The ins and outs of Bookful Nº 8

Dear Everyone ~

Bookful of Painted Paper Collage is my eighth Bookful collaboration
with artist, author & dear friend Cat Bennett. Our four-Saturday workshop via Zoom will debut Saturday, October 1. And the book we will make measures… 8 x 8!

∞

Our inspiration for this Bookful is “inside / outside”, referring to things around us—as Cat explains, “whether it be a still life of fruits and vegetables on our kitchen table, a pot of tea and a book, or plants we notice on a walk.”

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

The book structure you will make is a traditional accordion book measuring 8" x 8" x ½" when closed. When completely open it will span 5½ feet! The materials I’ve chosen for this are Stonehenge Drawing paper for the accordion pages, Japanese fabric for the “floating spine”, and Cambridge Imprint papers for your front and back covers. You will also learn to recess a 2 x 2 window in your front cover, to which you can affix a card with a title or a mini-collage. (Not to obsess about the recess: it’s the exact same technique to put one in any hardback cover, so it’s a perfect way to personalize.)

Cat will lead the group in exploring free-form colour mixing and preparing a selection of painted papers, from muted & subtle to bright & bold. Once they’ve dried, you will cut your papers into shapes for creating images. Cat believes that collage allows us to work quickly and freely to make a snapshot of our daily lives. We will also make small abstract works to accompany any words we might want to add to our books as annotations. Painted paper collage is like drawing with scissors: a beautiful way to simplify and make bold & beautiful works of art.

I will be assembling each kit individually with a complementary combo of Japanese fabric & Cambridge Imprint papers. In addition to the materials for your book, you will also receive a stacklet of 80 lb sulphite drawing paper (9" x 12") to paint on, six extra hinges for good measure, and last but not least, a Cambridge Imprint envelope overflowing with Cambridge Imprint scraps for your collaging pleasure. If you fancy a particular Cambridge pattern for your cover, please e me and I will do my best to accommodate. And, as always, If you’d like to purchase an additional set of materials, you certainly can!

Cat & I want to assure you, especially if you are a Bookful newcomer, that absolutely no drawing or bookbinding experience is necessary. The pace is comfortable and the camaraderie is delightful. Plus you will have four complete videos to watch and rewatch.We look forward to seeing you soonish via Zoom!

Bookful of Painted Paper Collage

Infinitely (∞) excited, Bari

Announcing Auspicious August offerings!

Dear Everyone ~

Stationery Store Day is a scant 24 shopping hours away, and I’m putting the finishing touches on my BZSSSD gift-with-purchase for everyone who stops in to shop, or shops online (between the hours of noon and 5:00 CDT), tomorrow. I’ve received numerous phone calls from customers wanting to shop in person, and I’m thrilled! Nota bene: My stash of Letterwriting stamps is limited, but fret not. Later shoppers will receive a sixsome of the 10¢ Letters Mingle Souls stamps in their BZSSSDGWP (enough to mail a first class letter).

Tomorrow’s in-person shoppers will be the first to touch new & noteworthy arrivals in the shop, and online shoppers will be able to see them all.

Velke Losiny handmade papers look & feel luscious in every colour. One of these colours—chamois—has recently been retired from the repertoire. I find its shade particularly pleasing, and I enjoy pronouncing it sham-moi. It looks as if the paper has been dipped in English Breakfast tea, elegantly evocative of vintage correspondence. If you like the shade as much as I do, dally not—as I have literally cornered the market, thanks to Pavel, my fine paper purveyor extraordinaire.

I have two splendid sizes of envelopes with matching 4 x 6 and 6 x 8 single notecards. The envelope flap is generous and deckled all the way around. The stock takes all manner of media beautifully: watercolour, graphite, coloured pencil, and even glue for collage.

Seaweed for yourself! Molesworth & Bird have recently introduced postcard set Nº 3! I’ve also replenished sets Nº 1 & Nº 2, and Nº 3 is in relatively ample supply. (I encourage you to shop while the tide is high.)

Feast your eyes (and your brush) on this lovely set of 12 sumi-e watercolours in a single sleek box. The box measures 3½ x 7¾, and the individual containers of colour measure 1 x 1¾. The colour names are listed on the lid interior in Japanese and transliterated English. The label on the lid says “kisshou,” which means: lucky, happy, auspicious. How auspicious!

