Stationery Scoop, the stationery blog for people who love paper and stylish stationery

Part 2 - On the hunt for marbled paper in Venice

One of my top must-find items for our trip to Venice was marbled paper, a handicraft characteristic of Venice and hopefully available in plentiful supply. I didn't let myself get too excited, though, because in North America, I don't see a lot of marbled paper anymore and I wasn't sure if the art and craft had died out in Venice.

Happily, we found several shops making and selling marbled paper, including this one where we had the chance to talk to the owner. I realize now that Venice is a place where the ancient is celebrated and sustained, and marbling was no exception.

Besides paper, the shop also sold rubber stamps, sealing wax and glass pens.

The books are made with purchased book blocks and handmade covers. The owner had set up his book press right in the shop, an esthetically pleasing and functional solution to having so little space in which to work.

Can you see the balls in the foreground? He hand-marbled those in the vat in the back. After soaking the gelatin for several weeks, the vat is ready to use and lasts six months without being changed.

Gorgeous boxes and ribbons.

The blues and reds were especially rich colors, and many of the marbled paper had gorgeous silver or gold streaks. 

It was a privilege to see inside the shop and workspace and I'm grateful to the owner for taking the time to visit with us. It was definitely a highlight of our trip to Venice.

Part 1 - What I found when shopping for stationery in Venice

Part 2 - On the hunt for marbled paper in Venice

Part 3 - Venetian pastries

Part 4 - The most incredible handmade cotton paper at Cartavenezia 

Pecha Kucha, Machu Picchu, what the hee hoo?

For a while after Amber approached me with the chance to present at September's Pecha Kucha, I called it Machu Picchu. Then I resorted to calling it What The Hee Hoo. And finally she explained (and I managed to remember) that it's pronounced "poo-chach-ka" and I learned it once and for all.

What is Pecha Kucha? It's an evening for designers and creative types to get together and share ideas in a unique format: 20 slides that progress automatically every 20 seconds each for a total presentation time of 6:40.

So what was I doing there? I presented on 10 Things I've Learned from Owning My Own Business. The last 14 years have been interesting, creative and challenging and I picked 10 tips and ideas to share that evening.

That's all I'll say for now. If you'd like to watch the video (and hey, it's only 6 minutes and 40 seconds), head over to the Botanical PaperWorks blog and have a look. Let me know what you think!

The group of presenters, missing Ace Burpee

This Toronto paper store has my heart

I'm officially in love the The Paper Place in Toronto. From the Semikolon products from Europe to the post-its and calendars from Japan, every inch of the store has something amazing. They carry Botanical PaperWorks' plantable seed paper as well. When I was there last week, I bought a weekly fill-in organizer by Marks, a couple of calendars and two cardboard birdhouses from Kikkerland for my young daughters to assemble and decorate. Next time I'm in Toronto, a visit to The Paper Place is a must.

Plantable leaves for Tree of Life

We were inspired recently by the Shoppers Drug Mart Tree of Life campaign to create these plantable, seed-embedded leaves. They are perfect for writing and displaying, and when the campaign is over, they can be planted to grow gardens of wildflowers to attract butterflies and other wildlife. Wouldn't that be cool?

Click to see more plantable seed paper promotional products.

Messed up my first mailed birthday card!

Before I left for Venice, I realized that I wouldn't be around for my Grandma's birthday. Remembering my new resolution to send more birthday cards to relatives with whom I'm not able to celebrate, I got busy.

I chose a lovely card and wrote a heartfelt note. My kids created cards from scratch and wrote their own special birthday greetings. I found a stamp and managed to get the package to the post office before leaving.

Then this week, I asked my Grandma if she had received the card. No, she hadn't. What? I muttered something about the mail system being unreliable and promised that it would arrive any day.

The next day, she was at my house and said "Let me check the address that you sent the card to". I pulled the address up in my address book and she said "That's what I thought - you have our address from seven years ago".

Phooey!

So I'm adding a new piece to my greeting card resolution, and it is:

Since it's been so long since I mailed anything, it's very likely that many of the addresses in my Address Book are out of date. Before I send any more cards out into the wild blue yonder, I'll do an address check.

Which reminds me, my niece and nephew in Edmonton have birthdays next week and I need to get their cards in the mail...