In praise of painted paper collage

Dear Everyone ~

Bookful of Painted Paper Collage will debut in a little over three weeks, on Saturday, October 1. Students will make an 8" x 8" accordion book with a small recessed panel on the front cover. Last week I began to organize & assemble all the materials for the Bookful kits. The extra-long (8" x 40") sheets of Stonehenge paper for the accordioned pages, were rolled into party poppers for shipping purposes. The cover papers are a selection of Cambridge Imprint papers, paired with Japanese bookcloth. The center table looked increasingly like a patchwork quilt as I organized the materials for each one-of-a-kind colour combo. This inspired an additional embellishment to complete the ensemble: I hand-lettered each student’s initials on a Cambridge Imprint small label, affixed to the Cambridge Imprint envelope that enveloped a handful of Cambridge Imprint scraps (for collaging)!

As I type this, five overseas parcels are now en route to their destinations, one to Austria and four to Canada. Some of the parcels also include kits for my upcoming bookbinding workshops: Triptych of Coptic-stitch books and Screw-post binder with see-through window. One of the parcels includes a duo of Bookful kits; and another includes a trio of Bookful kits. It was a feat—neat, but not petite—of kit-assembly engineering.

I am typically eager for each of our Bookful adventures to begin, and this series is no exception. I personally love to paint papers for creating collage. And I first learned about this process from Cat when she taught this technique in-person on her maiden voyage to Bari Zaki Studio back in 2018. It immediately grabbed my attention and curiosity. The mixing of paint colours as you are swashing them on a sheet of paper to create your very own palette is a process I find immensely & endlessly mesmerizing. I asked Cat to share what she enjoys about this medium and why this is a favourite process for her:

“ One of the reasons I love doing painted paper collage is I get to paint papers! It’s very relaxing and always a pleasure. And I love the way I can explore color. Sometimes I’ll paint blues and add a little brown or green or purple. No matter how many blues I paint, no two are ever the same, which makes it interesting. The depth of color depends on how much water we use. It's an intuitive process, and I find having a good selection of colors really opens up possibilities when I make art. ”

Three Bookful all-timers have already signed up for Bookful No. 8, in addition to several students who have completed several previous Bookfuls, and a handful of first-timers. As always, Cat & I like to emphasize, especially if you are a Bookful newcomer, that absolutely no drawing, painting, collaging, or bookbinding experience is necessary. The pace and camaraderie are truly zen. (Plus you will have the videos to watch and rewatch—12 hours-ful!) If you are still considering joining us, there is plenty of time to ship your kit(s).

Bookful of Painted Paper Collage

Autumnally, Bari

Heavenly Hahnemühle Happiness In-house!

Dear Everyone ~

Last week I received a fresh shipment of Hahnemühle Bugra in all 21 colours to replenish the Hahnemühle Ultimate Palette Housemade Pads. I loved decanting (the process and the word itself) the quartet of cartons. I piled all the wrapped stacks on my center table. Each colour arrived in its own Euro-kraft wrapper, hand-labelled by my supplier. Then I began to unwrap and arrange, and re-arrange, the colours.

The stacking, or stackletting, of the sheets for the Hahnemühle Ultimate Palette Housemade Pads is a big undertaking. For this new batch, I had the nimble fingers of Bex and Tammy to count and divide and re-stack with me. Ten sheets x 21 colours = 3 inches of paddable perfection.

The pads will be finished padding the week after next and they will be ready to ship pronto-ly thereafter. Be still your heart, and you will hear the pitter-pad of a delightful discount: If you order two pads, you will save $6; if you order three, you will save $14. Might we suggest using them as a pair of bookends, for your very own handmade books, for example? Wunderbar!

Let the Hahnemühlemania continue! I have just created a sumptuous set of notesheets, one each of all 21 Bugra colours. The sheets measure 6¼ x 9 and are hand-folded to 4½ x 6¼. They fit perfectly inside the Suite of 17 Hahnemühle A-6 envelopes (4¾ x 6½). This über Hannemühle wardrobe is the ultimate in mix-und-match chromatic correspondence.

