Very Merry Merch Moments

Dear Everyone ~

We are delighted to announce a fresh assortment of Bundle of Stationery Joy à la Japonaiserie, a binder’s dozen of them to be exact. A bundle is a super gift for anyone resolved to become a more frequent (or dressier) correspondent in 2025. We’ve assembled each one with a new array of envelopes & notecards from artists & designers around the globe: from James Winrow (UK) to Marimekko (Sweden), from Wms & Co (Brooklyn!) to Art Press (UK), plus a single envelope hand-folded by me from Shizen (India) or Cambridge Imprint paper (UK) or a calendar page! All ’shikied in a large piece of vintage Japanese decorative paper from my reserves, beribboned with vintage Japanese cording. The thirteen wraps are all different, and each is paired with a Jumbeau pencil hand-wrapped in complementary Japanese paper. 

Backtracking a few weeks: Whilst in the UK last month, I was motoring around one afternoon with my sister-in-law, exploring a recommended destination in northern Wales. While on our mission, I spied a beguiling selection of cards by Paper Bird Publishers. Two artists caught my immediate attention: Tjitske Kamphuis and Janine Burrows. Yes, I purchased several cards on the spot, and can confirm that the lusciously thick stock they are printed on takes ink beautifully. I reached right out to PBP to ask if they’d ship to the US. They would indeed, and they did! I am beyond delighted to welcome these charming cards to BZS. And I am doubly delighted to be their very first US stockist.

N.B. (Nota Bene and Neatly Brilliant): a 2-inch strip of the front image is printed on the backside of the card, which you could slice off to use as a bookmark (or gift tag). A dotted line & tiny scissors icon offer encouragement, with a little caption that reads ‘for the bookworm’. We love that!

In other paper-related news, we’ve added a handsome sketch pad from Hahnemühle. Both Ruby and Janet have already tested the paper with their favoured medium (seen here or below). The paper is 100% cotton, warm-ish white, with a toothy finish. A lovely touch: a single sheet of unprinted translucent paper lies inside the cover, as the top sheet of the pad. You can certainly re-use it for your own creative purposes. Lovely detail: in the lower left corner of the cover, the word Drawing is foil-stamped in silver, as are Hahnemühle and their logo at top.

Ruby observed, “The sheets have such a pleasant, toothy texture for a lighter weight paper. There is much excitement at the thought of experimenting with other mediums on this paper, for doodling, or more intricate projects.”

Janet affirmed, “The tablet is the perfect size for small sketches—or to fill the pages with larger works! The paper has some tooth to it, but not enough to interfere with the sketch. The paper will also take a light wash of watercolour with little buckling, and easily handles drier watercolour. It is Hahnemühle’s usual fine quality, pure cotton paper. That company never disappoints.”

If you’d like any of your purchases wrapped more seasonally than our snowy white tissue, let me know, and I’ll see what I can come up with for you!


Bundle of Stationery Joy à la Japonaiserie
Notecards by Tjitske Kamphuis
Notecards by Janine Burrows
Hahnemühle drawing pads
 
Festively, Bari

PS:
Exceptionally, the shop will be open Monday, December 23 from 12–5pm and Tuesday, Christmas Eve from 11am–2pm.

An amplitude of gratitude

Dear Everyone ~

I’m typing to you on Thanksgiving whilst I have an ovenful of turkey, with a heartful of warmth and gratitude. I am grateful for the BZS community, for the technology that connects us, for the correspondence we exchange, and for actual visitors from near and far. Before I started writing this, I took a look at my previous Thanksgiving posts… and I confess that when rereading them, my heart floweth over again. They all reminded me of the magnitude of my gratitude! Here’s my Binder’s Dozen of Gratitude from 2021, and my Display of Gratitude from 2022. 

Fast forward to this year’s cornucopia and several very fresh BZS memorable moments. I always love when someone comes into the shop and announces, I’m visiting from such & such, or I’ve been following you on IG for some time, or I’m a big fan, or I was in Chicago for one reason or another and had to come see BZS.  Well, this past week, it happened twice!

