Dear Everyone ~

This week I have been in the throes—and thrills— of assembling and shipping kits for the upcoming debut of Screw-post album with see-through window. And I’ve had the almost indescribable pleasure of doing this in My Visual Happy Place, my beautifully refreshed shop. My dear merchandising angel came in to work her magic right after my return from the U.K. She had numerous new items to decant and install on her R&R&R (Restock, Rearrange, Revel) manoeuvres. Let me show you around the shop-shop and the workshop-shop.

Kit assembly for the screw-post binder workshop involved quite a bit of measuring, trimming, cutting, and colour coordinating the assortment of decorative Japanese papers & linen bookcloth that is included in each kit. I began, as always, with choosing the papers for the covers & interior panels, then moved on to mixing & matching them with a range of bookcloths. For the interior panels, I’ve selected very vintage papers from my Aiko’s archive. They are monochromatic, showcasing classic Japanese motifs: stars, maple leaves, and checkerboards. Each kit is one-of-a-kind, and as I organized the sets, the center table became illuminated!

The half-day workshop will take place via Zoom on Saturday, October 29, and it is not too late to sign up and still receive your kit in time. (You can read about the workshop, the book structure, and the kitful of materials here.)

My merchandising angel prefers that I not perch on her shoulder while she works, but she does allow me to peek & coo. For me, it is such a joy to watch her create pairings & vignettes: waxed-linen threads with washi-tapes & Hahnemühle accordion books; my colour swatch books alongside the Japanese sumi-e watercolour sets; and, the papery pièce de résistance, the “desk of pads” cozying up to the table freshly stocked with stacks of Saint-Armand (6" x 6") pads—in classic white and superb stripes.

Screw-post album with see-through window

I look forward to seeing you in the shop and via Zoom soon!

Really excited, Bari