As I’ve remarked on more than one occasion: Hannemühle’s felty finish offers a superbly stable surface for graphite, coloured pencil, pen & ink, gouache, markers, and even typewriters! And on the several deeper shades, a metallic gel pen or Lyra metallic pencil looks lively (and legible). The set of notesheets is available on its own, or paired with the Suite of 17 Hahnemühle envelopes.

Also in the Hahnemühle department, Postcards in Their Tin are back in stock in both finishes: cold press or rough. And I am also now stocking the Cappuccino pad in A5 (5¾ x 8¼) as well as A6 (4⅛ x 5¾).

A new duo of BZS workshops via Zoom

Dear Everyone ~

I’m delighted to announce two new group workshops via Zoom, Triptych of Coptic-stitch Bindings and Screw-post album with see-through window.

Triptych of Coptic-stitch Bindings is a two-part workshop to make three Coptic-stitch books using four needles. And, of course, we will all share a High Five when we are finished!

The three stitching variations you will learn are: a traditional hard-cover binding using one curved needle; a multi-needle hard-cover binding using four curved needles; and a soft-cover binding using one curved needle. All three of your books will measure 8½" x 5¼" x 1", each with 48 pages/96 serendipitous sides, with deckled edges on the top & fore edge of each page. The structure itself is terrific for a travelogue, fabulous for a photo album, and stylish for a sketchbook.

Over many years of teaching this style of binding, I have heard from quite a few students that they find attaching their covers to be challenging. This is because the stitching “rotates” as it progresses. In this workshop, I will share my tips & techniques for executing your stitching with confidence & ease.

The papers I’ve chosen for this kit are inspired by the endless mix-&-match combinations with Cambridge Imprint parent sheets. Each kit’s “cover sheets” are colour coordinated, and you will have your choice of three palettes: Seascape, Daydream & Sorbets.

* * * * *
In the Screw-post album with see-through window workshop you will make a screw-post binder that measures 8" x 8" x 1" with a 2" x 2" see-through window in the front cover. You will learn how to wrap your window for a seamless finish inside and out. (This treatment can indeed be used on other binding styles.) The screw-post binder is a great binding style for single-sheet—meaning unfolded—pages, whether they are pre-printed (with photos, a story, correspondence, or artwork) or blank, to use as a sketchbook. Pages are held in place by the screw-post spine piece. It is easy to resequence, remove, or replace pages as you wish. We will make one book during the workshop, and you'll have all the materials to make a second book on your own at your leisure.

The materials I’ve chosen for this kit are a selection of my favourite Japanese papers & bookcloths. Each kit will be lovingly assembled with a complementary combo. If a particular colour or pattern catches your fancy, please e me and I will do my best to accommodate.

As always, I will live record both workshops, and the recordings will be available to you later the same afternoon to watch and rewatch at your leisure. No previous bookbinding experience is necessary; a bit of glueing experience is a plus. There will be plenty of time during each step to ask questions while we work. If you have any questions now, please feel free to call or e me to discuss!

Triptych of Coptic-stitch Bindings
Screw-post album with see-through window

Zooming towards autumn, Bari

A stationery salon day at Bari Zaki Studio

Dear Everyone ~

Saturday, August 6, was the first-ever Stationery Store Day across the country and around the English-speaking globe. I am incredibly grateful for the enthusiasm and camaraderie that BZS shoppers shared in person, online, and via Real Mail. It was a day of stationery serendipity.

Kristen Hermanny was the earliest bird, which is to say, the very first in-shop shopper. Back in the spring of 2020 I featured her “shop by colour” strategy on the blog, which you can read about here. Kristen lives outside the city and comes to visit every so often. When she isn’t able to visit, she will call and ask me to assemble an ensemble in a particular palette. Her latest hue was teal, and you can read about that here. I was thrilled when she texted me to make an appointment for “Stationery Saturday.”

