Heavenly housemade Hahnemühles are here!

Dear Everyone ~

Hahnemühle Bugra is one of my absolute all-time favourite papers for bookbinding, and also for painting & drawing. In the paper world, Hahnemühle is considered a pastel paper, with a felty finish on one side and a laid finish on the other. I myself am fond of it for fountain pen, wild for it for watercolour, and so on and on. Yes, you could say I have a penchant for it. I am drawn to it. Hahnemühle accepts all manner of mediums marvelously.

Let me add that I am also gaga for the way it glues. Hahnemühle is my paper of choice in my case-binding workshops, for students’ signatures, precisely because it glues so nicely—providing a wonderful experience for novices gluing their first end-papers.

In 2015, when I began to teach the Buttonhole-stitch book, one of the options I offered was to make a book using all 16 colours of the Hahnemhle Bugra, times 2, for a total of 32 signatures.

A year or so later, whoa and woe, Hahnemühle decided to discontinue all but five of the 16 luscious colours, figuratively breaking my heart. But now, all 16 colours are being made again. To herald the Hahnemühle revival, I have made a great array of Hahnemühle pads. They are beyond colourful. They are, in happy fact, stripe-tacular. Some pads feature four colours, some feature three, and a few feature just two alternating colours, looking quite dessert-like.

Celebrate the arrival of spring with a delicious Hahnemühle pad: 120 4 x 7¼ sheets, ready to do your doodling or other bidding. The pad is mounted on an uber-thick piece of binders board, for a total weight of slightly above half a pound. Not to provoke a pad panic, but when they are gone, they won’t be back this season.

Heavenly Housemade Hahnemühle Pad

Padding right along, Bari

Previewing a kaleidoscope of Butterfly-stitch books

Dear Everyone ~

Last week, when I began assembling the kits of materials for the Butterfly Bookful of Botanicals—my third four-Saturday Zoom collaboration with Cat Bennett—I had a colourful, delightful Satagomi surprise, in the depths of my paper cabinet. Satagomi are colourful lightweight sheets, and I had originally planned to include two of them in each kit, for students to wrap around two of the ten signatures in their Butterfly-stitch books. The wraps would have created a narrow stripe or two along the otherwise creamy spine.

When I realized that I had enough of five different colours of Satagomi to include a wrap of each in every kit, the spine possibilities took flight. I stitched up a new sample book pronto, showcasing the luxuriously stripe-y spine. I think it’s better than a beach towel! Each kit also includes five thread-colour options. You could stitch your book with a single colour, or with alternating colours. Your four needles will barely be able to contain themselves for sheer joy. The colour coordinating possibilities are almost limitless. An exaltation of mix-and-matchability will reign.

The kit’s essential accessories are presented in petite glassines: a quartet of nickel-plated Italian paper clips, sealed with a single black & gold washi leaf; and a foursome of No. 18 straight bookbinding needles, which we will use simultaneously to stitch our books.

In workshop #1, you will focus full-thread-ahead on making your book. I will also have pre-recorded the lesson, so that you can revisit the steps after the workshop. The recording is about 30 minutes (because it’s purely technical, sans questions or creative distractions), and will be available for two months. Quite a few students have commented that they enjoy watching the recording after the workshop, to appreciate the fine points of the various steps and gain confidence to make a particular binding style independently.

In workshops #2, #3 & #4, Cat will lead the group through a series of drawing, painting & colour-mixing exercises. Between sessions, you will gather spriggery and other springery to draw in the next week’s workshop, filling your book with a wide & whimsical range of illustrations.

Thanks to the wonders of Zoomology, it is not too late to sign up for Butterfly Bookful of Botanicals, whose first session will be Saturday, April 3. But don’t daffodilly-dally, or you won’t receive your kit in time. No previous art experience necessary—Cat is consistently inclusive and inspiring.

And if you live in the Continental U.S., it’s not too late to sign up for Introduction to Bookbinding on Saturday, March 27. And if you register for both Introduction to Bookbinding and Butterfly Bookful of Botanicals (BBB), you will receive a 15% discount on your BBB registration.

