Très Yay for New Papiers from Atelier Écluse

Dear Everyone ~

Big, flat parcels are among my favourites to receive—and then to decant. My recent parcel from Atelier Écluse included two of their newest, truly swoonworthy patterns. We have named them Feathers & Lace and Tile & Brocade. They are dressy, they are elegant, and they are as luscious to fold as they are to behold.

The parcel also contained a fresh supply of AÉ bookweight papers and the blue & white and ochre patterns we’d been low on. We have also restocked their beguiling St-Henri sketchbooks in every patternway from petite to grand. This is the most AÉ we’ve ever had in the shop, and it’s a wonderful feeling.

Speaking of feeling: Two-ish weeks ago I came down with an awful case of Covid. Ruby has kept up the pace, picked up the pieces, and then some. Thank you, Ruby! I am now well on the mend, and I’ve missed being in your inbox. I’ve been wanting to share that Yannick, the proprietor and papermaker of AÉ, had sent me a report of AÉ’s warm reception at their first National Stationery Show in NYC. I’m delighted that he’s ready to introduce AÉ to an international audience. Yannick wrote, “It was an immense pleasure for us to meet many visitors at the show who already knew our work through you and your store. We are so happy to have our products showcased in such a landmark of the American stationery community.” And we are so happy to have been AÉ’s first U.S. retailer.

Seen above is my slim-case bound book with rounded spine that I made alongside students during a group Zoom workshop earlier in August. I chose to run the pattern vertically, as on AÉ's St-Henri blank books. We think the pattern will look equally divine horizontally, and look forward to experimenting soon.

Atelier Écluse decorative papers & bookweight papers
Atelier Écluse blank books
 
Picking up steam, Bari

Auspicious August workshops

Dear Everyone ~

This past Saturday was the first of my two summer workshops via group Zoom, Slim Case-binding with rounded spine. Twenty-ish students were in attendance, which made my heart smile from ear to ear. Each student’s book was a veritable showcase of Atelier Écluse papers, which are such a pleasure to work with, to look at, and to touch.

Chris e’d me to say: “I'm in love with the Atelier papers from Saturday's class. I'm in love with them… if one can be in love with paper.”

Jen e’d to say: “I enjoyed Saturday’s class and am very happy with my first glue-project!”

If you’d like to learn how to make a Slim Case-binding with rounded spine, you have not missed your opportunity! The complete recording is available here, and its companion kit can be shipped to you promptly upon your purchase of the recording. As always, I am at the ready to answer any questions that might arise, via phone or email or even a micro-Zoom.

This Saturday begins my second summer workshop via group Zoom, Modern Medieval binding with woven headbands. This is a two-session workshop, and the very lovely, truly little book students will make measures 3" x 4½" x 1¼". We will fold down our pages out of sheets of Stonehenge, and make our softcovers from Atelier Écluse blue-and-white—which seems simultaneously Japonesque and maritime and decidedly Delft. The signatures get stitched onto leather strips with headbands that we weave ourselves.

These books make wonderful, and wonderfully portable, sketchbooks. The structure itself is also great in a larger format, and I will explain during the second workshop session how this works, should you be inspired to make one on your own.

Here—because we can’t resist sharing the smile—is a photo of Will, our most beloved (and photogenic) mail carrier, balancing a large armful of kit parcels for my two summer workshops. 

Modern Medieval binding with woven headbands begins this Saturday. If you are tempted, there’s still time to join us live, and your kit could conceivably arrive as well. If not, you can certainly follow along, ask questions, and watch the recording when your kit materializes. Similarly, if you’re not able to attend live, you will have the live recording of both workshop sessions—available for you later the same afternoon, to watch and rewatch at your leisure.

No previous bookbinding experience is necessary. You will have ample 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!