Kristen is a calligrapher and an avid correspondent. When she arrived, she immediately presented me with an envelope she had hand-folded, sealed with washi tape. It had some bulk and some “give” to it, so I was intensely curious to see what was inside. Behold and be dazzled! It’s a miniature Bari Zaki Studio pop-up! When I caught my breath, I asked Kristen if she’d made other pop-ups and she acknowledged, “I have made people’s pets, school themed, sport team themed, mail, birthday, and engagement ones among the regular holidays.” I have installed Kristen’s Ode to the Studio on an elevated eye-level shelf.

Next in: Karen Eisenstadt, who arrived bearing papery gifts as well. Karen has been a customer since I opened the shop in 2015. In 2020 I discovered by happenstance that she had recently become penpals with my postal muse, Alyson Kuhn! I love that kismet. Last year when Karen came to visit, she brought me an envelope that she had watercoloured on the theme of the Heritage Breed Forever stamps, destined for Alyson. The envelope was still open, and she asked me to add to it and then send it off. This visit, her missive to Alyson was a complement, even an homage, to a recent blog post, Karen left half of the card blank for me to add to and then send off. And the colour swatch theme continues! Karen brought in her swatch-keeping sketchbook, so we could ooh & aah over each other’s colour swatches.

And then: Susan Golland lives close by and stopped by unannounced. Her timing was very serendipitous! She came bearing a beautiful bouquet from the farmers market and was eager to see the newest addition to the Velke Losiny repertoire. Susan’s heritage is Slovakian, and we’ve spoken previously about Velke Losiny.

It was also a red-letter day for Real Mail! I received a note from George Jacobson. We’ve been penpals since 2016—I could say fountain penpals. Below are some of the missives I've received from him over the years.

George lives in Wisconsin, and we played phone tag one day when he was in Chicago and happened to be on a quest for fountain pen ink. We didn’t manage to connect, and we’ve still never met. George’s most recent envelope was from a hotel in Jerusalem, featuring Hebrew, English, and a logo-graphic that in fact might be Hebrew letters. I have a hotel stationery collection that dates back to my childhood, so when I saw this envelope, and recognized George’s handwriting, I was over the moon!

I have some post-Stationery Day post to look forward to: a pair of envelopes are en route to me via USPS, from the AK-duo of Alyson Kuhn, my postal muse, and Audrey Kuhn, her very epistolary niece. I anticipate that both will be photogenic, and I will share them with everyone once they arrive. Looking farther into the future, Stationery Store Day 2023 has already been “proclaimed” for Saturday, August 5!

A toast to post-SSD post, Bari

The ins and outs of Bookful Nº 8

Dear Everyone ~

Bookful of Painted Paper Collage is my eighth Bookful collaboration
with artist, author & dear friend Cat Bennett. Our four-Saturday workshop via Zoom will debut Saturday, October 1. And the book we will make measures… 8 x 8!

∞

Our inspiration for this Bookful is “inside / outside”, referring to things around us—as Cat explains, “whether it be a still life of fruits and vegetables on our kitchen table, a pot of tea and a book, or plants we notice on a walk.”

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

The book structure you will make is a traditional accordion book measuring 8" x 8" x ½" when closed. When completely open it will span 5½ feet! The materials I’ve chosen for this are Stonehenge Drawing paper for the accordion pages, Japanese fabric for the “floating spine”, and Cambridge Imprint papers for your front and back covers. You will also learn to recess a 2 x 2 window in your front cover, to which you can affix a card with a title or a mini-collage. (Not to obsess about the recess: it’s the exact same technique to put one in any hardback cover, so it’s a perfect way to personalize.)

