Pens and Paper

Talk about sweet paper!

Pen company Franklin-Christoph has branched off into paper and notebooks, using a proprietary paper that's made from sugar cane. I wrote about it in Pen World magazine - check it out!

You know you're a paper junkie when ...

... you buy a couple of boxes of stationery in a store you haven't visited in a year, and the salesperson in the store remembers you from the last time!

Here's a call-out to Mercury Design Studio in Austin, Texas. It's not a paper store per se, but it has all kinds of lovely boxed cards, and some cool plates with vintage pencil ads on them. If you're nearby, stop in.

Signed, sealed, delivered ...

Every now and again you find a neat little something that makes everything easier.

I like sealing wax. Okay, I know I take stationery and letters a bit more seriously than most people, but I like the look of a sealed envelope. Except that real sealing wax isn't easy to use. The wick never burns properly and the wax doesn't melt evenly. The wax stick drips, and I always end up with a misshapen glob that's charred on one side.

When I visited Paper Things, I spotted this. It works like a glue gun, but it maintains a lower temperature, and melts specially-sized sticks of wax. I was able to lay down a perfect circle and stamp it ... finally, success.

I realize this isn't high on most lists of "gotta have it," but if you're like me and you like to play with pens and paper, this is a simple, inexpensive way to make your letters look fantastic.

Stationery fans: You must visit Paper Things!

I went to Toronto yesterday to visit Paper Things, a wonderful store in Yorkville. Not only does it carry all sorts of beautiful paper and journals, and prints stationery and invites (some of the work is done in-house), but all proceeds from the store's sales go to help fund the National Ballet of Canada.

I'll be writing about this store in a future issue of Pen World magazine, so stay tuned!

(And I can hear you saying, "Did you buy anything while you were there?" Well, what do you think?!)

Yes, you can mail a pigeon!

I just love it when one way-cool find leads me to an even way-cooler find, and that was the case with this stationery. Having some time in Texas to explore Austin, I happened upon a store that carried some neat writing paper. I bought one set made to look like old-fashioned telegrams, and then after humming and hawing, said what the hell, I'll buy the one with the Letter Writers Alliance imprint, mostly because the pencil was neat. (Yes, I bought a few other items, too. It's an illness.)

After checking the URL on the pencil (I know, the irony ...) it turns out there really is a Letter Writers Alliance, which includes pen pal listings, a blog, some really nice cards and writing paper, and a carrier pigeon. Yes, really. It's a plastic pigeon that's legal to send through the U.S. mail, providing you put the proper amount of postage on it. It doesn't get any better than that. To find out more, visit the website.

How to tell you're in the South: Writing paper!

I'm in Charlotte, North Carolina right now. I'm staying in a hotel beside a golf course. There's a six-lane road outside, and across the road is one of those large-store malls that's really only accessible with a car.

I walked over anyway, and found it was the usual: Subway sandwiches, taco places, hair salons, false fingernail shops, movie theatre, couple of bars. And a stationery store. One that sold exquisite papers, had a little room at the back for choosing invitiations, racks of notecards, and some pretty fancy pens. Yes, that's the South - there must be a place to get your thank-you cards and party invites! And from the "stationery bar," printed while I waited, were these great typewriter notecards. I think I like it here.

Thank heavens for instructions!

My new datebook arrived today. Was I ever glad that they were so clear on what to do with it, because otherwise, I would have had no idea how to open the pages ... 

Cool links: Paper and time!

A couple of cool links for today. I've never got the hang of electronic calendars -- I call my notebook my iPad. So if you prefer good old-fashioned paper for your notes, check out Pocket Mod. It's a free download that lets you print a personal organizer on a sheet of paper, and then fold it into a little booklet.

I also love clocks, and online, my favorite is the Industorious Clock. Be careful -- it'll gradually remind you of how much time you've spent watching it.