Modern Medieval binding with woven headbands

Oh, do we L-o-v-e paper, Bari

Announcing Bookful of Wordy Stories

Dear Everyone ~

Bookful of Wordy Stories is my fourteenth Bookful collaboration with artist, author & dear friend Cat Bennett. Our four-session workshop via Zoom will begin on Saturday, September 21. Might I add that it seems an auspicious start to autumn?

As Cat describes in her endearing way, “We'll draw and paint images then write stories about them. Words can describe the real experiences in our lives that images only hint at. We’ll focus on a different theme in each of the 3 books we make—people, places and books that have been important to us. We’ll use colored pencils and watercolor to make strong images with both line and simple shapes. This will be an opportunity to explore color intensity and layering in watercolor. And also how to add line, texture and shading with colored pencils. And we’ll talk about how to write a succinct but powerful memory story with a beginning, middle and perhaps a punchy end!”

Students will make a trio of French-link stitch booklets—one for each Wordy story. The booklets have sturdy softcovers, and two 4-page signatures (16 serendipitous sides). The three booklets are all the same size, measuring 7½" x 5¾" x ⅜". We will make one together in the first workshop session, and you will make the second and third on your own, with the complete recording for reference and refreshment. We will illustrate & tell our Wordy stories in sessions #2, #3 & #4.

The kitful of materials I’ve assembled for this Bookful features three different colours of St-Armand 100% luscious handmade paper for the covers; a complementary assortment of vintage wallpapers for the bands that you will stitch onto, and weave into, your covers; and Stonehenge for the pages. I’ve selected materials for two palettes: Primary & Aqueous. Both include five different wallpaper patterns, and five different colours of thread, providing endless delight whilst you mix & match, and stitch!

In weeks #2, #3 & #4, Cat will begin the workshop session with a curated slideshow. She will then lead the class in painting & drawing & collage exercises using a variety of mediums.

Cat & I want to assure you, especially if you are a Bookful newcomer, that truly no drawing or bookbinding experience is necessary—all levels of artistic skill & enthusiasm are encouraged to join us! The pace is peaceful and the camaraderie is delightful. Plus, you will have four complete workshop videos (recorded in real time) to watch and rewatch at your leisure. We look forward to seeing you soonish via Zoom!

Bookful of Wordy Stories

Zoomiling towards autumn, Bari

A very Abecedary Stationery Store Day

Dear Everyone ~

This Saturday, August 3, is the third annual international Stationery Store Day (SSD). We will celebrate the day—and our passion for all things paper—in true BZS style. This week, as I perused the official SSD website, it was exciting to see the list of participating shops, both stateside and abroad. It has, let’s say, grown greatly grander since the 2022 inaugural event. Stationers in 43 states, from east to west and north to south, will be welcoming epistolary enthusiasts. In Chicago (and environs) alone, there are eight retailers! 

This year's SSD swag showcases the whimsical work of Massachusetts-based illustrator Krista Perry. There are posters, postcards, washi tape, stickers, and of course, a tote bag! We will be wrapping and packing and embellishing every order, both in-shop and online, with SSD swaggaliciousness.

Herewith a preview of our BZS gift-with-purch merch ($60 pre-tax): a BonanZa of Swell small scraps, from vintage Japanese to Cambridge Imprint to hand-marbled to Grafiche Tassotti, in a 3 x 6 glassine. Adding to your scrap-happiness are a mini pencil and tiny butterfly clip covered in Japanese decorative paper. And, because more is always merrier, we have not resisted assembling an envelopeful (Rivoli Rose 6 x 8 with a deep, divine flap) of companion swag as part of your BZSGWP: 5 power to the paper people notesheets, 1 official 2024 SSD postcard, a different SSD postcard, and 5 rows of SSD washi tape (two of the rows are actually perfed between the stamps!) affixed to a Carta Pura notecard. Your envelopeful of swag is not SWAK, but it is sealed with a charming SSD sticker, which you can peel off intact if you are attentive.

