
As it happened, she had placed an online order the day I flew to Boston.
I emailed to let her know I’d be shipping orders when I returned to Chicago,
but that if she needed her order sooner, I’d have one of my shop assistants
assemble her package and ship it. Mya replied No worries,
adding that she had wanted to sign up for one of my workshops in Boston,
but that it was too last minute.

Then, four days later, I received an email from her, on Friday evening,
saying she had just signed up for Saturday’s workshop and booked her flight.
Yes, she came directly to Studio Carta from the Boston airport …
and went directly back to the airport after the workshop!
It was wonderful to meet her.

Barbara, another student in Saturday’s workshop,
has been an online customer for about a year now.
She lives in New York, and she drove over to Boston with her husband
for the buttonhole stitch workshop. This was her first-ever bookbinding class …
and a great success for her.
And it was wonderful for me to meet her.

Also in Saturday’s workshop was Melissa, Angela Liguouri’s assistant at Studio Carta.
She wrapped each of the 10 signatures in her book with a strip of paper
around its spine to match her cover. Yes, her spine looked divine!
I know from teaching my online class that this is a popular technique …
and I find it a charming variation. I can’t help thinking about the possibilities,
including using a contrasting signature-wrap or even a gradation of wraps.

On Sunday, Suzette, who had taken my online buttonhole-stitch class,
was one of the five students in the Coptic-stitch workshop.
She brought with her several buttonhole-stitch books she had made, for me to see.
It was a lovely moment.
Her books felt so good to hold,
and one even had hard covers—something I’ve yet to try.

The idea that I can share my knowledge, my aesthetic,
and my love of paper and books with so many people, is thrilling to me.
…I love how modern technology – e-commerce, online classes, texting –
brought all these people together at Studio Carta
to revel in the ultimate analog pastime: making books by hand.

* * * * *

On a non-workshop day, I went to Watertown to visit,
and have tea with, Lynn Faitelson.
She owns Fat Chick Press and specializes in letterpress printed wedding invitations.
Lynn had taken both of my workshops at Studio Carta last September. 
Afterwards, she sent me samples of her botanical series notecards,
which I fell in love with. While I was at Lynn’s last week,
I selected several cards to offer in my shop.
(You will see them very soon-ish!)

Reveling in connectivity,

Bari

A stitch in time … makes nine signatures!

Dear Everyone ~

Back in February, I showcased the sketchbooks of my friend
(& working artist & nimble shop assistant) Emmy Kennett.
She never leaves home without a sketchbook, and she had recently made herself
a new buttonhole-stitch one at the studio. Now, she has filled it up …
and has just finished stitching a much thicker, more multi-page sketchbook.
Her vision for it was a bit experimental, so I helped her think it through and
then map out her spine template of 189 pinholes. While I was at it,
I decided to make myself one at the same time.
Mine is still in process, but Emmy’s is already in use.

Emmy filled up her previous sketchbook in about three months,
because it had relatively few pages. She had used Stonehenge 250 gsm (90# Cover).
This time, she wanted more pages, so she selected Hahnemühle Bugra 130 gsm (90# Text),
which she’d used on earlier sketchbooks. Instead of three signatures,
we discussed having a dozen, but then decided that nine would be ambitious enough.
Emmy observed, “I didn’t actually think about whether I wanted the spine to be wide or not.”

Mapping out the pinholes involved some high level bookbinding arithmetic.
The “woven chain” stitching for each signature requires a width of 3/16 inch,
which means that there would be a bit of space between signatures.
Emmy, characteristically, didn’t mind this at all, commenting,
“Years ago, before I’d actually made books or been around bookmaking,
I probably would have cared about the extra space.
But now I know that’s just how it is: It is made exactly how it’s meant to be.
And I know that I probably will use that extra space for taping things into.”
For her cover, Emmy chose luscious Lime Green Saint-Armand.
It’s 100% cotton, very robust, with a lovely fabric-y feel.

Emmy selected three different colours of waxed Irish linen thread (4-ply),
for alternating columns. Her inside stitching also turned out beautifully,
with the colours overlapping.

* * * * *

This past week, I packed up all my supplies to ship ahead to Boston,
where I’ll be teaching next weekend. While I was tying bows on everything,
I spent some time thinking about Emmy’s project and the workshops I’ll be leading.
Whether you are making a book yourself, or having one made to your specifications
(or looking for a readymade one), ultimately the most important aspect
is its usefulness for whatever you hope to do with it.
The pages and cover materials may seem the most obvious criteria,
but other “deciders” include: the feel of the book in your hand;
whether it stays open (if that is important to you);
how durable the cover is — and whether the book fills you with delight.

Bound for Boston,

Bari

Giving very vintage correspondence a second life

Dear Everyone ~

I have been collecting vintage correspondence for many years.
I’ve discovered letters at various venues, at home and abroad,
most of them from the 1800s (and a few that are even older).
All of them were beautifully written by hand, with nibs or quills,
at a time when paper was precious.
How they look and feel is more captivating to me than what they say,
especially as many of them are in languages I don’t read.

