Loopy with anticipation (I'm kitting!)

Dear Everyone ~

Tomorrow morning, my loopy link-stitch booklet lesson
will air on Words & Pictures on Sonheim Creative.
(If you missed my recent “O, Words & Pictures!” post about
Carla & Steve Sonheim filming at my studio, you can find it
on my site by clicking on Blog and then scrolling down to March 6.)
The kits I’ve assembled for the lesson have been available in my
online shop for two weeks … and have sold fairly wildly!
Here is my marvelous mailman, Will, taking the first batch of
packed-up orders out to his little truck.
He picked up the second batch last Thursday,
and I personally delivered the third batch to my
studio post office on Saturday morning.

You can view the kits in colourful detail in my online shop.
The Sun-drenched pairing of papers and threads was so popular
that it has temporarily sold out. (A fresh supply of paper is already
en route from Saint-Armand in Montreal.) And I’ve
added two new palettes, Venetian and Summer Fruits.

Inside tip for Instagrammarians:
I’m offering a give-away of a free registration for the entire
Words & Pictures year-long workshop. It’s as easy as
2-1-3: Like my loopy link-stitch post on Instagram.
Follow me @barizaki. Tag two (2) friends in one (1) comment box,
and all three (3!) of you will be entered as participants in the give-away,
which ends at midnight tonight (March 23). The lucky randomly
chosen winner will be notified via DM tomorrow (March 24) at 10 a.m.
Chicago time. And I will hope to feature you in a story forthwith!

Kit for a Pair of Loopy Link-stitch Booklets

Kit & caboodle,

Bari

Stationery for the Socially Stationary

Dear Everyone ~

In these trying times, I want to do everything
I can to help people express themselves on paper.
Yesterday evening, I received an email from a long-time
customer who lives in Wisconsin and finds herself
stranded in Florida. She asked that I call her, and we spoke
early this morning. She placed an order for assorted supplies,
as shown here. I’m looking forward to packing this up for her
and shipping it forthwith!

My studio is closed to shoppers until at least the end
of the month … but I will be here, working on custom projects
and packing up online orders. If you live within driving distance,
you are cordially invited to place an order,
which I will pack up in advance, and you can swing by
for stylish curbside pick-up. Call, or email, or send me a note!

If you’d like an epistolary pick-me-up
(for pick-up or posting), may I suggest a newly assembled
Bundle of Stationery Joy? Each is bundled in a sheet of
Japanese paper that I have treasured for about 25 years.
(I think I bought these either at the original
Paper Source or at Aiko’s.) Every one-of-a-kind assortment
presents 30-some pieces eager to do your bidding.

No two bundles are exactly the same,
but each contains a fairly dazzling array of
correspondence papers & envelopes. Marvelously mix-&-matchy:
here a European postcard, there a hand-bordered treasure.

I hope correspondents will be frankly (petite postal pun!)
delighted to learn that I’ve also refreshed my
vintage postage reserves to create bouquets of
lovely springy stamps. Handy for mailing,
dandy for decorating & thoroughly therapeutic.

Bundles of Stationery Joy
Bouquet of LOVEly springy stamps

Bundled up,

Bari

Sharing My Love of Lyra

Dear Everyone ~

I have stocked 20 colours of Lyra Colour Giants since
opening my shop almost five years ago,
and added Licorice and Espresso soon thereafter.
Allow me to share my admiration, even adoration,
of these incredibly photogenic more-than-mere-pencils,
including their marvelous metallic counterparts
and their luxurious luminous relatives.

I admit that swatching the Lyra colours is endlessly satisfying to me,
on all different kinds of paper, and in various colour combinations.
I also admit that I envisioned the long shelf of glass jars
of Lyra Colour Giants before I even opened the shop.
I have loved these pencils for many moons.
I kept my own assortment at home in a Japanese ceramic cup.
And I further admit that one of my favourite pastimes is
restocking the pencils in the shop. I love the way they feel,
and even the way they sound when they clink together in their jar.

Let me sing the praises of the Lyra Colour Giants:
They are creamy and highly pigmented. They are break resistant.
They sharpen to an excellent point, especially with the
m+r double brass sharpener. For those of us who prefer to have
our shavings collected and contained, the Double Dux sharpener
does the job divinely. The Lyra Colour Giants are substantial,
robust without being pretentious. They are surprisingly
popular and comfortable even for little hands.