We hope you will join us to share in the creative camaraderie and shared love of paper, bookbinding, drawing, painting & nature.

Aflutter, Bari

Introducing the Binder’s Dozen Paper Sampler

Dear Everyone ~

Introduction to Bookbinding is a new group workshop I’m offering via Zoom. It debuts two weeks from today, on Saturday March 27. This two-ish-plus hour workshop has been inspired by the Bookful workshops that I have co-taught with artist-teacher-author Cat Bennett. These group workshops have been a great accomplishment for both Cat and me, as Zooming has allowed us to include students from all over, and to teach a large group. Ah, technology!

Introduction to Bookbinding will be my first solo-teaching group Zoom workshop, and I am excited & energized. During the Bookful workshops, I had noticed some students encountering difficulty with certain steps and, therefore, becoming challenged to keep up. It occurred to me that a pre-Bookful bookbinding workshop focused on a handful of basics could sharpen students’ hand-eye-brain skills for making a first book.

In the two weeks since I announced Introduction to Bookbinding, it has attracted students who have already made books with me, both in-studio and, more recently, via Zoom. I am beyond delighted & inspired by this response. I’ve realized that this workshop can indeed serve as a refresher as well as an introduction.

One of my favourite aspects of a group workshop is assembling the kits of materials and tools. In typical Bari Zaki fashion, I love to offer several palettes of papers. From folding & trimming the papers to size, to organizing them in stacks, and photographing them all lined up on the center table, and, finally, enveloping them for posting. Happiness.

A special element in the Introduction to Bookbinding kit is the Binder’s Dozen Paper Sampler. This charmola set of thirteen different papers (held together with a tiny you-can-imagine-what) will help students at the beginning of the workshop to become acquainted with various paper types, weights, textures...and grain direction!

If you’ve been curious about paper & bookbinding, or if you feel your skills have taken a staycation, I encourage you to join us for this introduction to bookbinding & lovely papers.

Introduction to Bookbinding

Zoomderfully, Bari

Portable paper pleasures for spring

Dear Everyone ~

I just received a lovely shipment, actually a pair of parcels, one from Kunst & Papier, the other from Carta Pura. The new products involve papers that beg to be sketched, doodled, and watercoloured upon—and touched, of course.

The Kunst & Papier sketchbooks remain a perennial favourite, so I’ve restocked the yellow in both small square & medium square. I’ve also added a portrait and landscape format, available with a warm grey or black linen spine. The landscape format is lovely company for a little stroll along the lakefront, or seascape, or cityscape. Or perhaps just escape.

One of these sketchbooks’ many attributes is that they open perfectly flat. The paper surface is toothy and wonderful to draw (or write) on with fountain pen, pencil, brush & ink.

Blooming below, I’ve used a quartet of mediums: the Aquash brush pen, the fine white brush pen (for the stamens), the black ink brush pen (for the flowing leaves, with delicate lines made with a white Lyra colour giant). A medley of mediums on a superb surface! They fill the bill, sing a song, summon happiness.

Another lovely addition to the Bari Zaki Studio repertoire of blank books is a new accordion notebook, perfectly compact at 4 x 6. There are 10 panels, including the interior covers, and therefore 8 panels on the other (exterior) side. The paper has a cold-press finish and is so sturdy at 300 gsm that I’m enjoying using my first one for painted paper collage. I’m already eager to begin a second one using just a brush pen.

More good things: I’ve added three new Carta Pura pads. Two of them actually proclaim Carta Pura on their covers. They are made of the same divine paper as the Deluxe Carta Pura envelopes.

And furthermore: If you have enjoyed using the 100% cotton Aquarello, a larger size is now in stock—9⅜ x 12¼—for larger pleasure(s).

Kunst & Papier Square Sketchbooks
Kunst & Papier A5 Sketchbooks
Carta Pura Pads
Aquarello Pads
Accordion Notebooks by Pentalic

Everything’s coming up paper, Bari

Join us for Butterfly Bookful of Botanicals

Dear Everyone ~

The deep winter months have brought dreams of budding spring blooms and blossoming trees. Whilst Cat Bennett & I were musing about our next Bookful workshop, we were both longing to breathe outdoors, draw outdoors & document hardy botanicals.