On Tuesday, I happened to be in the shop, wrapping and packing up Studio Sale orders. (We were technically closed, per our new hours.) An IG follower, and maker of beautiful books, dropped in, all the way from California. He said he was a big fan, and that he’d made a special detour to visit BZS. He added that the only other place he wanted to see was Wrigley Field! 
 
Last Saturday morning, I admit to reeling a bit & reveling a lot from the kick-off of Studio Sale 2024… when I received an email from Sarah R.—also a Californian. Sarah has taken several Bookfuls via Zoom. She wrote, I’m in Chicago and will be stopping by your store today, hope I get to see you!! Sarah. She materialized shortly thereafter, we chatted, she shopped... and then she was gone. Hugs coming and going, of course, and an hour later Sarah emailed to bemoan that we hadn’t gotten a photo together! I attributed it to being swept up in the moment. This has inspired me to begin a guestbook for 2025, with room for visitors to write their comments—and for me to write my recollections in the moment-ish.

Three-ish weeks ago when I returned home from our trip to the UK, a small stack of mail was awaiting me. An envelope from Alyson (my postal muse) & Audrey (her niece) was a Hallowe’en hallo à la collaboration. They made their “spooky mail” (Audrey’s term) together, from styling the envelope, to selecting theme postage, to both penning a message on the card. This is a somewhat new-ish to me form of missive writing, sharing a card. I realize it’s a double happiness of sorts, both for the senders (who are commemorating an interlude together) and for the receiver.

I also had a joint postcard from Alyson and Karen E., a native Chicagoan transplanted to California. Karen is an avid correspondent, whose missives typically include her wonderful watercolours. She contributed to my Après–Thanksgiving gratitude post from last year. Her illustration of watercolour art was Coffee is a kind of magic you can drink, and when they were together in San Francisco last month, Karen showed Alyson the incredible illustrated (with companion quotes) book collaboration she had made with another watercolourist friend, also named Karen! Karen penned her message at the top of the postcard, Alyson penned the finale, and had it hand-cancelled at the Sutter St. Station in downtown SF.

Also in my mail-mix was a postcard from Denise, from Chicago, in her signature style. Her postcard subscription service is aptly named Letters Mingle Souls, and featured one of her postcards in our A toast to anniversary post, which you can see here. I have a lovely collection of Denise’s postcards, many of which grace my postcard wall in the studio. Her cards always include well-hyphoned placed captions and lovely bits of decorative paper. The quote she used this time is particularly profound, and apropos of the moment. 

Even if you don’t have a postcard wall, I encourage you to put your incoming correspondence somewhere that you can enjoy it. Alyson recently sent me this charming photo of how she’s displaying her incoming correspondence (and envelopes, of course!). At left is my recent envelope to Alyson— with a pair of stamps, both showing other stamps! And below is Alyson dressed to match the card (with a mug I had given her years ago).

On my recent  trip, I took along my envelope-making supplies, hoping I could get caught up with my correspondence, even though that would be a tall order. I managed to fold a large handful of envelopes. I didn’t have a proper cutting surface, so improvised with a piece of corrugated from a shipping box. It was quite satisfying nonetheless to hand-fold envelopes outside of the studio! Additionally, I used the off-cuts from the corners of the envelopes to make a few collages. Seen here is the little table I managed to fill to the brim with all things paper and correspondence.

My deepest bow to Everyone who continues to appreciate, connect, and support Bari Zaki Studio. I would not be here without you!

And to Everyone who helps me bring the BZS love to you: Alyson (seen above), Ruby (top left below), Cat & Janet (top right below), Emmy (mid-left below), Tammy (not seen here), my beloved Zak in his gardening garb (mid-right below), and, not at all least, Will, my dependable & soulful mail carrier (holding up a letter that a customer had sent him c/o BZS).

 Heart of hearts at tippy top: Robb Morgan's handiwork (February 2022). Hand: at top is Audrey Kuhn's H illustration from the Abecedary (May 2024).

Wishing you a Thanksgiving filled with light, love, and many delicious leftovers!

