Dear Everyone ~
I have been collecting vintage correspondence for many years.
I’ve discovered letters at various venues, at home and abroad,
most of them from the 1800s (and a few that are even older).
All of them were beautifully written by hand, with nibs or quills,
at a time when paper was precious.
How they look and feel is more captivating to me than what they say,
especially as many of them are in languages I don’t read.
Until the 1870s in the U.S., all paper was made from cotton rag,
and those fibers were longer and stronger than the wood fibers now used for papermaking.
The letters in my collection are still in excellent condition,
and the creamy paper is sturdy enough (even when it’s relatively thin)
to cut and score and fold and adhere … and can you see where I’m going
I’ve decided to decant my archive of vintage correspondence
and put these mesmerizing sheets to new use.
I’ve covered a limited edition of buttonhole stitch books,
and I’ve also set aside some sheets for gift-wrapping.
And I’ve made a (very) few small bags, which are splendid for holding baby envelopes
and, inevitably, rolls of washi tape.
I propose to wrap boxed items, such as Italian paper clips,
as well as petite Rivoli pads, enclosure samplers,
and even small Euro-folders.
Several years ago, I acquired ledgers of lightweight “tissue-y” paper
that had been used, with carbon paper, to keep a record of outgoing typewritten correspondence.
Magically, the carbon paper turned the copies an incredible shade of teal.
These pages are wonderful for wrapping small items in what I call “bonbon style”,
with a length of ribbon or bakers twine at each end.
This is a dreamy way to give someone an Italian glue stick
or a German Duroplast pencil sharpener.
In the dropdown menu for each shop listing mentioned above,
you’ll find a “PLUS” option showing the cost of gift wrapping.
If you’d like to see whether an item not specified above can be wrapped
(or bagged) in vintage correspondence, please email (bz@barizaki.com)
or call me at (773) 294-7766.
I’ll be able to tell you right away how I’d propose wrapping it.
Very epistolarily,
Bari