When young customers come in, they scribble and draw
with great concentration, using the cup of sample pencils on the counter.
When they’ve finished, they tend to snatch their artwork to take home with them.
I find this so endearing. Some grown-ups have been known to doodle and draw
while they ponder their colour selections …
and then they offer me their oeuvre to keep.

When a customer (of any age!) purchases an entire set
(and this happens frequently), I package them in a Japanese or
hand-marbled bag I’ve folded. If you purchase the entire Lyra collection
(all 34 pencils!), then I will offer one of my cherished cigar boxes for presentation.

Lyra Colour Giants
Lyra Metallic
Lyra Luminous

In a riot of colour,

Bari

O, My Words and Pictures!

Dear Everyone ~

Earlier this week, Carla & Steve Sonheim of Sonheim Creative
visited my studio. They came to film me as part of their
2020 year-long online class, Words & Pictures.
When I collaborated with Carla & Steve in 2017 for my
online bookbinding course, we worked at their awesome studio
in Seattle. For Words & Pictures, they are filming the
guest instructors in their own creative spaces.

Carla & Steve’s whirlwind visit was exhilarating
almost to the point of levitating. Now that I have come back
down to desk-height, I’d like to tell you about the afternoon.
Steve’s official mission is to film me teaching a simple binding technique,
for which I’ve chosen one of my very favourites: a loopy link-stitch booklet.
My segment will air on March 24, paired with a lesson by
my friend (& Bari Zaki Studio guest instructor),
illustrator Cat Bennett. Here’s a photo Cat has posted of
Carla & Steve filming in her studio.

First, I make a booklet from start to finish, so Carla can see the entire process.
Then, she & I chat about how to present the binding technique,
while Steve photographs and films my studio high and low,
far and wide. I’ll be thrilled by any glimpses of my premises &
wares that make their way into the segment.
And then it is time for my close-up,
an hour-ish under Steve’s expert eye.

I have made a dozen loopy link-stitch booklets
in advance of the filming, showcasing the lovely springy colours of
Saint-Armand cover stock. The pages are creamy Stonehenge,
folded into a single signature. I stock 7-ply waxed linen thread in
umpteen shades, and selecting the thread colour for
the range of covers is definitely part of the pleasure.

Carla, who is an artist, also shops while she is here,
selecting several sketchbooks and inks.
Then I invite her to choose three loopy link-stitch booklets …
which of course I’m fantasizing she will start to use right away,
so that she can show them in her introduction to my segment!
Here’s hoping!

Loopy with delight,

Bari

A string of spring workshops

Dear Everyone ~

I’ve taught Long-stitch binding many times over the years,
but it’s been awhile since I have offered it as a group class.
I recently made a book in this style, using a Cavallini wrapping paper
I’d been given by a friend who knew I’d love it. And I do.
The array of botanical specimens, complete with Figure numbers,
make a big smile bloom. So, I’ve decided to teach this workshop
using Cavallini papers for our covers and my
new favourite golden Eurokraft for our pages.

I’ll also be teaching Coptic-stitch with reinforced soft covers,
whose sewing is much easier than the hard-cover version.
You can enjoy the stitch without the slight stress.
As well, I'll teach the more classic Coptic-stitch with hard covers.

Buttonhole-stitch is on the schedule for May,
and I’ll also be teaching it at Angela Liguori’s studio
in Boston in April (more about this later!).

I’ve added a third session of Quartet of Origami Boxes,
and two seats are open. One seat is also still available
for Mighty Fine (Nine Signature) Spine.

NEW-ish Long stitch
NEW Reinforced Soft-cover Coptic stitch
Coptic stitch
NEW Mighty Fine Nine-Signature Spine
Quartet of Origami Boxes
Buttonhole stitch

Bari the Bookie

The art of kraft notebooks

Dear Everyone ~

I have cherished my kraft notebook sample for months now,
not wanting to “ruin” its pristineness. But once I started
drawing and painting … and loving the effect …
I’ve proceeded to try every medium I could think of.
And now, I have just received my first order of these
incredibly beguiling notebooks imported from Germany.
(We don’t usually mention price in our blog posts, but
these notebooks are a Eurodiculous bargain!)