Three superbly shimmery metallics are available individually: Gold, Rose Gold, and Silver. You can brush on a thick layer to achieve a sublime opacity, or use more water for a lighter shimmer. These come in a round ceramic dish measuring 2⅞ in diameter.

All the sumi-e colours, including the metallics, blend together to create an almost infinite palette. Painting colour swatches is one of my favourite pastimes. I used two Pentallic accordion books to document my colour-mixing delirium. I started with the colour at the upper left, mixing it with each of the other eleven colours. My next panel shows the second color, mixed with each of the other eleven, and so forth. This exercise provided endless amounts of calm. The combinations and permutations defy chromatic arithmetic!

But wait, there’s washi! I have added a limited-edition pattern of booksellers’ vintage labels (which used to be affixed inside a book, in the Grand Old Days). The width is ⅝", so the labels are quite petite! Their diminutive dimensions do not detract from their charm one dot.

The dreamy theme-y postage stamps scattered in my photos are from the epistolary collection of my postal muse, Alyson Kuhn. What a dandy way to convey my stamp of approval to my new offerings!

Velke Losiny notecards & envelopes
British seaweed postcard set Nº3
Set of sumi-e watercolours
Shimmery sumi-e watercolours
Booksellers’ label washi tape

Stationery, never stationary, Bari

My TCB bookbinding sequel is live!

Dear Everyone ~

My second bookbinding video with The Crafter’s Box, Bookbinding: Hand-stitching with Bari Zaki, has just launched on the TCB website! The pair of books I teach in this video are the French-link stitch and the Diamond-stitch.

In this video, you will learn the basic elements of bookbinding: measuring, scoring, folding & stitching. Both of these structures are lovely examples of non-adhesive binding—which is to say, there is no glueing! The books open entirely flat, making them a delight for doodling, sketching, and musing. For the covers of the Diamond-stitch book, I show you how to make my signature envelope/pocket for the interior, handy for holding postcards, other ephemera, stamps and snippets.

TCB’s kit of materials (and tools, natch) includes everything you need to make both books: lusciously thick Fabriano Murillo cover paper (350 gsm) for your covers; toothy drawing paper for your pages; and two different colours of waxed-linen thread for stitching. (You can choose which colour goes with which book.) And, speaking of stitching, for the French-link stitch book there are also two 6" lengths of lovely 2" wide Italian cotton ribbon imported from Italy by my dear friend Angela Liguori of Studio Carta. I selected this ensemble of materials for their look, their feel, and their beautiful bookbinding behaviour.

As always with TCB, you have the option of ordering “add ons,” which are additional palettes of materials. In this instance, the paper choices for your covers are Colorplan, a brilliant paper range made in England. Here you can see my sample books made with the colour combos curated by TCB. I immensely enjoyed working with these relatively-new-to-the-market acid-free papers.

Ta-dah! TCB is offering a doozy of a discount: With discount code Barizaki25 you will receive 25% off your 3-month-minimum subscription (meaning, one video per month). Click below for enticing details.

My Newest Crafty Collaboration

Dear Everyone ~

The Crafter’s Box (TCB) is not an object, it’s a subject: an enterprise dedicated to providing crafters of all skill levels with tools, materials, and highly detailed video experiences. I have recently spent an action-packed week in San Diego filming four videos for TCB.

Bookbinding and boxmaking are new realms of creative endeavour for TCB. The company has developed a very large, engaged audience around the world—some of whom have been clamoring for bookbinding & boxmaking experiences. I am TCB’s inaugural instructor for two bookbinding videos and two boxmaking videos.

My first video, “Case Binding with Bari Zaki,” has just launched on the TCB website. The experience provides a link to the video plus a kit of materials and tools. This particular kit includes materials to make four complete books. TCB has such a large audience that some of the papers I typically use in my workshops were not available at scale. I enjoyed making suggestions to TCB for alternatives. I am delighted to share that the papers in this kit are Hahnemühle Bugra for the pages, and Japanese decorative papers & bookcloths for the covers. The kit also includes a bookpress, which was made to my specifications. Crafters have the option of ordering additional sets of materials without the bookpress and tools.

I am particularly sentimental about the case-binding structure. It was one of the first books I learned to make 30-ish years ago, and I’ve made literally thousands of them in the ensuing three decades. I love that it combines all elements of making a book: from folding paper to stitching, to trimming bookboard to glueing. And of course, it is a hard-cover book! Yes, I still have my very first case-bound book, as you can see below.