XO, Bari

Papery previews & more for Studio Sale ’24

Dear Everyone ~

Studio Sale 2024 will go live this very evening, November 22, at 8pm (CST) Chicago Shopping Time. We invite you to shop in comfort, no need to dress up for us—unless you want to wear an armload of washi bracelets like Ruby. No need for alarum, just set your book o’clock.

 This year’s (our fifth) Gifth with Purchase is our scrap-happiest ever: a large glassine sleeve almost overflowing with Extremely Exquisite Scraps (order minimum for the giftie is $88, excluding shipping). We’ve never run out of scraps, but it could happen, so this offer will expire if & when our reserves run dry.

We’re also announcing our first BZS BIG Gifth with Purchase: The first two customers to spend $200 (excluding shipping) will receive a free memo noteholder & pencil cup, made by me and covered in Japanese decorative papers from our coffers. Deploy them with delight to dress up any surface (except your dashboard). 

The Studio Sale will continue through Sunday, December 8. Orders will ship promptly, and in-shop pick-up will be available Wednesday–Sunday afternoon (except for Thanksgiving).

 And if you are inclined to visit, browse, chat, we’ll be delighted to see you. We will now be open on Sunday afternoons. Our new official hours are Wednesday–Saturday from 12–5pm & Sunday from 12–4pm. Note our new mighty fine sign, hand-lettered by Ruby, gem that she is.

Studio Sale 2024

Verily merrily, Bari

Papery treasures, pleasures & more for Studio Sale ’24

Dear Everyone ~

Our fifth annual virtual Studio Sale is virtually upon us.The Studio Sale page will go live on Friday evening, November 22, at 8pm Chicago Shopping Time (CST). This year’s preview page is ready for your review. And, in our holiday tradition, we will soon be announcing our fifth gift(h) with purchase.

The sale will include an abundance of books made by me, all created before a live studio audience during Zoom workshops. Bindings on offer include Pocket Book, Modern Medieval Binding, and Boxful of Summer. And we’ve assembled our first-ever Bundles of Bookcloth Remnants. Each one-of-a-kind bundle includes 25 pieces in various colours and textures, ranging in size from 4" x 6" to 12" x 18". A many-splendoured tactile treasure trove for your bookmaking bonheur.

In further scrap-happiness, we’ve bundled our reserves of Crinkly Kodai scraps. Eight pieces per bundle, ranging in size from 5" x 7"-ish to 8" x 6"-ish, with some long strips as well. Use them for making small books, wrapping gifts (They behave a bit like fabric—supple yet sturdy, and sensuous to the touch.), or, of course, deluxe-ifying a collage.

 We regularly receive compliments on our complimentary wrap—and the occasional inquiry as to why our tissue feels so silky. We’ve decided to debut a “BZS Wrap-o-gram Kit” for Everyone who’d like to emulate our signature style. Sheets of tissue (a binder’s dozen, as you might expect), a roll of gold-and-black leaf washi (still a favourite, after all these years), three colours of seam binding ribbon, for the loopiest, easiest bows (2 yd lengths), 10 yds of Cheery Canary French embroidery thread, and five Rossi enclosure cards + envelopes. Think that’s all? Almost. I’m making a little video of exactly how I wrap a book, and Everyone who purchases the Wrap-o-gram Kit will receive a link to it.

And, of course, a marvelous mix of miscellany, at pretty nice price$.

Remember: You cannot buy anything yet on the Studio Sale page, but you can look!
 
The Studio Sale will continue through Sunday, December 8. Orders will ship promptly, and in-shop pick-up will be available Wednesday to Saturday from 12–5pm, and Sunday from 12–4pm (except for Thanksgiving).

2024 Studio Sale

On your mark, Bari

En route for Bookful of Travel

Dear Everyone ~

 Bookful of Travel is my fifteenth Bookful collaboration with artist, author & dear friend Cat Bennett. Our four-session workshop via Zoom will begin on Saturday, January 18. 

Here are some delightful & insightful musings from Cat about her approach to creating a travelogue:
 
“When I sat down to create an entry in my book about travel, I remembered a long journey I had taken when I was an 18-year-old student from Montreal to a tiny German island in the North Sea. I started to write then stopped and searched for maps and images of the island online. I was surprised to see how the island had changed in the many intervening years. I searched for older images and found one to make a drawing of. Making the drawing released a flood of new memories.”