Until the 1870s in the U.S., all paper was made from cotton rag,
and those fibers were longer and stronger than the wood fibers now used for papermaking.
The letters in my collection are still in excellent condition,
and the creamy paper is sturdy enough (even when it’s relatively thin)
to cut and score and fold and adhere … and can you see where I’m going

I’ve decided to decant my archive of vintage correspondence
and put these mesmerizing sheets to new use.
I’ve covered a limited edition of buttonhole stitch books,
and I’ve also set aside some sheets for gift-wrapping.
And I’ve made a (very) few small bags, which are splendid for holding baby envelopes
and, inevitably, rolls of washi tape.
I propose to wrap boxed items, such as Italian paper clips,
as well as petite Rivoli pads, enclosure samplers,
and even small Euro-folders.

Several years ago, I acquired ledgers of lightweight “tissue-y” paper
that had been used, with carbon paper, to keep a record of outgoing typewritten correspondence.
Magically, the carbon paper turned the copies an incredible shade of teal.
These pages are wonderful for wrapping small items in what I call “bonbon style”,
with a length of ribbon or bakers twine at each end. 
This is a dreamy way to give someone an Italian glue stick
or a German Duroplast pencil sharpener.

In the dropdown menu for each shop listing mentioned above,
you’ll find a “PLUS” option showing the cost of gift wrapping.
If you’d like to see whether an item not specified above can be wrapped
(or bagged) in vintage correspondence, please email (bz@barizaki.com)
or call me at (773) 294-7766.
I’ll be able to tell you right away how I’d propose wrapping it.

Very epistolarily,

Bari

Oh-là-là! Notebooks nouveaux and jaunty journals!

Dear Everyone ~

I’m delighted to announce the arrival of a fresh supply of notebooks
and journals from France. Each one is charmant—and as an ensemble,
they might almost make you feel like you’re jotting on the Côte d’Azur.
They are positively sunny.

Last year, I offered the pamphlet-style notebooks in several springy patterns.
I have restocked my personal favourites from last season
and selected five new designs. The notebooks measure 5½  x 8¼
and have 64 pages of lined ivory paper (90 gsm).
Their binding is stapled (not sewn).
The covers include a handy printed-on “label,”
parfait for personalizing.

The same designers have now created journals, and
I’ve selected six delightful cover patterns.
The journals have twice as many pages (128) as the notebooks
and a perfect-bound spine, like a fashion magazine.
They contain “sections” of three different page patterns: lined, gridded, and plain.
(And a delightful foil-stamped label on the front notes these details en français.) 
Journals measure 6¾ x 9⅜ x ⅜ thick.

You can savour all the notebook cover patterns and
journal cover patterns in their shop listings.

Bon appétit,

Bari

Postcard, postcard, on the wall … Yes indeed, I love them all

Dear Everyone ~

It’s been awhile since I’ve shown the postcard wall … which continues to flow.
Soon (swoon) it will literally cascade over my
very big Everything Cabinet to merge with the inspiration collage
above my board-cutting table (near the guillotine).

If you’ve sent cards in the past, you are cordially enticed to join the postal party anew.
Your new card(s) will be washi’d to the wall with future installations,
so you will be represented in different sections—fun to hunt for when you visit.

If you haven’t yet sent a card, I’d love it if you would …
and I will send you a card in return. (So be sure to include your mailing address.)

On a personal note, I’m currently in a phase of enjoying
mailing postcards and notecards into the world,
rather than drawing in my spare moments.

Jotty & Jaunty,

Bari

See the new seaweed (hand-pressed!) cards

Dear Everyone ~

I first saw these rather astonishing seaweed images down the Instagram rabbit hole.
I researched a bit, and now am delighted to be the only shop in the U.S.
to carry these cards freshly imported from the U.K.

I’ve always had a botanical bent,
and the film adaptation of A. S. Byatt’s “Angels & Insects” made me swoon.
These postcard and notecard sets are in the same dreamy vein.
The reproduction of these hand-pressed specimens is wonderfully detailed.

Each image is unique (a word we do not use lightly),
which is to say that these sets contain no duplicates.
The postcard portfolio contains 12 different cards,
and there are two different assortments.
The notecard portfolio presents 8 more images …
for a grand total of 32 different seaweed specimens. Who knew?

The postcard sets come in a petite portfolio handy for holding stamps
and other little papery treasures (once you’ve used the postcards); the
notecard sets come in a generous 6 ½  x 9 ½ portfolio
that is dandy for containing larger epistolary supplies.

Swimmingly,

Bari

Paper, paper everywhere, and barely time to think

Dear Everyone ~

I’m freshly returned from a whirlwind trip to New York City
to explore two trade shows (NSS and NY Now)
and bask in a big infusion of creative camaraderie.
Here are some highlights of my trip.

During last week’s polar vortex in Chicago, I spent a couple of days
preparing mail to send from New York (see at top).
I had faith in a Manhattan mailbox I passed near Union Square,
intoned a silent Om, and slipped my envelopes into the narrow slot.
If I haven’t heard from any of the intended recipients by next Monday,
I’ll start getting anxious.