The notebook is 5¾ x 8⅛, and slightly under ¼ in. thick.
I’m keeping my notebook closed with a butterfly clip.
The cover is lusciously thick, and a rich caramel colour.
The notebook contains 20 acid-free pages,
and they are a golden honey hue.

I’ve experimented with white housepaint (from the UK)
as the background of the “test page” for
my personal stash/cache of Tombow markers.
I’ve also used black and white brush pens and Sumi ink.
And a white acrylic pen, fountain pen, and a Zig calligraphy marker.

As it’s happened, I’m using this notebook to start exploring
various sketch notions, and then, once I have a direction in mind,
I refine my idea in my larger current sketchbook.

Eurokraft notebooks

Kraftily,

Bari

Sharing the Origami Boxmaking Love

Dear Everyone ~

I recently taught a new workshop, Quartet of Origami Boxes.
A trio of the students in the workshop have sent me wonderful
follow-up emails, and I’ve received their permission to share
these with you. And I made a serendipitous discovery
during the workshop … so we have a quartet of happiness!

First, Betsy,
who I think qualifies as an old friend,
as she was in my first bookbinding workshop at
Artist Bookworks … back in 1989!
Well, Betsy went home with her four origami boxes from class,
and decided to make a fifth box. She wrote,
“I used the wrapper from the assortment of note cards
that I’d bought in your shop. You made me very happy today.”
I am in deep bow to Betsy on this one, as the scrunchy
momi paper I wrap my stationery bundles in is not easy to tame.
As you can see from Betsy’s photo,
she succeeded in folding the crinkly paper
... totally crisply.

Then, Hallie.
In class, Hallie mentioned that the origami
box structure reminded her of a Chinese take-out carton.
Guess what she had for dinner? That same evening,
she sent me an email with the subject line “A quartet plus one.”
She wrote, “At dinner, I could not resist unfurling my
Chinese take-out dinner box, the perfect ending to a
perfectly Swoonable day! Will e you the photos in a moment.”
And here is one of her delicious photos.

And Josie, who lives in Michigan.
Josie drives to Chicago from time to time, and
comes into my shop to shop. This was her first workshop,
and she hadn’t made boxes before. Josie was quite captivated
by the origami process, and decided to take home a magnificent
selection of Saint-Armand half sheets, to continue making
more boxes, in a multitude of colours. Josie also bought
Japanese Chiyogami. She sent several photos of her materials
in their new home, and I’m particularly fond of this one,
with her dressmaker’s mannequin eager to see the new arrivals!

She emailed, “My hopes are high for this weekend,
which means getting my Bari Zaki Studio supplies spread out,
lots of touching and feeling and planning for how to use them.
I'm having a friend over later this month to share boxmaking time!”
And Josie's decided to take my online class to make a buttonhole-stitch
book, so she also purchased her papers and tools for that.

As for my serendipitous discovery in class:
While everyone was focused on making their boxes
from the largest to the smallest, I decided to make the
smallest first, to see just how small it would be.
The baby box is about 2 x 2 x 1 …
and holds a roll of washi tape perfectly!
As well as the set of teeny envelopes!

I had calculated the paper sizes so the boxes would nestle,
which they did beautifully. Everyone put one box into the other
and then I wrapped each set with white tissue and yarn,
which is how I wrap everyone’s books or boxes
once they’ve finished a workshop.

In fine fold,

Bari

My penchant for French postcards by the pad

Dear Everyone ~

Roses are nice, bonbons are too, but for someone
who loves paper beaucoup… these new sets of postcards
from France make my heart go pitter-pad.

Each pad contains two each of five designs, printed on
the thickest, dreamiest, creamiest cotton card stock.
The surface is good for pen & ink, and marvelous for markers.
The assortments I’ve imported are Tropical, Les Animaux,
and Les Fleurs. All three are glorious harbingers of daylight savings,
with spring not far behind.

The covers of the pads suggest a couple of creative possibilities.
You can slice the front off and use it as another card.
Or you can trim out your favourite part to use as a bookmark.
Or, most tempting to me, you can keep (or give)
some little somethings in it, à la mini portfolio.

I’ve also refreshed my stock of notebooks
and jaunty journals from the same French fabricators.
The new patterns of flora and fauna are cheerful
& charmola, and a bit exotic!