Back to TCB: The bookboard and Hahnemühle Bugra for the case-binding kits were cut down by my longtime “master guillotiner,” Frank Lemke. I had the pleasure of watching Frank make the first stacks, or should I say towers! My second bookbinding video, “Hand-stitching with Bari Zaki,” will be announced next week on the TCB website. My two boxmaking videos will debut this fall.

Case Binding with Bari Zaki

Truly Completely Bestitched, Bari

An Extraordinary Stationery Store Story

Dear Everyone ~

Next Saturday, August 6, is the first Stationery Store Day (SSD) in recorded history! Several hundred independent stationery stores across the U.S. and around the world will celebrate the myriad delights & details of communicating on paper. Bari Zaki Studio and A. Favorite Design are proud to be Chicago’s ambassadors on this exciting occasion.

I have now received the official kit of promotional loot, which I declare swag-tacular! Decanting the box prompted plenty o’ oohing & aahing. Postcards and stickers and tote bags, o my! And posters, one of which I have put in my front window.

The in-store shopping scenario for Saturday will be my usual “by appointment or serendipity.” Email, text, or call to confirm a time for your browse. With a purchase of $25 (pre-tax), you will have your choice of a Stationery Store Day postcard or sticker to tuck into your Bari Zaki Studio Stationery Store Day (BZSSSD!) giftie, which we will show you in a minute.

Behold: a presentation-size (9 x 12) golden kraft envelope with a sheet of deep cream flecked cardstock; a Fabriano Medioevalis 6 x 8 envelope with its distinctive flap, paired with a sheet of Rivoli Rose notepaper; a smallish glassine envelope with a strip of perfectly epistolary postage from the Letterwriting issue of 1980, so these stamps have just slid into “vintage” territory. A teeny butterfly clip covered in Japanese decorative paper closes the envelope and secures our storefront postcard, illustrated by Janet Bouldin.

Because we are ardent equal-opportunity shopkeepers, online shoppers may place their Stationery Store Day orders beginning at noon (Chicago time) to receive the BZSSSD giftie (while supplies last). We will likewise include an SSD postcard or sticker (while supplies last). As usual, the early coot catches the loot.

Drop in ’n’ shop, Bari

P.S.
Amber Favorite’s letterpress studio and shop will be in full swing. You can even pull a mini-print on her tabletop press. She’s offering a gift-with-purchase while supplies last. Her shop is located in Albany Park at 4432 N. Kedzie Avenue. It’s an easy drive from here or there.

Big News: Big Sheets from Cambridge Imprint

Dear Everyone ~

If you have enjoyed Cambridge Imprints’ origami kits and Special Papers (12 x 16), you haven’t seen the half of it! Bari Zaki Studio is now stocking a full range of parent sheets, measuring 19¾ x 27½. I’ve selected 17 (a prime number) patterns, and they are all paragons of mix-and-matchiness. You can pair them, and wish you could wear them! They are also perfect for a patchwork. In the Cambridge lexicon, OMG can stand for Owls & Moderne & Greenery.

A parent sheet is spacious enough for hand-folding an enormous envelope, or wrapping a big dictionary, or lining a shelf, or even binding a handful of petite blank books. Sheets will ship—this being my maiden foray into selling full-size sheets—rolled and be-tissued (and banded) inside a very sturdy cardboard mailing tube. As you might expect, I will also embellish the tube with a band of Cambridge Imprint paper…and you can in fact wrap your entire tube should you be so inclined.

Meanwhile, our selection of Cambridge notebooks is abloom with five new cover patterns, one name more charming than the next: Charleston Stripe, Kettle’s Yard, Pear Halves Elderberry, Wave Indigo & Animalcules Dusk. The pages are smooth ivory, unruled and staple-bound. The covers almost beg (politely) to be adorned with a companion Cambridge label.

Our original sets of six patterned envelopes with six ivory Stonehenge notecards…sold out in a starry minute. We have selected six different patterns for the new set.

And last but not least: We herald the return of Special Starry papers, Peggy Angus papers, and Special Papers in red & blue, both online and in the shop.

