One of my favourite letter writing papers is this ultra thin paper from Life Stationery, the Life Airmail pad.

This paper is simply a delight – air mail paper that is a bit like onion skin paper, lightweight and thin, as originally designed to cut back postage costs while enabling the author to fit more pages into an envelope. I enjoy the notion of stacks of letters, tied together with string, holding the whole story of months or years apart between two people. The thin, crinkly texture for this paper is a bit nostalgic, and you realize that’s the way that is secret my heart.

But what makes this paper truly excellent is that along side being very thin, it is also pen that is extremely fountain, even with broad and wet nibs. The paper is really thin it is translucent, and yet I am able to use virtually any ink and nib combination I have, with my letters and lines resume help looking neat and crisp.

Alas, as the paper is indeed see-through, the backside associated with paper is certainly not super for writing on, unless you’ve used an extra fine nib or maybe not a fountain pen.

This paper isn’t the same as Tomoe River paper – it’s definitely thinner (and has now more show through), and also has a little more texture. It’s hard to catch a photo of it, but while I would still describe this paper as generally smooth, it offers a texture sort of like cotton paper. It’s also more crinkly than Tomoe River paper, since it’s so incredibly thin – the Life Airmail paper is more like true onion skin paper.

The lines are the guidelines included with the pad to place underneath, and on the right is the Airmail paper on the left is the cream Tomoe River Paper.

The paper is B5 sized, that is a great size for letters and notebooks, one of my favourite. I use A5 for thank you notes or just writing to say hello, and A4 when I’ve got too much to say, but B5 is a superb intermediate size.

The best sized envelopes because of this would be the number 6 air mail envelopes from Life, which will be the best size for B5 envelopes in general (why don’t more companies make this size?). These envelopes in particular are also thin, but they are still very strong. This size means you can just fold your letter up into thirds horizontally, without having to fold your letter vertically to squeeze in.

The biggest drawback if i’m writing a letter in stages, and need to leave the sheets on my desk overnight or for a few days, they tend to get crumpled and show wear more easily for me is that this paper is a bit fragile, so. I guess it is all the more reason to create aside a dedicated time to start and finish something, but these days I’m wanting to be productive in every the tiny pockets of time i will find. Perhaps really, it is all the more reason enough to be much more organized with the junk I have piled up on my desk.

After our hiatus in December, we’re having our letter Club that is writing again night, Thursday, January 11th, from 7-9:00. We’re hoping to see some of you there! Now with all the new baby, things are a little hairy around bed time again, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed for two soundly sleeping babies so I can participate in the enjoyment.

We’re coming through to InCoWriMo again, this February. It a good go every year, I find myself leaning more and more into longer and more meaningful letters with closer correspondents, compared to brief letters, which doesn’t lend itself to a daily activity while I give. I might, however, make things easy on myself, and perhaps compile a list of visitors to whom I’ll send a postcard or note that is short.

We’re slowly settling into a back that is routine, even though there are a few big, sweeping changes coming up in front of us, and that knows what our day will appear like. Things sometimes look like they’re starting to end up in place – dinner plans or stock that is replenishing the holidays – and then sometimes I’m searching for renovation photos, find a folder back at my desk top labeled “renovation photos,” simply to open it and locate it empty.

The renovations continue steadily to slog along, with a few road bumps. City zoning and permits and environmental testing and weird by-laws. I really like this populous city, but sometimes the bureaucracy can be a little much.

We’re getting ready behind the scenes, collecting furniture, repairing treasures from unlikely places, and most exciting of most, sourcing a few new brands and lines for the opening that is big. It’s all basically a jumble back here, trying to shipping that is organizing the warehouse filling up with components of furniture taken apart and stacked up. You can even see a few of this furniture stacked behind the counters at our shop, such as this lovely saran-wrapped library card catalogue in the right. It’s actually an old University of Windsor card catalogue that Jon paid an arm and a leg to get delivered here, and now that arm and a leg are just sitting inside our shop, operating as a rather tall side table.