Cat will lead the group in exploring free-form colour mixing and preparing a selection of painted papers, from muted & subtle to bright & bold. Once they’ve dried, you will cut your papers into shapes for creating images. Cat believes that collage allows us to work quickly and freely to make a snapshot of our daily lives. We will also make small abstract works to accompany any words we might want to add to our books as annotations. Painted paper collage is like drawing with scissors: a beautiful way to simplify and make bold & beautiful works of art.

I will be assembling each kit individually with a complementary combo of Japanese fabric & Cambridge Imprint papers. In addition to the materials for your book, you will also receive a stacklet of 80 lb sulphite drawing paper (9" x 12") to paint on, six extra hinges for good measure, and last but not least, a Cambridge Imprint envelope overflowing with Cambridge Imprint scraps for your collaging pleasure. If you fancy a particular Cambridge pattern for your cover, please e me and I will do my best to accommodate. And, as always, If you’d like to purchase an additional set of materials, you certainly can!

Cat & I want to assure you, especially if you are a Bookful newcomer, that absolutely no drawing or bookbinding experience is necessary. The pace is comfortable and the camaraderie is delightful. Plus you will have four complete videos to watch and rewatch.We look forward to seeing you soonish via Zoom!

Bookful of Painted Paper Collage

Infinitely (∞) excited, Bari

Announcing Auspicious August offerings!

Dear Everyone ~

Stationery Store Day is a scant 24 shopping hours away, and I’m putting the finishing touches on my BZSSSD gift-with-purchase for everyone who stops in to shop, or shops online (between the hours of noon and 5:00 CDT), tomorrow. I’ve received numerous phone calls from customers wanting to shop in person, and I’m thrilled! Nota bene: My stash of Letterwriting stamps is limited, but fret not. Later shoppers will receive a sixsome of the 10¢ Letters Mingle Souls stamps in their BZSSSDGWP (enough to mail a first class letter).

Tomorrow’s in-person shoppers will be the first to touch new & noteworthy arrivals in the shop, and online shoppers will be able to see them all.

Velke Losiny handmade papers look & feel luscious in every colour. One of these colours—chamois—has recently been retired from the repertoire. I find its shade particularly pleasing, and I enjoy pronouncing it sham-moi. It looks as if the paper has been dipped in English Breakfast tea, elegantly evocative of vintage correspondence. If you like the shade as much as I do, dally not—as I have literally cornered the market, thanks to Pavel, my fine paper purveyor extraordinaire.

I have two splendid sizes of envelopes with matching 4 x 6 and 6 x 8 single notecards. The envelope flap is generous and deckled all the way around. The stock takes all manner of media beautifully: watercolour, graphite, coloured pencil, and even glue for collage.

Seaweed for yourself! Molesworth & Bird have recently introduced postcard set Nº 3! I’ve also replenished sets Nº 1 & Nº 2, and Nº 3 is in relatively ample supply. (I encourage you to shop while the tide is high.)

Feast your eyes (and your brush) on this lovely set of 12 sumi-e watercolours in a single sleek box. The box measures 3½ x 7¾, and the individual containers of colour measure 1 x 1¾. The colour names are listed on the lid interior in Japanese and transliterated English. The label on the lid says “kisshou,” which means: lucky, happy, auspicious. How auspicious!

Three superbly shimmery metallics are available individually: Gold, Rose Gold, and Silver. You can brush on a thick layer to achieve a sublime opacity, or use more water for a lighter shimmer. These come in a round ceramic dish measuring 2⅞ in diameter.

All the sumi-e colours, including the metallics, blend together to create an almost infinite palette. Painting colour swatches is one of my favourite pastimes. I used two Pentallic accordion books to document my colour-mixing delirium. I started with the colour at the upper left, mixing it with each of the other eleven colours. My next panel shows the second color, mixed with each of the other eleven, and so forth. This exercise provided endless amounts of calm. The combinations and permutations defy chromatic arithmetic!

But wait, there’s washi! I have added a limited-edition pattern of booksellers’ vintage labels (which used to be affixed inside a book, in the Grand Old Days). The width is ⅝", so the labels are quite petite! Their diminutive dimensions do not detract from their charm one dot.