Parent Sheets
Notebooks
Set of Six Envelopes

Paper love, Bari

Witty Sampler of Summery Paperie

Dear Everyone ~

I’m delighted to announce the Witty Sampler of Summery Paperie. We have refreshed our original sampler to include four new papers, two of whose provenance is a paragon of providential papery procurement. More about that in a…paragraph. The updated sampler presents a binder’s dozen of various sheets ranging in size from a postcard—yes, an actual postcard—to 8½ x 13 (folded in half). The sampler also includes a “summery summary,” detailing the specifics of all thirteen papers: country of origin, finish, and weight. But weight, there’s more! The sampler also includes a mini pencil covered in Japanese decorative paper, for jotting down your notes & musings whilst experimenting with different mediums. The pencil is presented in a petite glassine, clipped to a large British glassine envelope (protecting all the papers). As you might imagine, the two glassines are clipped together with a…teeny butterfly-clip, likewise covered in Japanese decorative paper.

Here, for some light reading, is the serendipitous saga of the two new lightweight papers. Alyson, my postal (and paper) muse, texted me “live” from Spencers, a fabulous stationery store in Carmel where she has shopped for years and years. The shop’s office supply section apparently contains some somewhat vintage items, lingering from years past. I had mentioned to Alyson that I was on the lòókout for some lightweight papers. The proprietor of Spencers promptly produced, for Alyson’s perusal, these two boxes, which Alyson photographed and texted on the spot.

Yes, I exclaimed, Yes! Please “shop ’n’ ship” on my behalf. Well, Alyson and I are both big fans of Priority Mail, and Alyson remembered a flat-rate large Priority Mail box that she has always said looks like it was designed specifically for mailing board games. Neither of us had ever used one of these boxes…

Alyson acquired one of these at the Marvelous Main Monterey Post Office. It perfectly accommodated the two boxes of paper with room to spare for the truly most charmola paper plates I have seen in a millennium. (You will see them soon.) The parcel of lightweight papers weighed in at a little over 10 lbs. They put quite an ounce, a bounce, a spring, I mean a summer, in the Witty Sampler!

Meanwhile, back at the paper ranch: In addition to the two somewhat vintage (meaning they aren’t made any longer) lightweight papers, the updated sampler includes a Cambridge Imprint patterned paper and a sheet of Hahnemühle Cappuccino.

Whilst I was folding & cutting a few sheets of the Parchment Deed (which we must refer to henceforth as Parchment Indeed) and the Plover Bond, to see how they might behave as a mini-book, I sent a few sheets to Janet Bouldin, our in-house whimsy illustrator & watercolourist, to test. She squiggled and striped and dotted, oh my! She tried micron pen, fountain pen, and watercolour, and was thrilled at how beautifully the papers responded to all of her inks & pens. Each Witty Sampler includes a chevroned lightweight paper ribbon by Janet, attached to a 33rd year Bari Zaki Studio seal.

Each of the papers in the sampler is sold in a pad or packet on its own. Parchment Indeed and Plover Bond are each available in sets of ten sheets.

Witty Sampler of Summery Paperie
Parchment Indeed
Plover Bond

From the cockles of my heart, Bari

Mighty fine July nine musing

Dear Everyone ~

My first “edition” of Mighty-fine-nine-signature-spine (MFNSSB) workshop for a group will debut via Zoom next Saturday, July 16, one summery week away. The book is so voluminous that in the workshop, everyone’s goal is to complete the first three of the nine stitching rows. Students are then able to stitch Rows 4–9 on their own—with my guidance and virtual company on the live recording of the complete lesson.

Our group next Saturday includes several students who recently completed Trio of Diamond-stitched Booklets. Their fingers are definitely itching to stitch again. I assembled their kits for MFNSSB so they could ship with the Diamond-stitched kits. I next assembled the kits for students in Canada. And then the parcels for students who had ordered multiple kits. So, kit assembly was not as chromatically dramatic as usual. Tammy, who helps me in the studio & shop, had her fingers full—awhir as it were—with winding long lengths (48 inches each) of threads for each palette. I love this photo.

This style of book, for me, has a nice nostalgia. I made my first MFNSSB back in 2018 when Emmy Kennett was nimbly assisting me in the shop. Emmy is an artist, and she likes to make her own sketchbooks. (You can see some of them here.) We often experimented together with different page sizes, stitching styles, and thicknesses for our sketchbooks. When we embarked on this particular style, I was curious to see just how it would function as a sketchbook, because of its super-thickness. Emmy finished hers almost overnight, I was taking a bit more time. She began to use hers immediately. . . and I so enjoyed witnessing her pages. . .and her book fill up with all manner of musings, colourful illustrations, and charming collages. I loved that not only had she delighted in making her book, but also revelled in using it, with almost reckless abandon. I asked her recently if I could share photos of her long since filled up book. I also asked her about how she had enjoyed using the book. Here’s what she shared:

“ I like a thicker book. Interestingly, small/thin books are the most intimidating for me. I tend to use my sketchbooks like reference books. If it is a small book, there will not be a lot to put in it, so it’s unlikely there will be anything I want to look at later. When I am working on a one-off painting, brainstorming ideas for a mural, or just wanting to draw a bird or a border on a postcard, I like having a lot of pages to flip through.”