Cat reflects, “Perhaps the visual mind stores pictures of what the busy verbal mind might more easily forget. Without images, my writing would be thinner. Without words, the images would tell only the sensory side of the story. I’ve discovered that going between writing and drawing makes our memories sing and reveals stories we didn’t fully know were there. I so look forward to exploring this process with everyone in our Bookful class.”

Students will make a landscape-format accordion book with drop-spine hard covers. The book measures 5¼" x 7¼" x 1¼", and includes two different types of pocket. Your accordion panel-block does not attach directly to the front cover and spine; instead, a vertical pocket inside the back cover holds your panel-block in place for ease of use and beauty of display. The back pocket also enables you to insert a fresh accordion panel-block for subsequent traipsing & traversing. A diagonal pocket on the inside front cover handily holds postage and ephemera, musings and miscellany.

I was recently in the U.K. with Zak (an extremely bittersweet family trip). It was so comforting to collect every imaginable papery bit that presented itself, from little waxy bakery bags to a parking violation, to museum maps and autumn leaves.

The kitful of materials I’ve assembled for this Bookful features decorative papers for your covers, which I discovered on my trip. You will choose from three patterns: Delft Stripe, Ikat Rose, and Cabana. You’ll make your pockets from complementary Canford solids, and your panel-block from Stonehenge.

In weeks #2, #3 & #4, Cat will begin the workshop sessions with a curated slideshow of inspirations. We’ll see how several contemporary artists & illustrators go about making images with a sense of place. We’ll talk about which approach might work best for our pages and how we can combine various kinds of image-making in our stories. Cat will then lead the class in painting & drawing & collage exercises using a range of mediums. 

To celebrate our fifteenth Bookful, every kit will include a glassine sleeveful of: papers large enough to hand-fold envelopes for attaching to your pages; exquisite scraps for embellishing your collages; a few petite glassines for collecting the tiniest of things—and an assortment of waxed-linen threads you can use to stitch bits of ephemera into the folds of your accordion panel-block.

 If you’re inspired by our Bookful theme—whether to document upcoming or recent travels—or if you’d simply like to make a book about a particular adventure, we want to encourage you to join us on this bookmaking journey. Whether you are anticipating or reminiscing, this Bookful will envelop you with joie de voyage.

Nota bene: If you are a Bookful newcomer, we can assure you that no drawing or bookbinding experience is necessary—all levels of artistic skill & enthusiasm are welcome! The pace is peaceful, and the camaraderie is delightful. Plus, you will have four complete workshop videos (recorded in real time) to watch and rewatch at your leisure. We look forward to beginning the new year with you via Zoom!

Bookful of Travel

Across the pondering, Bari

PS:
A Petite Surprise for Everyone whose binder’s dozenth Bookful (or 14th or 15th!) this will be: Your kit(s) will ship with a bonbon bag of thirteen little BZS treats, to use or mail or gift.

Toasty, but not ghosty

Dear Everyone ~

Autumn is assuredly upon us, wherever you are. Let us herald several paper pleasures that strike a domestic, and even cozy, note.

Janet Bouldin’s newest postcards and notecards bring her entire collection to 21. Her persimmons and pumpkins are fabulous for fall (along with ‘Fall’ by Denise Fiedler, seen atop, and her owls). We asked Janet about the rhyme on her pumpkin postcard, and heard a charming backstory:

“In my family, we have always been fond of an old finger play that provides great entertainment for the various toddlers—and offers plenty of room for Halloween drama. A couple of years ago, I decided to make a special birthday card-gift for one of my sisters with a late October birthday. I collaborated with a calligrapher who has become a friend, using this charming public-domain rhyme. My sister had the original framed, and we are delighted to now offer this as a card.

Here’s how to recite: Open the fingers of one hand, representing the five pumpkins, and fold them down one at a time as you ‘say your lines.’ Blow like the wind, and hide your hand behind your back as the pumpkins roll out of sight.”
 
Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate
The first one said, “My it’s getting late.”
The second one said, “There are witches in the air!”
The third one said, “We don’t care!”
The fourth one said, “Let’s run, let’s run!”
The fifth one said, “It’s just Halloween fun.”
Ooooooh went the wind and out went the light.
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

Our washi repertoire now includes four new patterns and one reprise. From top of the tower to “drawbridge level”: Cake Motifs; Wildlife Winter Wearables; Cuisine; Toasty & Cozy; and, Animals on Parade. Each roll is 7¾ yards long; widths vary and are specified in the shop listing.

The marvelous Margin notebooks from Japan are back in stock, in plenty of time for your seasonal list-making, doodling, and dawdling. They are as handsome as they are handy. The notebooks measure 6⅞ x 9¾, an elegant proportion. They tuck tidily in a tote or spacious pocket, and travel well thanks to their heavy chipboard covers. The three colours have different patterns on their pages, and make a très dandy trio.

Announcing a Buttonhole-stitch kit

Dear Everyone ~

I am delighted to debut our first-ever Buttonhole-stitch kit. An awesome 2¼ inches of Hahnemühle pages, this little book is cuter than a cube, less thick than a brick. Measuring 4⅜ x 5½, it stands handily on its own, but also fits in a spacious pocket. Speaking of pockets, the book’s cover includes an envelope-pocket at front and back. Speaking of covers, your choice of five fabulous St. Armand 100% cotton hues. Speaking of colours, we’re talking Hahnemühle heaven. You can arrange them to your heart’s content. Here they are, in alphabetical glory: Antique Rose, Aquamarine Blue, Blue, Brick, Bright White, Burgundy, Butter, Caramel, Chamois, Evergreen, Fawn, Grey, Lilac, Mango, Marble Grey, Mocha, Mellow Pink, Mint, Sapphire Blue. 

The combo of Hahnemühle and St. Armand is tactile, elegant, and perfectly practical. The cotton cover actually seems to get softer over time. You can pat it, embellish it, wish you could wear it. Üm-la-laut!

The kit includes all the materials to make this impressive and charmingly chunky book with twenty 8-page signatures, for a total of 320 serendipitous sides! All of the signatures, as well as the cover are already cut to size for you—what a stitch!

And, as you can see, Ruby has demo’d an appetizing buffet of mediums on several different colours of Hahnemühle.

If wish you could make this book, but are new to bookbinding, trust us: You totally can do it! I often say this is a great binding style for beginners (or for more accomplished binders, when you are short on time). The buttonhole stitch is friendly, becoming rhythmic fairly early in the stitching process. This style also lends itself, if need be, to being taken apart easily and restitched. (Yes, it happens, even to me.) Also: My online bookbinding course with Sonheim Creative provides a four-lesson recording (no materials, just know-how and encouragement) which can help you get on your way. You can read more about it and sign up here.

 Here’s a little gem of a deal: Order two kits at a sweet price, and “cubic delirium” will ensue.

Buttonhole-stitch kit

Wishing you beaucoup de blissful bookbinding moments, Bari

A cornucopia of fabulous cards

Dear Everyone ~

The British are, in a word, brill about papery pleasures. Perhaps because England was the first country to have postage stamps (1840, with the U.S. following in 1847). Whatever the origins of this British epistolary epiphany, the inspirations and innovations continue. We have restocked cards and notebooks and cards and envelopes and cards from a quartet of our favourite artists from across the pond. Make a splash!

Kiran Ravilious is an artist in the U.K. whose work I’ve followed—& drooled over—for many moons. In the early-ish days of BZS, we stocked her notecards & notebooks. We have long longed to restock them, and the moment—and the glorious shipment—has arrived! Kiran creates new designs every season, and they are perennially enchanting and enticing.

We begin with an octet of pocket-sized notebooks. Measuring 4⅛ x 5¾, they are staple-bound, and their interior 24 pages are a lovely natural white. The covers are delightfully heavy, and their patterns extend across the back. Nota bene: The notebooks are exactly the height of a Le Pen, so indulge your penchant for colour coordinated writing accessories. Clip, clip.

