Dear Everyone ~
Scouting for new tools & supplies for bookbinding, corresponding, and drawing is a part of the creative process I find so enthralling. And when a new-to-me supply turns out to work like a charm, I'm charmed! Herewith a tour of my favourite recent discoveries & acquisitions for the shop.
Let’s start with my new crush. It's true glue love. Yamato brand glue from Japan is a smooth, lightweight paste that comes in a squeezable tube. Made, from tapioca starch, it is both acid-free & non-toxic. Most exciting of all: it is s-l-o-w drying, giving you ample time to position and reposition whatever you are glueing. Once dry, what you’ve glued remains perfectly in place. I was eager to see how this glue behaves with thin, delicate papers, as well as chiyogami & katazome. I am delirious to confirm that a layer of this paste, brushed on lightly, performs superbly. I also tried glueing bookcloth to bookboard with excellent results! And it’s perfect for collage work. Totally tubular.
Also new in the bookbinding department is a six-inch teflon bonefolder. I’ve used mine for many, many moons & consider it indispensable when I’m working with soft Japanese papers, especially when on larger books or boxes. The teflon finish makes this tool the smoothest of operators, simply gliding over the paper, banishing any bubbles or wrinkles without scuffing or marring the paper. Make no bones about it—once you use one, you’ll wonder how you've bound without it.
An Xacto knife (#1) is an essential bookbinding tool, always included on the “tools needed” list for my bookbinding & boxmaking workshop. Finally, you can purchase one #1 Xacto knife individually, with five fresh #11 blades. Xacto-ly the tool for the job.
First up in the paper department is a delicious pad of cappuccino from Hahnemühle. It’s one of their newest toned (meaning “coloured”) sketch papers in pad form, measuring 4⅛ x 5⅞ x ¼, with 30 silky smooth sheets. This paper takes all manner of mediums beautifully, which is why we've given it our stamp of approval!
Pads of Rivoli Rose notesheets in European A5 have arrived. You might wonder what size that is, and it is 8¼ x 5¾. It is twice the size of the A6 sheet and, as it happens, half the size of a European letter sheet, which is called A4. Yes, it’s a system! The companion C6 envelope measures 4⅞ x 6⅞. The A5 notesheets fold in half to fit comfortably, with room for larger enclosures, such as a postcard. I've bundled the envelopes in a set of 10, tied with snowy white seam binding.
Back to the Kuretake fudegokochi brush pen. It’s a felt-tip pen, with a cap that snaps shut. The ink is pigment-and-water based, so it is not waterproof, but let that not dissuade you. I found the tip to stay in pristine condition, even after long interludes of drawing. I also enjoyed using it to outline and then fill in the deep black ink on my wintry botanical illustrations. Its nib is good for drawing wide lines as well as thin, and is also great for calligraphy and hand-lettering!
Last, but not least, we have a charming addition to Washi World! The official pattern name is “stick stick” which cracks me up. It’s ¾ wide and marvelously mix & matchy, natch!
Yamato sticking glue
Teflon bonefolder
Xacto-knife (#1) + five spare blades
Hahnemühle cappuccino pad
Rivoli Rose (A5 pad) & envelopes
Kuretake fudegokochi brush pen
Stick-stick washi tape
Iced cappuccino, Bari