Dear Everyone ~
I delight in my daily ritual of wrapping, packing up parcels, and sending them on their way to addresses from coast to coast, and even farther-flung destinations. Part of my pleasure comes from envisioning the recipients of these packages and their anticipation… As for me, parcels arriving at BZS are always exciting. I find the process of decanting…enchanting, and then there is the displaying and the photographing. September so far has been a boon for refreshing, restocking, and re-energizing. Read on for uplifting details of what’s new and what’s renewed.
For starters, I’m beyond delighted to report that after many, many, many moons, my little linen-covered books have been assembled, hand-stitched & restocked! They debuted in the summer of 2019, as we wrote about here. For this latest edition I have chosen Plover Bond for the pages, and cashmere yarn for the Japanese style binding. Ruby, my nimble shop assistant, bonded with the Plover by testing out each of the inks, pens & pencils I stock in the shop, as you can see below. From woodless graphite pencils to Kyo-no-oto fountain pen inks, Ruby can confirm that the Plover Bond takes all manner of medium beautifully!
Speaking of mediums, let’s talk of Kuretake: I am now stocking the warm-grey fudegokochi brush pen. The ink in this felt tip pen is the same pigment-and-water base as its black counterpart. The warm-grey colour is great for layering from lighter to deeper shades. It’s lovely on its own, or as a companion to the black pen. The Kuretake Fine White brush pen has been restocked, and Ruby has given it high marks on both a textured black watercolour paper and on Euro-kraft notebook paper.
Watercolour postcard pads are a staple for any art supply kit, in my opinion. Having a pad at hand while you are padding around provides a noteworthy way to doodle & draw whilst you dilly & dally. As seen here, I’ve painted a few colour swatches using the Japanese Sumi-e watercolour set, and Ruby has illustrated every other medium in the shop. Note to self: be sure to keep a few postcard postage stamps on hand—our current fave is the sailboat—so you can promptly post your card while it is at its freshest.
Pencil Shaving greeting cards have been a perennial favourite since I opened the shop in 2015. I’ve added an endearing couple of new designs, the birthday pheasant and the birthday penguin, and restocked umpteen classics.
Also from across the pond, Molesworth & Bird seaweed postcard sets have been amply replenished—A faint seaside scent floats by when you open each portfolio—not exactly, but we can dream.
Washi tapes. Need I say more? Yes absolutely, the more the merrier! My largest shipment in a long while rolled in last week. After decanting & unwrapping, oohing & aahing, we stacked them on the counter—their original configuration in the shop pre-pandemic days—and proceeded to photograph them with glee. Then Alyson, my beloved postal muse, couldn't resist naming them, so we have: Cute Fruits, Flower Album, Foxy Moxie, Floradorable Sweets, Chevrons, Musical Notables, Acorn-ucopia, and Floating Birds to name a few.
Falling for it all, Bari