If you are feeling spendy, with a purchase of $100 or more (pre-tax), you will be in the pink with an additional GWP, an official SSD reusable polyester tote bag (while supplies last). It is eye-catchy, mixy-matchy, and spacious, as Ruby demonstrates below.

 But wait, there’s this! The much anticipated Abecedary is n-e-a-r-i-n-g completion! We’ve invited Janet Hoffman (the lucky winner, as you may recall), via post, to join us this Saturday and take possession of her prize. And we are delighted to report that she’s r.s.v.p’d to say she will be here with bells on!

Alyson & I are putting the finishing touches on the index, which is more in-depth than we had originally envisioned. I’m in the midst of folding, scoring, and stitching the signatures into the cover (which we will keep under wraps for now). Emmy is scanning the beguiling A to Z pages for future facsimilizing. 

If you are able to swing by on Saturday, you can view the Abecedary in person (until Janet comes & goes). We will ask that you wear our thin white gloves while looking at Janet’s book, and we are requesting no photographs. If you cannot join us this Saturday, don’t fret. We are excessively documenting, photographing, and videoing every square inch of the Abecedary.

This Saturday, the shop is open from 12–5pm. Because we are ardent equal-opportunity shopkeepers, online shoppers may place their Stationery Store Day orders beginning at noon (Chicago time) on the 3rd to receive the BZSSSDGWP (while supplies last). 

Always stationery, rarely stationary, Bari

Midsummer Merch Memo

Dear Everyone ~

My ninth anniversary of shopkeeping and teaching on Lincoln Avenue flew by on June 26. Three weeks later, it’s high time to present this year’s little present-with-purchase to celebrate the occasion. Ruby & I have assembled an abundance of Mezzo-Bundlissimi: the scrap-happiest of samplers with the dazzling diversity of our big Bundlissimi, in a smaller size range (business card-ish up to 5 x 7). Splendid for jotting, listing, enclosing, collaging, and experimenting. Until the end of July, every order of $81 or more (excluding shipping or tax) will include a bonus Mezzo-Bundlissimo, beribboned of course.
 
In related papery pleasures, our midsummer merch report highlights a lovely handful of new notecards from the U.K., a delicate new brush pen, and the triumphal return of the much loved Coccoina mini-glue sticks (10g).

James Winrow has added two new birds to his aviary notecard collection: a Purple Sandpiper and a British Robin. We’ve expanded our original set of four notecards & envelopes to become a sextet. The new cards are printed on the same glorious cardstock, fancy but not flighty.

Cambridge Imprint has gotten in the swim with a new pattern called Sea Urchin, which has debuted with a splash. The two colour combos are Sky & Cocoa and Neon. 

 We’re delighted to report that our repertoire of Mary Feddon notecard portfolios has been restocked and two new sets added. My apologies to all the feline fans wondering where the Two Cats & Cats and Compass set has wandered off to. They will be back in a few weeks, and we will broadca’t their arrival immediately.

 My heart went pitter-patter when I spied this notecard duo from British artist & printmaker Sarah Battle. Her whimsical birds ’n’ blooms inhabit a free-flowing domesticity. (A certain muse of mine has gone gaga for the plaid pitcher.) They are sure to swoon your recipients!

Moving northward to Helsinki: We’ve stocked Réka Király’s Herbarium notecards in the shop for many moons, and have finally added them to our online shop, singly and as a set. Black-and-white bearers of delight!

We’ve also added a very fine Japanese brush pen to our writing implement repertory. This brush & its bristles are beautifully slender. The ink is water-based, highly pigmented, and waterproof. It flows smoothly and consistently on a multitude of paper finishes, from Rivoli to Hahnemühle and beyond.

James Winrow
Mary Feddon
Sarah Battle
Réka Király
Lush-ious brush pens

Nary a moment without stationery, Bari
 
PS:
Mark your calendars! The third annual international Stationery Store Day (SSD) is Saturday, August 3—less than three weeks from today! The official SSD swag has arrived and is under protective wraps. We can reveal that there will be washi tape, pads of paper, postcards, stickers, and as always, SSD tote bags! And of course we are making a BZSSSD giftie too. Details forthcoming fast.