Both trade shows were at the Javits Convention Center,
which occupies several city blocks and three stories.
As you know, I’m a huge (hint) fan and user of washi tape, and I’m delighted to report
that I got a big (hint) thrill from my MT (which stands for Masking Tape)
supplier’s new offering. I’ll be showcasing my next favourite-tape-of-the-moment
as soon as my order arrives. I also discovered a wonderful new book about gifting,
ribbons, and calligraphy. The author was charming enough to inscribe a show copy for me,
and I’ll feature the book in an upcoming blog post, once my order is in the shop.

Obviously, I couldn’t shop on an empty stomach.
I had brunch on Sunday and lunch on Tuesday at Friedman’s,
where my companions and I sampled every potato product on the menu.
My favourites were the herbed (rosemary, thyme, sage) fries and the sweet potato fries.

I reveled in the wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling envelope display at
Paper Presentation, where I replenished my personal reserves,
including tiny enclosure envelopes.
I also acquired a supply of 9 x 12 kraft envelopes
I’ll be using to package the stock pages of
Deluxe Array of Assorted Denominations
and the Extravaganza of Vintage 3¢ Postage.

While my flight home was delayed by the ice storm in Chicago,
I am consoled with the prospect of
soothing pastel cotton ribbons from Studio Carta.

Signing off,

Bari

Emmy Kennett’s ever-expanding set of sketchbooks

Dear Everyone ~

Emmy Kennett has worked with me a couple of days a week in the studio since 2016.
Even before she started working here, I had discovered her passion for sketchbooks.
She's a working artist, with a bachelor's degree in studio art
from Wheaton College in Massachusetts.
She has developed wonderful hand skills, and is also brilliant
at illustrating my workshop handouts and shop lists.
And, perhaps by osmosis, she knew when she was ready
to learn to make her own sketchbook.

Emmy and I have talked many times about her accumulating sketchbooks.
We wish there were an amusing or evocative collective noun for them.
Maybe it's a ... family! Here are several things I know about Emmy's sketchbooks,
that she is happy to share ... and that she hopes might encourage others
(yes, you!) to start your own sketchbook.

1 — Bought her first sketchbook in college, as an assignment for a printmaking class:

"It didn't matter what you put in it or how long you spent,
as long as you made some kind of mark every day and dated it.
I was instantly hooked —
and I still write the date on every page of my sketchbook."

2 — Has filled up 20 sketchbooks:

"Some are at my studio, some are at my parents' home,
and some are at my home. They aren't filed away,
partly because I am currently out of shelf space,
but also because I am constantly taking them out to look at,
as a reference when I'm doing some other project."

3 — Takes her sketchbook-in-progress pretty much everywhere:

"I keep it in my purse, and I can't go anywhere without it.
In fact, I usually have two going on at once. With all the constant shoving into bags,
and carting around, and tossing them across rooms,
and flipping through pages, and just general shuffling,
I'm surprised they are not more beat up than they are.
Actually, I also have a slightly thinner sketchbook with pink grid pages
that I cart around everywhere as well, and it's in terrible shape,
held together with a large butterfly clip and a huge gold paper clip."

4 — Swears by the freedom a sketchbook provides:

"Sometimes I wish that I had a bunch of 'stand alone' pieces
that are not stuck in my sketchbook. This issue is totally mental.
I know that I would never be able to make something
like what I put in my sketchbooks on a 'stand alone' piece.
When I have a single sheet of paper that is meant to be a complete work,
it would have to be all planned out first. I could never play around
like I can in my sketchbook. In there, it doesn't have to be a masterpiece.
I have a certain kind of freedom to just try something new and see if it works.
It doesn't always work. Sometimes I go too far, or it's nice but the colors are all wrong,
or it's just a hot mess. Even the ones that don't work are useful —
because there is almost always something that came out of it that I will use later."

5 — Still enjoys a splash of multimedia in her sketchbook:

"A lot of what I do now is only gouache, but my sketchbooks
used to be a lot more multimedia. For anything I didn't know how to draw,
or didn't care to draw, I would cut out of paper or something.
As I've become better at drawing and painting,
I have been using other things less. However, sometimes I just want to add something
that does not have my hand in it. I love the way its look contrasts with what I've drawn.
I especially love adding paper scraps in colors I would never think to use,
or patterns I could never draw. And sometimes you are just inspired by something
and you want to use and dissect it."

6 — Acknowledges the special something about a book you've made yourself:

"I had made a few books before I started working at Bari's.
I don't know why, but those first books still feel too precious to use.
I just started using one of them as a journal, but that was a hard decision.
And I've started using my first sketchbook I made at Bari's,
with hand-marbled paper covers. Really, the only difference between
my using an 'ordinary' sketchbook and the one I made
is that I like bragging that I made it.
I also like that every single bitty bit of this book is
an extension of myself and my artwork. That's nice!"

As an ardent sketchbook user myself,
I echo Emmy's perspective regarding creative freedom.
Drawing or painting or lettering or doodling in a sketchbook
allows your hand and your imagination to "think on paper"
in the most mysteriously liberating way.

Try it, you'll like it,

Bari