Butterfly Bookful of Botanicals, our new four-Saturday workshop, is our third collaboration. We will celebrate early spring: more light & warmth, the pods that have survived winter, and the awakening of overall optimism.

This past winter, I reacquainted myself with a lovely style of binding called the Butterfly stitch. I had taught it numerous times in studio, but have only recently taught it via Zoom. Because of its name, and also because of its delicacy, the Butterfly stitch seems the perfect technique to use for the Bookful workshop.

When I delved into my paper cabinet to see what I could see for covers, I had just received a fresh shipment of Saint-Armand cover papers in a dozen understated, beguiling hues. They became my point of departure for the two palettes, Jewellery and Springery. Soon thereafter, an assortment of muted Satagomi papers whispered to me, inspiring the two signature wraps. As I like to remark: The more colour the better.

One of my favourite aspects of the Butterfly stitching is that you can use up to four different thread colours. For the kit, I have included five colours so you can decide how you want to mix & match. (Your kit includes enough of each colour that you could use just one to stitch your entire book.)

I will record the bookbinding workshop lesson in advance, and it will be available for you, with no interruptions or delay, immediately after the first lesson. Between sessions, Cat & I will both answer your questions in our private Facebook group. We invite you to share and to be inspired by each other. (Even if you are not on Facebook, it’s easy to create an account simply for the class.)

In Workshop #1, you will make your book using the Butterfly stitch. This Japanese binding style dates back to 11th century. It involves four needles for stitching, which is not nearly as daunting as you might imagine. The stitch is so simple, I'd describe it as rhythmic. Your pages lay completely flat, making it a delight to work directly in your book. Easy, breezy, springy.

In Workshops #2, #3 & #4, Cat will lead the group through a series of drawing, painting & colour mixing exercises. You will fill your book with illustrations of botanical bits you find between sessions.

In the highly detailed shop listing, you can read more about the multitude of mediums we will explore together, the materials included in your kit, and the tools you will need. Cat is a big fan of using what you have on hand. That said, if you feel inspired to shop for new implements….

We hope you will join us to share in the creative camaraderie and shared love of paper, bookbinding, drawing, painting & nature. No previous art experience necessary. In case you missed yesterday’s e-blast about Introduction to Bookbinding, you’ll find it here. I’ve timed that new workshop especially for anyone who might be feeling fluttery at the prospect of making an entire book. If you take both Introduction to Bookbinding and Butterfly Bookful of Botanicals (BBB), you will receive a 15% discount on your BBB registration.

Butterfly Bookful of Botanicals

Bye-bye, Bari (BBB!)

Introducing ... Bookbinding 101

Dear Everyone ~

I’m delighted to announce a new group workshop, Introduction to Bookbinding. My motivation for this has been long simmering and has now zoomed, so to speak, to a front burner. Over my years of teaching, I’ve noticed the steps in the bookbinding process that students tend to stumble over. Though some parts of the process are more intuitive than others, I truly believe that once you can wrap your brain around what you’re doing in the moment and what you’re going to do next, it all—almost magically—makes sense.

During the Bookful workshops I’ve been co-teaching with Cat Bennett, I’ve had a chance to observe several dozen students doing the same thing, but in their own slightly different ways, at the same time. I’ve noticed a bit of anxiety about falling behind the group. Even though I’ve pre-recorded all the bookbinding steps for Bookful, I want people to feel in the moment that they are in step and not lagging, so that they can enjoy themselves.

Some students have been hampered—great if you are on a picnic, but not on a Zoom—by being out of practice with a ruler, an X-acto, or even a gluestick. My hope is that Introduction to Bookbinding can replace any trepidation with confidence… and anticipation about making an entire book.

To me, materials are central to bookbinding. The same binding technique, when made with different materials… is a different book. So, Introduction to Bookbinding is also an introduction to different paper textures and weights and their temperaments. In the shop listing, you can read about the pair of single-signature stitched booklets you will make. As always, the workshop includes a complete kit of materials. (The process of assembling kits is near & dear to my paper-loving heart.) For this workshop, you have your choice of three different palettes: Primavera, Terrain and Nocturne.