Jaunty Journals
Springy Notebooks
Parfait French Postcard Pads

Basking,

Bari

A stitch this time makes nine … signatures!

Dear Everyone ~

I have finally finished my nine-signature woven-stitched book.
My fevery of weavery has received quite a bit of ravery on Instagram!

From the moment Emmy Kennett (my former nimble shop assistant)
& I began making this book last April, I have wanted to
offer it as a workshop. But I realized that for a nine-signature book,
students would need to finish it at home—as I just have.
I found the process quite meditative, as each row
took me about 30 minutes to stitch. As I was finishing my book,
I decided to indeed offer the workshop. Students
will complete three (or six) signatures in class and finish their book
at home, thanks to our charming illustrated handout.

One of the joys of the nine-signature book
is that the colour options—both for papers and threads—
are almost endless. So, you can create patterns, both on the spine
and the interior, to thrill your eye and your heart.

Recently, I have received a commission for a nine-signature book
(inspired by my blog post last spring). The customer has requested
Stonehenge pages. I’ve sent her paper swatches—
she already has my thread swatch card—and she is deciding
on her paper colour(s) & thread(s). I’m eager to start this project …
and already curious as to what my customer plans to do with her book!

Meanwhile, I’ve scheduled a workshop for
Saturday, March 7, for a maximum of three students.

Mighty Fine Nine-Signature Spine Workshop

As I post this, 1,091 followers on Instagram have hearted
my process photo. My special thanks to everyone
who commented. Encouraged by your enthusiasm, I will also
be writing this binding style up for the Project Gallery soon,
very soon!!

In stitches,

Bari

Sketchbook musings: Stretch the ways you sketch

Dear Everyone ~

I did a lot of sketching at the end of December and
the start of January, enjoying four-day mini-vacations
two weeks in a row. I never go very long without sketching,
and my recent “sketching holidays” were inspiring and rewarding.
I want to try to express how these extended interludes with
my current sketchbook made me feel. Please know that I am sharing
these pages not to showcase my sketches,
but rather to illustrate my great pleasure in sketching.
As I muse, I hope to inspire you to sketch with joie.

As you know, I love desk accessories, correspondence supplies,
and notebooks in general. For me, sketchbooks
are in a category of their own. A sketchbook is a blank slate
for visual musings, for capturing the world around me,
for letting my hand and eye do the thinking.
It is blank when it’s new, of course…
and it remains blank every time I turn the page.

My sketchbook allows me, maybe even encourages me,
to achieve a flow, a focus—which might sound like
two different states of creative being, and maybe they are.
I feel that I can immerse myself in my sketchbook.
It absorbs me wholeheartedly.

I also love to revisit my sketchbooks, some more
than others, and I get to track my progress
on what I like to draw. Each sketch becomes a thing unto itself.

A new sketchbook can be an object of visual and tactile beauty.
(I can’t resist adding: especially if you’ve made it yourself.)
But it is much less precious when it’s empty than when
you have used it freely and filled it.
Carrying it around, using it, filling it, revisiting it …
is what will make your sketchbook “yours.”

I’ve come to realize that I love to draw
nearly as much as I love to make books.
Using a sketchbook makes drawing more accessible
with less trepidation. The drawings don’t have to be precious,
or successful, but together, as a collectivity, they become a something.
Because of their bound and portable format,
they become a set, a progression … and when you look back,
you may see things you hadn’t seen earlier.

I enjoyed drawing the same eucalyptus stem over
and over, with micron, fountain pen, brush pen, watercolour,
until I found my flow.

Sketchbooks need to feel right, they need to resonate.
I tried something different over the holidays,
and am delighted to have discovered that I really love
the landscape format. And the “feel” of the  ink on the
Kunst & Papier pages is lovvvvvely!

I so often find myself waiting for, or trying to plan,
the “perfect moment” to sit & draw. I’m now realizing
that my favourite drawings come from the impromptu,
the spontaneous, the less-thought-into-the-better …
and the happier I am with the outcome.

I hope I have made an enticing case for
sketching Reckless Abandon!

Kunst & Papier Watercolour Notebooks
Kyo-no-to inks
Sumi-e ink

Yours on paper,

Bari