The dreamy theme-y postage stamps scattered in my photos are from the epistolary collection of my postal muse, Alyson Kuhn. What a dandy way to convey my stamp of approval to my new offerings!

Velke Losiny notecards & envelopes
British seaweed postcard set Nº3
Set of sumi-e watercolours
Shimmery sumi-e watercolours
Booksellers’ label washi tape

Stationery, never stationary, Bari

My TCB bookbinding sequel is live!

Dear Everyone ~

My second bookbinding video with The Crafter’s Box, Bookbinding: Hand-stitching with Bari Zaki, has just launched on the TCB website! The pair of books I teach in this video are the French-link stitch and the Diamond-stitch.

In this video, you will learn the basic elements of bookbinding: measuring, scoring, folding & stitching. Both of these structures are lovely examples of non-adhesive binding—which is to say, there is no glueing! The books open entirely flat, making them a delight for doodling, sketching, and musing. For the covers of the Diamond-stitch book, I show you how to make my signature envelope/pocket for the interior, handy for holding postcards, other ephemera, stamps and snippets.

TCB’s kit of materials (and tools, natch) includes everything you need to make both books: lusciously thick Fabriano Murillo cover paper (350 gsm) for your covers; toothy drawing paper for your pages; and two different colours of waxed-linen thread for stitching. (You can choose which colour goes with which book.) And, speaking of stitching, for the French-link stitch book there are also two 6" lengths of lovely 2" wide Italian cotton ribbon imported from Italy by my dear friend Angela Liguori of Studio Carta. I selected this ensemble of materials for their look, their feel, and their beautiful bookbinding behaviour.

As always with TCB, you have the option of ordering “add ons,” which are additional palettes of materials. In this instance, the paper choices for your covers are Colorplan, a brilliant paper range made in England. Here you can see my sample books made with the colour combos curated by TCB. I immensely enjoyed working with these relatively-new-to-the-market acid-free papers.

Ta-dah! TCB is offering a doozy of a discount: With discount code Barizaki25 you will receive 25% off your 3-month-minimum subscription (meaning, one video per month). Click below for enticing details.

My Newest Crafty Collaboration

Dear Everyone ~

The Crafter’s Box (TCB) is not an object, it’s a subject: an enterprise dedicated to providing crafters of all skill levels with tools, materials, and highly detailed video experiences. I have recently spent an action-packed week in San Diego filming four videos for TCB.

Bookbinding and boxmaking are new realms of creative endeavour for TCB. The company has developed a very large, engaged audience around the world—some of whom have been clamoring for bookbinding & boxmaking experiences. I am TCB’s inaugural instructor for two bookbinding videos and two boxmaking videos.

My first video, “Case Binding with Bari Zaki,” has just launched on the TCB website. The experience provides a link to the video plus a kit of materials and tools. This particular kit includes materials to make four complete books. TCB has such a large audience that some of the papers I typically use in my workshops were not available at scale. I enjoyed making suggestions to TCB for alternatives. I am delighted to share that the papers in this kit are Hahnemühle Bugra for the pages, and Japanese decorative papers & bookcloths for the covers. The kit also includes a bookpress, which was made to my specifications. Crafters have the option of ordering additional sets of materials without the bookpress and tools.

I am particularly sentimental about the case-binding structure. It was one of the first books I learned to make 30-ish years ago, and I’ve made literally thousands of them in the ensuing three decades. I love that it combines all elements of making a book: from folding paper to stitching, to trimming bookboard to glueing. And of course, it is a hard-cover book! Yes, I still have my very first case-bound book, as you can see below.

Back to TCB: The bookboard and Hahnemühle Bugra for the case-binding kits were cut down by my longtime “master guillotiner,” Frank Lemke. I had the pleasure of watching Frank make the first stacks, or should I say towers! My second bookbinding video, “Hand-stitching with Bari Zaki,” will be announced next week on the TCB website. My two boxmaking videos will debut this fall.