In the notecard department, two sets of six notecards await: Tutti-frutti (a Kiran classic) and Flora Scallopini (a charming vase and blooms, in a trio of colourways). Cards measure 4⅛ x 5¾, and come with a Euro-kraft envelope. The card stock itself is warm in tone and super-smooth to the touch. The inks sit vibrantly atop the matte finish.

 We’re also stocking ten Kiran notecards sold individually, so you can assemble your own cache. Same pretty proportions, same luscious cardstock, same krafty envelopes.

Moving down to the southwestern coast (figuratively speaking), we have replenished the original three British Seaweed Postcard Portfolios from Molesworth & Bird. And we’ve added their newest set, seaweeds collected on the Isles of Scilly (pronounced silly, not skill-y). The Silly set of twelve postcards is of course presented in Molesworth & Bird’s charming reusable portfoli-ette with string-and-button closure. We’ve also stocked the set of eight Silly notecards, which fold over at the top and likewise reside in their own portfoli-ette. 

 We’ve refreshed our offering of Cambridge Imprint envelopes & postcards with six new envelope patterns and six postcards with complementary botanical borders.

But wait, there’s these! Three new whimsical notecards by Hadley Paper Goods. And we’ve restocked Fruit Salad, a set of ten enclosure cards with envelopes in a sweet box (handy for rogue postage, wild washi, and petite pencils).

Kodai(s) and Cockerells in my coffers can be yours…

Dear Everyone ~

Collecting papers has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. Everyone who has followed BZS for a long time may know the story of my childhood paper closet… Since then, wherever and whenever I have travelled, scouting for paper has been on the itinerary. 

Years before I began to make books professionally, I became a frequent visitor, and shopper, at Aiko’s Art Materials here in Chicago. The papers were marvels I'd never seen anywhere, and the shop was an enchanted sanctuary. I quickly discovered that even my simplest book could be dressed up by a Katazome or Chiyogami.

Chuck Izui—manager and eventual owner of Aiko’s—let me know when certain papers would soon become extinct, because the family who made them didn’t have anyone to pass on their expertise to. Such were the circumstances of the family that made the crinkly Kodai papers seen here. Aiko’s would receive two shipments a year, with only one or two sheets of each pattern.

This paper is indeed paper but looks and feels like fabric. I taught myself—by experimenting—how to use it for my purposes. Once I figured it out, the Kodai glued like a charm, for books and for boxes. (I will happily share my technique with you via email or phone, after purchase). And a snippet, a strip, a shard goes a long way on a card.

My prized vintage Aiko’s sample book (below), is opened to one of the papers I am now going to part with. Before Aiko’s closed, I was fortunate enough to stock up on parent sheets of many beloved patterns. A fair number of these have remained in reserve, and are now ready to be pressed into service—after being scored, cut, folded, and glued—by someone other than me.

 In related retail news: Ruby has just assembled what will be the ultimate (in both senses of the word) batch of our Japanese Deluxe Vintage Paper Assortment. As with the original assortment, we’ve selected thirteen (a binders dozen) 8½ x 11 sheets of papers I originally acquired at Aiko’s in the grand old days. Assortments are similar but not identical (no duplicates within an assortment). I will select for you.

Back in the early aughts, Zak & I were planning a visit to our dear friend in Norwich UK. As always, my brain was computing our route by seeing what paper places we might visit on the way. The Cockerell marbled studio—whose papers I’d covered many books with—was located in Cambridgeshire. I sent my inquiry via post, because the trip pre-dated my emailability. A favourable reply was forthcoming (maybe it forthcame!) via post!

We had a lovely visit. We got to stand inside the room where all the marbling magic happened and heard the history of the patterns and techniques. Of course we brought home a large, actually very large, supply of Cockerell hand-marbled papers in assorted exquisite patterns. These have been living, neatly and cozily, in my paper cabinet, and I am deaccessioning several sheets each of a binder’s dozen of patterns.

In my very first Introduction to Glueing Happiness via group Zoom, students covered a piece of binder’s board and a companion butterfly-clip (in a contrasting Cockerell pattern, natch) and the results were exquisite.