This workshop can, in two delightful hours, bring you up to “cruising attitude.” By scheduling this workshop for March 27, I am hoping that students who might be hesitant about registering for Butterfly Bookful of Botanicals, which I am co-teaching with Cat Bennett in April, will feel emboldened. To encourage you, I will offer a 15% discount ($35.40 off!) on the registration for that series of four workshops to any “graduate” of Introduction to Bookbinding.

Introduction to Bookbinding

Basically, Bari

An armful of après-Bookful gratitude

Dear Everyone ~

Bookful of Accordion Art concluded last Saturday. Cat Bennett, my creative collaborator, and I are so pleased by the camaraderie and our students’ enthusiasm for the progression of lessons. And we continue to rejoice in the marvel of Zoom, which allows us to convene as a group. As we all undergo our first shelter-season winter, many students commented on the joys and solace both of connecting with nature and with documenting objects in their home.

I have received many lovely emails from students, and have selected bits from a handful of them that are particularly touching to me, as students describe what the workshop sessions represented to them.

Olwyn, who mentioned that her honey describes her as a sociable hermit, had this to say about her Zooming with us:

“ Because of this class, I feel much braver, as if I’ve really taken on a new kind of ownership of my creative life. It’s a challenge to balance my love of detail with the fact of a clumsy hand, and Cat’s approach is so very helpful. I think the world of mark-making is beginning to open a bit to me, and I’m thrilled—timid but thrilled. And thank you for such a kindly experience on Zoom. ”

Cindy, whose private Case-binding workshop via Zoom had emboldened her, wrote:

“ You and Cat curated a unique experience, allowing us to move between building and learning and creating, in the span of each class session. I had so many 'ah-ha' moments as I listened to you and Cat—as well the other attendees—speak to different perspectives on tweaking what we were learning. I feel I am equipped with enough ideas to keep me ‘creative’ busy for a few months—or at least until the new class in April! ”

Lesley and her husband have taken their young son for a duck-pond promenade every day during the many months of shelter season, so the nature-walk collecting was so close to her heart. She wrote:

“ It was wonderful to share a love of creating books and then make art—a perfect marriage. Usually a class is just making one or the other. There has been something so satisfying in creating something from beginning to end. I was worried that I would have trouble making a book without being in a physical classroom. That was not the case, and having the videos to refer back to has been wonderful. Yes, I have made another book using supplies on hand:-) not as perfect but has its own charm. ”

Melanie, who recently made me a tiny loopy-link-stitch book as her tribute to learning how to make books, enthused:

“ The Accordion Bookful of Art class has been just what I’ve needed lately. It is such a peaceful welcoming place. I can just be. I absolutely love the book design and cannot wait to make more! Enveloping the papers to make the covers is ingenious, truly simply beautiful. And Cat’s painting instructions are soothing and meditative. You two make such a lovely team. ”

Karen, as it happens, had worked with Cat eons ago, but only via phone. Now, they have “met” face-to-face via Zoom, during the first Bookful of Art workshop series. Karen wrote:

“ I loved mixing the more structured and tactile bookbinding with the more free drawing practice and studies.The combined activities became circular—now I have all sorts of ideas for different book covers, page edges, and spines, because the one practice informs the other. Zoom was enjoyable because of the immediacy of everything. It was fun to see everyone and their work. Now I'm anxious to finish up my books and start more! ”

Tess, who walks every day near her home in rural New Hampshire, reflected:

“ I appreciated the emphasis on honoring the student—assuming that everyone would be successful while at the same time providing specific teaching in drawing and watercolours. It was really interesting to consider how to represent the beauty of winter, not a season we often think of as full of plant life! Cat's lessons could be accessed by a wide range of learners, from beginning artists to those more advanced in their craft. Bari's attention to detail allows the completed books to be works of art in themselves. ”

Heather teaches handwork—knitting, sewing, and fiber arts—at the Urban Prairie Waldorf School in Chicago. Every word of her brief note, barely longer than a haiku, filled me with joy:

“ Thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity to look for beauty and wonder and find camaraderie in these crazy times. It’s a lifeline. ”

Zooming toward spring, Bari

Be Enveloped in Envelope Love

Dear Everyone ~

I can date my long-simmering fascination with hand-folding envelopes back to the sweltering summer of 1995, when I met Alyson Kuhn. By example and by enchantment, she introduced me to the art of correspondence, so I refer to her as my Postal Muse. Several weeks into our nascent friendship, Alyson handed me a simple yet magical thank-you note. She’d made the envelope from a magazine page, very Florentine in feel, and she’d appliquéed B-A-R-I in little gold letters. I still have the transformative envelope, which has changed my correspondence life for the better.