Summertime, and the writing is easy

Dear Everyone ~

We are delighted to showcase four new postcards by watercolourist and BZS in-house illustrator Janet Bouldin: three bouquets in beguiling vases and a teapot collage. This is Janet’s inaugural teapot postcard—she has been making these collages with scraps from my bookbinding projects since 2021. We first featured the originals here in our A New Season of Serizawas blog post. 

 The snippets she’s used to make the teapot on this postcard are from a Japanese Katazome paper whose pattern we refer to as Japanese Floating Garden. These scraps were from a buttonhole-stitch book I had made for my postal muse. The texture and colours are reproduced beautifully on the card. 

 Janet comments, “I try to make use of the pieces exactly as they come from Bari, without any alteration, to see if I can make a coffee or tea pot, sometimes even a cup.”
 
The floral postcards are quintessential Janet. “When I’m looking for things to draw and paint, it seems I land most often on a vase with flowers—there’s something calming and meditative about the combination. The hellebore in the bird-shaped pottery pitcher is a bit different and quirkier. The pitcher belongs to a friend I visit. I love the colour of the hellebore and the way it looks a bit like a hat.” 

Janet’s whimsical postcards measure 4 x 6, so you can indeed mail them at the postcard rate. They are all printed, including her previous sets, on Mohawk Superfine in the eggshell finish, a surface that welcomes all manner of writing implements.

Speaking of writing implements, I have just refreshed our Kaweco fountain pen shop listing with three new colours in the Collector series: Mellow Blue, Sage, and Teal. Also in the writing accessory department are four new glorious Kyo-no-oto inks: No. 10, Ochiguriiro (a rich dark chocolate); No 11, Ruriiro (a deep nautical blue); & No. 12, Ryokyuuiro (a glorious aquamarine);  and one Special Edition, Ginkaisyoku (a shimmery sage). It occurs to me, as I’m thinking about ink, that all of these colours are fairly marine, an opportunity to add a soupçon of summer, a seaside breeze, to your communiqués.

A summery summary of Bookful recordings!

Dear Everyone ~

Cat Bennett and I have been co-teaching our Bookful workshop series via Zoom since September of 2020. We began with Bookful of Art. Every year since, we've presented three 4-session workshops with a different theme, from Bookful of Illustrated Notes to Self (No. 6) to Bookful for the Arrival of Winter (No.9). In Boxful of Summer (No. 10), students made a drop-spine box to hold their hand-folded envelopes and notecards that they illustrated with fruits & flora of the season, complete with a slim compartment for the pencils they covered in Cambridge Imprint papers.

In a Bookful workshop, we begin by making a book—learning a different style of binding or structure each time—under my tutelage. In the next three sessions, Cat leads a never-ending variety of drawing & painting exercises, sharing her creative process and inspiring everyone to easily & joyfully fill their books. Here is one of my favourite post-Bookful posts showcasing everyone’s finished oeuvres and their general delight.

We usually take a Bookful break during the summer months. This year, as we conclude our 13th (a binder’s dozen!) Bookful, we’ve decided to make our full-length live recordings of workshops Nos. 1–12 available all summer. Each recording (12-ish hours-ful) comes with the same kit of sumptuous materials as the original workshop (barring the occasional palette refreshment or replacement), plus my standard discount on any tools you order at the same time.

Here are a few of Cat’s Bookful reflections:

​​“ I’m always trying to think of interesting themes for our books that will motivate us to grow our art making. There are endless ways to make art from the same subject matter. At the beginning of each class, I often do a slideshow with examples from other artists giving us ideas about how we might work. This is how I work as an artist too. I’m always looking at art to see what sparks an idea for me. Sometimes it’s a color or the way someone wields a brush with a bit of swagger or a pen with delicate sensitivity. Even when we take inspiration from other artists, the work always turns into our own. In Bookful, we explore drawing and making art in many ways to grow our own art.