Emmy had a great deal more to say on this subject, and her stream of consciousness was so refreshing, that I’ve decided to let it splash into a separate post in a couple of weeks. I think she will inspire even non-sketchers to want to carry around a blank book.

Gabriele in Austria, a veteran of a handful of Bookfuls, took the MFNSSB as a private workshop back in mid-April. The very next day, she sent me this lovely photo of herself with her book. And she shared this:

“ It's hard to believe, but taking a few pictures with me and my mighty fine book is not so easy. The book looks good—I am just not sure if I should not hide behind it. Oh well. When I finally liked a photo—oops, the book was upside down. So another session became necessary. But here it is at last. And I’d like to say that the greatest challenge for students in your group workshop will not be the stitching itself, but deciding which kit to order :) Have a wonderful rest of the week full of colours and birdsong. ”

Virginia in Utah is an avid bookbinder, quilter, and crafter-at-large. She has taken numerous Bari Zaki bookbinding & boxmaking workshops—both long distance and in person, during a very steamy workshop weekend, which you can read about here. During the pandemic, she sent word to say she really wanted to make one of these books, but the internet connection is a challenge where she lives. So she decided to commission a MFNSSB because she had to have one. She e’d me a few photos of her book pages in progress and shared this:

“ This week has been really hectic but I've done a couple of pages in my ‘Mighty Fine Book’. The grand title makes me feel a little guilty, so I call the book ‘Snippets’. It started out as an album for photos, drawings, and notes of quilts/gifts but quickly segued into memories and why I chose certain items for each person. I wanted it to be spontaneous and quick, so I didn't set any limits on what I put in it. ”

If you’ve been tempted to register for the MFNSSB workshop, there’s still time to receive your kit via Priority Mail (or curbside pick-up). If the palette(s) you prefer are marked Sold Out, just e me or call, and I’ll be delighted to put together a custom kit for you.

Mighty-fine-nine-signature-spine Book Workshop

Be-stitched, but not bothered or bewildered, Bari

A Toast to Post-anniversary Post

Dear Everyone ~

Last Tuesday was my red-letter day, my 7th anniversary of opening Bari Zaki Studio. It was also a red-stamp day! My envelope from Alyson with an address frame of 1959 7¢ Hawaii stamps arrived, delivered with a priceless smile by Will. The week also brought an exceptional bounty of other noteworthy mail.

First, two postcards of distinction: I have been postcard pals with both Stacey & Denise for several years now. Stacey is a calligrapher, and her postcards always feature a meaningful quote as the image, with a decorative border, and a greeting on the back. I keep my Favourites of Favourite Postcards in a special little stack, and several of Stacey’s reside there. A couple of others from her are on the Postcard Wall (where I can only savour the quote side).

Denise is an avid postcard sender to her personal correspondents, and also the proprietress of a postcard subscription service that she started back in 2007. (You might like to look at Letters Mingle Souls on Facebook! Denise’s description is delightful in the xoxtreme.) Her postcards to me always include a bit of collage or original artwork on the message side and a “framed” quote on the front.

Talk about having philatelic friends! Alyson, a.k.a. my postal muse, asked her friend Mary, who was visiting Canada, to see if 1¢ ladybug stamps were still available…for me! (As you may or may not know, I love ladybugs.) Mary, who lives in San Francisco—and is in fact the co-founder of the San Francisco Center for the Book—had visited Bari Zaki Studio pre-pandemic for an in-person shopping stop. Mary accepted the mission and reported via text to Alyson:

“ Oh you are in luck. I’ve been stopping by every post office I have passed and have gotten two sheets of 1¢ stamps here, five sheets of 1¢ stamps there. Canada Post is phasing out the low denomination stamps. As luck would have it, I went to a tourist part of town where people are not actually mailing anything other than standard letters, and they had two sheets of ladybugs which I picked up for Bari pronto. ”

Mary mailed me 10 sheets of ladybugs! So, I have 500 ladybugs to use for decorative purposes. The accompanying note is inside what turns out to be Mary’s signature notecard. On the front, she drew a little ladybug perched on a…punctuation mark that Mary and Alyson have named the EPT, for Emphatic Pause Thingy. (Quick def: A punctuation innovation to show or express emphasis within a sentence, like a semicolon with attitude.) Mary makes herself emphatic pause notecards in various colour schemes. I can’t make an EPT on my computer (at least, not yet!), but Alyson makes them on her typewriter, by typing an exclamation point and then backspacing and typing a comma.