And it has been followed by a never-ending procession of postcards, envelopes of all sizes, and surprise packages of epistolary ecstasy (See above!). Alyson had developed a workshop for Paper Source called Anatomy of an Envelope (which I didn’t know about until the opportunity had passed). Then, 20 years later, when I finally had a studio where I could teach, I developed my workshop, The Art of the Handmade Envelope. It was quite popular, and many students asked for a sequel, which I began to percolate on.

Last year, when shelter season made meeting in person moot, I decided to create a kit full of hand-folding materials, with detailed step-by-step instructions and charmola illustrations & diagrams by artist Emery Kennett. It has been a great success. Today, I am slightly giddy to debut MORE Art of the Hand-folded Envelope, a heartful collaboration with Alyson. Twenty-five years into our long-distance friendship, we continue to inspire each other.

The papers in the new kit are perfect envelope fodder, including rather deluxe practice sheets for noting measurements for future reference. The two “star styles” of envelope featured in the kit are (1) a true center seam open-end (lots of envelope lingo included in the hand-out!) and (2) a “backless” two-piece construction. The new hand-out also includes the instructions from the original kit for making a basic 5-ish x 7-ish envelope without a template.

Here you see a supremely summery backless envelope I made from a magazine page eons ago. The luscious front wraps around the sheet of sea-blue cover stock. This combo-construction is popular in Europe, with white or brown kraft fronts wrapping around a chipboard back. Sadly, these are not commercially made in the U.S.

Artist Janet Bouldin’s whimsical illustrations and diagrams make the kit feel almost like a lifestyle. The hand-out (a binder’s dozen of pages) is 8½ x 11 and comes in a not-hand-folded envelope with your name (or someone else's) handwritten by me on the fabulous souvenir sheet from 1966.

MORE Art of the Hand-folded Envelope

Be enveloped, Bari

Paper Love All Around

Dear Everyone ~

The Saint-Armand paper mill (Papeterie Saint-Armand) is in Montreal, though the township of Saint-Armand is about 40 miles outside the city. As it happens, the mill’s address is on Saint-Patrick Street! Let’s assume, at least for the moment, that Saint Armand is the patron saint of 100% cotton papers in beautiful colours.

I have just received a breathtaking shipment of Saint-Armand cover papers, for the kits of materials for three workshops I’m about to begin teaching via Zoom (Butterfly-stitch, Duo of Two-signature Stitched Booklets & Diamond Stitch). The rich earthtones: deep sand, winter wheat, warm taupe, and golden yellow. The fashion-forward colours: acid green, grey flannel, mineral green, and classic denim. A royal red-orange that is descended from persimmon & vermilion. Burgundy with a hint of blue. Charcoal grey—which I have just used to cover a long-stitch binding with buttery Hahnemühle pages and butterscotch waxed linen thread. Yum. I have also made a limp-vellum binding covered in Saint-Armand mineral green.

I am decanting part of my treasure trove of vintage Japanese papers. They have been living in a trio of lidded boxes (covered in Japanese papers, of course) for many moons, and it’s time for them to see the light of day as Japanese Deluxe Vintage Paper Assortment.

Each bag of 8½ x 11 sheets is, as I like to say, uniquely unique. The assortment is a binder’s dozen of 13 (mostly mulberry and kozo) papers: some solids, some simple patterns. Each selection also includes one sheet of sumptuous silver and one of gorgeous gold, plus a petite glassine almost overflowing with mini-scraps, ideal for sweet & discreet enclosures and for collage.