As a teacher, I hope to encourage everyone to work with imagination and try things out. Even to go to the edge of their abilities and ideas. That’s where we really discover things and make creative leaps. I’m always excited to see the beautiful work our students do and think the books we make and fill are real treasures. ”

If you’d like to purchase more than one Bookful recording, we are offering this enticement: a 15% discount ($44.25!) on your second recording, likewise on your third, and so on & so fourth. The collected Bookful recordings will be available for purchase until Labor Day, and the recordings will be yours to use for as long as you need.

Bookfuls
 
Calm, cool, collected, Bari

E is for Envelop(e)

Dear Everyone ~

The Abecedary is progressing nicely, albeit a bit more slowly than I had anticipated, because it has become more elaborate, more multi. Our entry for E, for example, features an envelope. Not an illustration of an envelope, an actual envelope. Not a little tipped-on envelope, but an actual full-page envelope.

This envelope was hand-folded by Alyson (a.k.a. my postal muse), sans template, from Selvedge Indigo, one of her “tip-top five Cambridge Imprint (CI) patterns.” The envelope measures 5½" x 7½", and I will bind it into the actual spine of the Abecedary with the other signatures. It will nestle neatly between D for (Decoration) and F (for Folderol). The envelope flap is 2½" deep and happens to align elegantly where it joins the back body, which has a 1¾" throat. This alignment serendipity is one of the joys of covering, wrapping, and enveloping with CI patterns, especially the geometrics.

Ruby wrote envelop(e) on a pair of BZS ’peccably perfed labels (The red-bordered version is not visible at this moment, but will be…) Inside the envelope, we’ve ensconced a pair of BZS postcards and, for good measure, a petite glassine holding the four corners Alyson nicked out to make the envelope and two tidbits from the selvedge of the CI parent sheet. Janet Hoffman, the winner of the Abecedary, is hereby encouraged to entertain the notion of enveloping other/additional snippets (t)herein.

In related “news,” we are delighted to debut three refreshment palettes for the MORE Art of the Hand-folded Envelope kit, for those of you wanting to hand-fold more envelopes out of fabulous papers. All three palettes present an abundance, probably a profusion, of papers (all handily cut to 8½" x 11") we love to slice and score and fold and glue. Plus cover-weight papers by French Paper Co. (in Michigan, not to be confused with Atelier Écluse in Montreal) for making backless envelopes and enticing notecards.

Two new workshops à l’Atelier Écluse

Dear Everyone ~

I’m delighted to debut two new bookbinding workshops via group Zoom: Slim Case-binding with rounded spine and Modern Medieval binding with woven headbands.

My inspiration for the Slim Case-binding (SCB) workshop dates back to my early days of learning how to make books. I first learned to make an SCB in an eight-week course, where each week we advanced to a new level of technical complexity. The SCB was somewhere in the middle. At the time I realized it was an inventive way to make a hardcover book without the need for a book press, and I still feel that way! I continue to cherish the two SCB’s I made way back then—and I thoroughly enjoy using this binding technique when I want to make a thin book (less-ish than an inch and a quarter).

The structure students will make measures a charming 4⅝" x 6⅛" x ½". The workshop kit includes the materials to make two SCB’s, and their cover papers make for a very handsome twosome. We will make one together in the workshop, and you will make the second on your own, with the complete recording for reference and refreshment. Your SCB’s have a soft fabric spine and glued-on headbands. The structure opens completely flat, which is ideal for journaling, sketching, inspiring.

The materials I’ve combined for your Slim Case-binding with rounded spine are Atelier Écluse Ochre decorative handmade papers for the cover: 1 ochre + ecru & 1 ochre + slate. The interior pages are AÉ handmade bookweight papers in natural white with dramatic deckled edges. Both papers are incredibly fold- & glue-friendly. 