And yet one more gift of flap-happiness: My friend Michael made me a letter opener of zebrawood. Please note that zebra contains a b and a z. My initial delirium has not diminished! I actually know Michael through Alyson, and he presented her with a “companion” black acacia letter opener he made, awesome for a correspondent whose favourite letter is…a.

As the frosting on the camaraderie cake, I received a trio of particularly lovely emails in response to my 7-year-anniversary blog post.

Tammy D. wrote:

“ 7 years! I must’ve met you early on as I have memories of browsing your store with big dreams, well before the pandemic. Congratulations on making your evolving dreams come true and, in the process, helping your patrons bring theirs to life. I just love your emails. They are little moments of meditation. – Sighing blissfully. ”

Lynn L. wrote:

“ Frankly, I'm not a Zoom class lover but your classes are the exception. I love your clear instructions and your well coordinated kits.The classes are unique and well paced and produced, making it a fun experience. Thanks again, Bari. As they say ... I'll be back. xoxo. ”

Shea M. first emailed:

“ Big Cheers to you Bari!! I hope you have a great 7th year celebration, and I can't wait to see how your business continues to expand in creative and exciting ways. I wish you all the best. ”

The following day, Shea wrote:

“ What I really wanted to say, ---I look forward to following your paper trail and listening to your paper tales! Do you think I'm a little obsessed? ”

And, my Instagram post (showing a new photo of me in the shop) received the most comments of any of my posts ever! Thanxox to everyone who shared the occasion!

In deepest bow, Bari

P.S.
Also last week, I finished assembling & shipping all the kits for the Mighty-fine-nine-signature-spine-book (MFNSSB) workshop, which debuts a week from Saturday, on July 16. As an additional layer of loveliness here at the Palette Palace, two students requested one additional kit, and one student requested two additional kits! Later this week, I will showcase several MFNSSB’s made by students in months past.

A slightly introspective retrospective

Dear Everyone ~

Today, June 26, is my seven-year anniversary of opening Bari Zaki Studio on Lincoln Avenue! To honour the occasion, I have updated the “About” page on my website, highlighting major moments in the past seven years. The element that binds them together is paper, my enormous love for it, my endless desire to make beautiful and meaningful objects with it, and, of course, the ways that paper connects us!

It has been an eventful seven years, from filming my first online bookbinding video with Sonheim Creative (2017), to offering workshops via Zoom to an international audience (2020)... to my recent filming with The Crafter’s Box, which will debut this August & autumn. My postcard wall, which began (2015) as an ode to my love of correspondence, with a hundred or so postcards washi taped to the shop wall, now flows all the way back through the studio, with at least 1,001 postcard tales from customers, students, and ardent correspondents from around the globe.

I am infinitely grateful for the continued community & camaraderie that has expanded despite the pandemic. And for the ongoing pleasures that teaching workshops and receiving mail & photos provide. Students, shoppers & correspondents all contribute their creativity & ingenuity, renewing and refreshing my papery passions.

Speaking of postal musing, Alyson Kuhn has sent me two swoonworthy envelopes commemorating my anniversary. I want to share them with you here. Her address frame of postage stamps always delights me, and her use of “themed” postage is a bonus. The Postal Service issued very few 7¢ stamps, and these two are such beautiful examples of engraving. The blue-frame stamp, issued on January 3, 1959, honors Alaska’s admission as the 49th state. The red-frame stamp, issued on August 21, 1959, honors Hawaii’s admission as the 50th state—the envelope is winging its way to Chicago, hopefully to arrive today!

To envelop shoppers in my anniversarial happiness, I have assembled a party-favour: seven sumptuous scraps in a Cambridge Imprint envelope, super-sealed with a teeny butterfly-clip covered in Japanese paper and flap-happy strips of washi tape. Everyone who places an online order or shops in-shop through Tuesday, July 12, will be gifted these scraps of my paper gratitude.