Case Binding with Bari Zaki

Truly Completely Bestitched, Bari

An Extraordinary Stationery Store Story

Dear Everyone ~

Next Saturday, August 6, is the first Stationery Store Day (SSD) in recorded history! Several hundred independent stationery stores across the U.S. and around the world will celebrate the myriad delights & details of communicating on paper. Bari Zaki Studio and A. Favorite Design are proud to be Chicago’s ambassadors on this exciting occasion.

I have now received the official kit of promotional loot, which I declare swag-tacular! Decanting the box prompted plenty o’ oohing & aahing. Postcards and stickers and tote bags, o my! And posters, one of which I have put in my front window.

The in-store shopping scenario for Saturday will be my usual “by appointment or serendipity.” Email, text, or call to confirm a time for your browse. With a purchase of $25 (pre-tax), you will have your choice of a Stationery Store Day postcard or sticker to tuck into your Bari Zaki Studio Stationery Store Day (BZSSSD!) giftie, which we will show you in a minute.

Behold: a presentation-size (9 x 12) golden kraft envelope with a sheet of deep cream flecked cardstock; a Fabriano Medioevalis 6 x 8 envelope with its distinctive flap, paired with a sheet of Rivoli Rose notepaper; a smallish glassine envelope with a strip of perfectly epistolary postage from the Letterwriting issue of 1980, so these stamps have just slid into “vintage” territory. A teeny butterfly clip covered in Japanese decorative paper closes the envelope and secures our storefront postcard, illustrated by Janet Bouldin.

Because we are ardent equal-opportunity shopkeepers, online shoppers may place their Stationery Store Day orders beginning at noon (Chicago time) to receive the BZSSSD giftie (while supplies last). We will likewise include an SSD postcard or sticker (while supplies last). As usual, the early coot catches the loot.

Drop in ’n’ shop, Bari

P.S.
Amber Favorite’s letterpress studio and shop will be in full swing. You can even pull a mini-print on her tabletop press. She’s offering a gift-with-purchase while supplies last. Her shop is located in Albany Park at 4432 N. Kedzie Avenue. It’s an easy drive from here or there.

Big News: Big Sheets from Cambridge Imprint

Dear Everyone ~

If you have enjoyed Cambridge Imprints’ origami kits and Special Papers (12 x 16), you haven’t seen the half of it! Bari Zaki Studio is now stocking a full range of parent sheets, measuring 19¾ x 27½. I’ve selected 17 (a prime number) patterns, and they are all paragons of mix-and-matchiness. You can pair them, and wish you could wear them! They are also perfect for a patchwork. In the Cambridge lexicon, OMG can stand for Owls & Moderne & Greenery.

A parent sheet is spacious enough for hand-folding an enormous envelope, or wrapping a big dictionary, or lining a shelf, or even binding a handful of petite blank books. Sheets will ship—this being my maiden foray into selling full-size sheets—rolled and be-tissued (and banded) inside a very sturdy cardboard mailing tube. As you might expect, I will also embellish the tube with a band of Cambridge Imprint paper…and you can in fact wrap your entire tube should you be so inclined.

Meanwhile, our selection of Cambridge notebooks is abloom with five new cover patterns, one name more charming than the next: Charleston Stripe, Kettle’s Yard, Pear Halves Elderberry, Wave Indigo & Animalcules Dusk. The pages are smooth ivory, unruled and staple-bound. The covers almost beg (politely) to be adorned with a companion Cambridge label.

Our original sets of six patterned envelopes with six ivory Stonehenge notecards…sold out in a starry minute. We have selected six different patterns for the new set.

And last but not least: We herald the return of Special Starry papers, Peggy Angus papers, and Special Papers in red & blue, both online and in the shop.

Parent Sheets
Notebooks
Set of Six Envelopes

Paper love, Bari