Blue-and-white Butterfly Delight is a fresh assortment of binder clips in two sizes, covered in Japanese patterns. The covered clips are so elegant. They can dress up a petite pile of paper, a notepad or notebook, or a miscellaneous sheaf. They can close a bakery or bonbon bag. And in a bowl, the clips themselves look like bonbons!

Before any more customers nicely noodge, I am officially adding bookbinding needles to my online shop. Ditto unwaxed natural 100% pure linen thread from the British Isles.

Natural Linen Thread
Bookbinding Needles
Japanese Deluxe Vintage Paper Assortment
Blue-and-White Butterfly Delight

Joie de papeterie, Bari

Fast forward to Fab-ruary

Dear Everyone ~

Today is the first day of the second month of the new year. January has whizzed by in a flurry. We are deep in the throes of winter in Chicago, and as I type this, more snow is falling and sticking than we’ve seen in a long while. I spend many hours each week in the quiet of the studio. At the intersection of hibernation and isolation, mail is more of a consolation—and an exhilaration—than ever.

January brought the latest issue (48) of UPPERCASE. If you haven’t seen it: it is ALL to do with stationery! My postal muse has contributed an Abecedary of Stationery & Epistolary Luminaries, on a beautiful spread incredibly designed by publisher Janine Vangool. (I happen to know that my postal muse is thinking about framing a copy.) My favourite entries include O for overfranking, E for envelope, and F for French fold. And X-Y-Z are more interesting than you might x-pect! If you’ve been thinking about subscribing, you can still start with the current issue.

My postal muse recently sent me a postcard (protected in an envelope from Paris, lined with red tissue), a watercolour of an airmail envelope. The skyscape is a perfect evocation for my mantra, “Look up.” Yes, I was enveloped & entranced. The pair of heart “eyes” plus the hand-cancel certainly brought a big smile to my face. Mailed envelopes offer so much opportunity for serendipity and creativity—from addressing to franking to embellishing—and a postcard inside an envelope is a...double happiness discovery.

Melanie O. in Florida mailed me a miniature storybook she had made, detailing her “love of bookbinding” chronology. In the fall of 2017, Melanie took my online bookbinding course through Sonheim Creative, discovered her delight in making books, and found her online way to my shop.

Her miniature loopy-link stitch book measures 2¾ x 3½, and its cover is a piece of Saint-Armand (from my 2020 studio sale). She’s also used teeny bits of Exquisite Scraps for collaging on numerous pages: a bonefolder, a really tiny buttonhole-stitch book, a shipping clerk’s knife et awl. The smallest book I have ever received offers such disproportionate pleasure to its divinely diminutive self!

Here is a final piece of memorable mail from last month. This envelope is the whimsy & ingenuity of a newish correspondent, Karen E. in California. She has given historian-writer-activist Arturo Schomburg (from 2020’s Harlem Renaissance stamp series) suitably smart attire. He looks bookish and fabbish, and at home with the bookshelves (pen & ink + coloured pencil) nearby. The Schomburg Center for Black Culture in New York City is still pandemically mostly closed...but wouldn’t someone there LOVE to receive such a glorious & eponymous envelope during Black History Month!

Which brings us to Fabruary! My Duo-it-yourself Valentines have sold out, but if you have your heart set on a set (so to speak), I’ll do my best to assemble a variation on the theme for you. Call or e me pronto-ly. I’ve re-replenished my reserves of Rivoli Rose notesheet pads (4⅛ x 5⅞) and matching envelope sets (4½ x 6⅜). It thrills me that this colour of envelope is perennially popular.

The teapot collage cards by Janet Bouldin have sold briskly. This week, I’ll be taking six of Janet’s new teapot collages to the framer for matting, and you will see them here very soon.

And last but not least, this Saturday and the day before Valentines Day will be the third and fourth sessions of Bookful of Accordion Art, which Cat Bennett and I are co-teaching to almost-40 enthusiasts. Cat is leading the group with abundant ideas & inspirations for drawing & painting to begin filling the first of our three accordions. I look forward to sharing the fruits of our winter season of “Bookful” accordions with you soon.

Wishing you LOVE in the air & in the mail, Bari