Dear Everyone ~

This past week I spent several pleasant hours exploring the drawers at the base of my card cabinet. It resides in the shop, nestled in a perfect alcove (as you can see below). The cabinet was a gift from Chuck Izui, the owner of Aiko’s, back in 2008. It is as sentimental as it is practical. The drawers are wide and deep and hold most of my stationery supplies and reserves. When the drawers open & close, they make a soft, smooth sound that transports me back to the days of shopping at Aiko’s… and continues to inspire me.

My wandering yielded many papery delights, enveloping me in nostalgia and…an idea for the Mixi-matchi Bundle of Stationery Joy. In addition to umpteen envelopes, the bundle includes several sheets of writing paper of assorted textures and provenance. When you hold them up to the light (natural or otherwise), the watermarks and laid lines are a treat to behold. Companion items include sheets of cover stock, including some super-heavy, for cutting your own enclosure cards or even postcards or beautiful backs for backless envelopes. The creative combinations & permutations exceed our arithmetical (hmm!) dexterity.

But wait, there’s more: A full sheet of large Cambridge Imprint labels (10) and a handful of used vintage foreign stamps for decorative purposes and three vintage Special Delivery labels.

Take a breath, there is still more: Each Bundle includes a binder’s dozen of miscellaneous epistolaria (hmmph!). No two bundles are the same, but each is its own epitome.

This is my most sumptuous Bundle offering ever. I’ve made a re-useable bag to hold everything chic-ly. Each bag required a full sheet of Cambridge Imprint (yielding a few smallish scraps for the future, natch), and is secured with a double-layer length of blue (2 tones) organza.

Mixi-matchi Bundle of Stationery Joy

Verily epistolarily, Bari