Modern Medieval binding with woven headbands is a two-part workshop with a twist on a binding technique dating back to at least the 14th century. We have modernized it with the materials we have selected. These books measure 3" x 4½" x 1¼" with pages folded from Stonehenge. These make lovely little sketchbooks or mini-multimedia marvels. They also look truly lovely on a table or shelf.

Students will learn how to stitch onto leather bands, and perfectly weave them through the front and back covers, which also have an envelope/pocket. You will also learn how to weave a decorative headband onto the top and bottom of your book-block. We will make one together in the workshop, and you will make the second book on your own, with the complete recording for reference and refreshment.

The materials I’ve paired for this workshop are Atelier Écluse rich blue 100% cotton handmade papers and Stonehenge paper for your ten tiny signatures. The two palettes are: Blue & White and Sky & Twilight.

As always, I will live record all workshop sessions, and these will be available to you later the same afternoon to watch and rewatch at your leisure. No previous bookbinding experience is necessary. You will have ample 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!

As always, I will live record all workshop sessions, and these will be available to you later the same afternoon to watch and rewatch at your leisure. No previous bookbinding experience is necessary. You will have ample 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!

And the winner of the Abecedary is…

Dear Everyone ~

We are hugely grateful to Everyone who sent a postcard (or two or three or more!) for the BZS First Ever Epistolary Drawing! Your enthusiasm and participation—and your creatively expressed anticipation—made the run-up to the actual drawing more exciting than we could have imagined—and heartwarmingly so! 

As soon as the postcards began streaming in, Will, our beloved mail carrier, would have a smile on his face when he handed me each postcard. Sometimes he’d come to the door with an armful of mail and say with a straight face, “Nope, nothing today”, and then a big smile would emerge, and he’d hand me a postcard, or two, or more, one at a time. He enjoyed this lead-up as much as we did, and we love that! 

Naturally, we wanted Will to officially draw the winning postcard—which he did last week—and Ruby was there to photo document us! 

And the winner is … Janet Hoffman!

Janet is a knitter of things, a maker of books, and a lover of paper. Janet had signed up for my recent Correspondence Album workshop via Zoom, though her daughter was getting married the weekend of Lesson 2, in another state, and another time-zone, several hours away … so she woke up very early the day after the wedding (the day of the workshop) and made it home in time to join us via Zoom!

The message on Janet’s postcard is addressed “To my fellow artists,” which we love. She writes, “This postcard encompasses many of the aspects of my creative journey. The photo is by a Scottish photographer who is married to a Scottish knitwear designer who creates beautiful knitwear patterns, yarn, and delightful books. All things I love. It also highlights my love of traveling and exploring all kinds of art in other contexts.” The Tomie de Paola stamp was a perfect choice for Janet’s sentiments. And now she has won the Abecedary at the end of the rainbow!

Later last week, Ruby & I made a garland displaying all of the postcards —each attached with two teeny Japanese paper covered butterfly clips to Japanese cording. The garland looks so festive in the shop that we are inclined to keep it up for the summer. We invite you to visit … and take a gander at the garland. 

If you’re able to drop by soon-ish, you’ll also have a chance to admire the Abecedary pages in person! We are putting the finishing touches on several pages this week, and I’ll be binding the following week. You will not have to wear gloves, though we will invite you to wash your hands—using one of our prized lavender soaps from the UK.

I want to assure Everyone that each and every page will be xoxtremely photo-documented (and scanned) before the finished Abecedary is delivered to Janet. We are percolating about making a facsimile copy to keep at BZS for posterity and dreaming about a set of Abecedary postcards. And my postal muse is penning a highly annotated index, detailing what each letter stands for (and why), as well as process notes about the various pages. This will become part of Janet’s Abecedary… and perhaps something we can share.

Later this week, we will post the E (is for guess what?) page. Hint: It’s not exactly a page.

Astoundingly beautiful creativity, Bari