This could go without saying, but my years of collecting, and working with, the papers I acquired at Aiko’s are some of the finest papers I’ve ever had the joy of working with, not only for the foldability and glueability, but also because the patterns and textures are timeless. There are books I made years & years ago that continue to make my heart smile from ear to ear. May they have the same, or perhaps even greater, influence on your bookbinding endeavours.

The many glories of Wordy Stories, by the Bookful

Dear Everyone ~

Bookful of Wordy Stories, my 14th Bookful collaboration with Cat Bennett, begins Saturday, September 21—a soupçon less than a fortnight hence! Last week, whilst Cat & I were discussing our inspirations for the upcoming Bookful, she told me a wordy story that she was really excited about. I won’t be a spoiler sport, and Cat will be sharing it with everyone in the workshop, but I will hint that it took place in her teens. We’ve decided to show one of the illustrations that will accompany her story. Voilà! (Cat's knack for extracting Cambridge tidbits always delights me.)

I find Cat’s creative process both inspiring and a bit mysterious. She is always exploring new techniques and ways of illustrating a story whether visual or verbal. Her teachings help students discover their own personal style in a gently encouraging fashion. Even if you don’t plan to join us for Bookful of Wordy Stories, I think you’ll find Cat’s words about her creative process well worth your while. First, a bit of suspense...

In this Bookful, we will make a trio of charming booklets, each one to hold its own wordy story. The book structure is a French-link stitch booklet measuring 7½ x 5¾ x ⅜ with two 4-page signatures (16 serendipitous sides). We will make one together in the first workshop session, and students will make the other two booklets on their own with the live recording for guidance, and even, I like to think, for company.

Listening to Cat got me thinking about the multitude of wordy stories we each have in our library of memories, to record, illustrate, and share. Telling our personal stories in our own personal style elevates an anecdote or a reminiscence into a story you delight in re-reading from time to time, again and again. These books can be private, just for yourself, giving joie de journaling a wonderful form. They can be a very special personal gift to a lucky recipient, or installments in a family history, or you tell me....

Last week, Ruby & I did our ‘kit assembly dance’ for the upcoming Bookful: measuring & winding & counting, and mixing & matching the threads, the papers, and the vintage wallpapers. This week, I will begin wrapping & packing & dispatching the parcels from coast to coast, in between, across the pond, and beyond. 

Here is some food for creative thought from Cat: “I often begin writing projects with a visual ‘mind map’ starting with words. This allows my mind to roam without attaching too soon to any one idea. One thing leads to another and, in this free state, things pop up I hadn’t dreamed of before. Sometimes I do one with loose thumbnail drawings to dive even deeper. Drawing and free association opens the cabinet of imagination in my mind. With the map, I can step back a bit and see possibilities I might not have considered before. Some ideas spark great excitement and curiosity and those are the ones I home in on. In this Bookful, we’ll explore making these creative maps as springboards to creating our short wordy stories. And then we’ll see how adding drawings, photographs and collage items gives them zing.”

Everyone has heard the saying ‘A picture is worth a thousand words.’ For your Wordy Stories, just a few of your words will make your pictures so much richer, so much more of a story.
 
If you are considering joining us, we still have time to ship your kit(s). As always, Cat & I like to emphasize–especially if you are a Bookful newcomer, that truly no drawing, painting, collaging or bookbinding experience is necessary. The pace is serene and the camaraderie is harmonious. (Plus you will have complete videos to watch and rewatch—all 12 hours-ful!)

Earlier this summer, to celebrate our 13th—a binder’s dozen!—Bookful, we decided to make our full-length live recordings of workshops Nos. 1–12 available all summer, which you can read about in enticing detail here. It’s officially summer until Friday, September 20, which is both the autumnal equinox, and the eve of our 14th Bookful. Our Bookful page (irresistible pun), will remain on the website until 10pm Chicago time on Friday, September 20, for your perusal and purchase. Once purchased, the recordings are yours to watch and rewatch for as long as your heart desires.

Bookful of Wordy Stories
Bookfuls

Looking Bookfully towards autumn, Bari