Posts filed under Travel

Two Hands Paperie - A Quick Visit

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

While on vacation in Colorado, I knew that we would pass through, but not stop in, Boulder and I begged my husband to take a quick detour and thankfully, he agreed! I had wanted to visit Two Hands Paperie, a stationery and art store in Boulder, last year but it didn’t work out but I was able to eke out a half hour visit!

*I love Two Hands Paperie’s whimsical front window display!*

Two Hands Paperie got its start in 1993 as a book binding shop that also sold decorative paper. It has since grown to include art supplies, cards, stationery, writing instruments of all kinds and more.

I avoided the front of the store when I walked in because that’s where I saw all the pens, lol. Instead, I made my way to the back room and found a treasure trove of art supplies, papers, and all kinds of books, and more!

*Pencils, notebooks, and loose paper like wrapping paper, tissue paper, watercolor paper, etc.*

*The right side of the back room had a lot of paper and really* *cool collage sticker books* *like this one (that I forgot to take pictures of, oops.)*

*This is some of the “more” that you would find at Two Hands Paperie - projects like Bookmaking Kits, Friendship Bracelet Kits, paint by number, quilling, puzzles, games, and more!*

*Build your own correspondence kit - pick different sized papers and envelopes.*

*The ”Make My Notebook” station is really neat!*

This was probably one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a while - “Make My Notebook” - where you pick out the paper size and type (grid or lined, etc.) from the left side, then pick a cover from the right side, then what color you want for the spiral binding and a Two Hands team member will assemble it for you! I was so tempted to get one of these but alas, the paper fort is overflowing, as are the suitcases. Might have to order one when I get home though!

Check out upcoming events on their chalkboard - better yet, sign up for their online newsletter or check out the website for more events. Just be sure to check out the various links because there isn’t a single page that lists them all.

*Some of the notebook cabinets at the front of the store.*

*Two Hands Paperie is a Traveler’s Company Partner Shop, which meant they sometimes have exclusives that non-partner shops don’t carry and also their own Traveler’s Stamp!*

*Behind the front counter is a cute display of their fountain pen ink selection, as well as converters and other parts.*

*Glass displays make pen photography challenging, but you can still see their collection of budget-friendly pens from Pilot, Lamy, Traveler’s Company, and Caran d’Ache.*

*Look at all the pretty Kaweco fountain pens, pencils and ballpoints!*

*Higher-end pens from Sailor, Pelikan, Visconti, Pilot, and more.*

I spent so much time picking out some notecards and chatting with one of the staff members that I forgot to take pictures of the rest of the front of the shop as well as the products in the hallway leading to the back room, oops again. There is a large variety of greeting cards as well as postcard packs, blank card sets, and even stationery sets. I wish I had more than 30 minutes to spend at this store so I could explore it all.

In the end, I picked up some note cards and a stationery set so I had something to send to the kid at camp. And of course, I couldn’t go to a Traveler’s Company Partner Shop without using their stamps! Can’t wait to put them in my Diner journal (which I had brought with me to the shop.)

Two Hands Paperie is located at 803 Pearl Street in Boulder, Colorado, and is open Monday - Saturday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM and on Sunday from 11:00 AM to 5:00PM. They have a lot more products in-store than what is shown online, so if you have some time to spend in Boulder, I highly recommend this shop!

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Posted on June 14, 2024 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Travel, Store Visit.

A Whirlwind Away from the Whirlwind

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available for pre-order!)

I was able to escape the tornado wreckage for a week to attend the 2024 StokerCon convention--the annual gathering for the Horror Writer's Association. I go every year, mostly to see my spooky fam, the Halloween People, as my friend Kevin's children named us. But it's also a wonderful opportunity to network, gain new education and skills, and a place to meet your heroes. This year's convention was particularly good, and the biggest one to date. And it didn't hurt that it was held in San Diego, which is a very beautiful place.

At the convention, I gave a reading, a signing, participated in two panels, and helped to hand out awards at the Bram Stoker Awards ceremony on Saturday, June 1st, which also happened to be my birthday. Best birthday party ever! The ceremony is one of the convention highlights. We call it Horror Prom, or the Horror Oscars, and everyone gets dressed up and has a lovely time. My short story collection Root Rot was nominated for an award this year, and while it didn't win, the award went to one of my biggest heroes, Gemma Files, which absolutely delighted me.

I signed a lot of copies of Root Rot over the weekend, and I had some thoughts about the best pens for book signing. I sometimes had to sign with ballpoints, which just felt wrong. My fountain pen I brought for signing ended up way too feathery for the task. I did a lot with a regular Sharpie, which is the pen of choice for most authors, and it worked quite well. But the best one--the most ideal pen I found for book signing--was a Metallic Sharpie. The Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore was the official bookseller of the convention, and they had a tower of copies of Root Rot for me to sign. They let me pick from a selection of Sharpies, so of course I went for the sparkly one. And it was perfect. So much so that I'm going to get some for myself for this very purpose. My new book, The Atropine Tree, releases in just four weeks, so I'll be signing more towers of books soon!

That's really the only stationery thought that I had for the whole con. I was so busy I never even got my notebook out of my backpack, otherwise. But while I was running around the convention like a fast zombie, I did manage to escape a few times.

I wasn't going to go all the way to San Diego and not see the place that claims to be the most haunted house in America. That would have been silly. The Whaley House was indeed lovely, but not as spooky as I'd hoped. Still a fantastic museum, well worth the visit. I also wasn't going to come all the way to California and not see the ocean, so I spent an hour strolling along Mission Beach, watching waves, observing strange seaweeds, and eating what can only be described as California food, which I didn't know was a thing until this trip. Very enjoyable.

And then it was over, like a whirlwind, and it was back to my home, which is still suffering from the whirled wind. But progress is being made, and there are signs that I might be able to return to my hobbies again soon! Which is good, because the writing deadlines only ever seem to speed up, and my notebooks are calling.

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Posted on June 13, 2024 by Sarah Read and filed under Travel, Writing.

Stationery Travel Diary, Librarian Edition

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And her latest book, Root Rot, is now available for pre-order!)

The Public Library Association's conference was held in Columbus, Ohio last week and it was immediately followed, for me, by a Horror Writers Association Wisconsin Chapter writing retreat near Milwaukee. That meant packing stationery for educational, professional, and recreational purposes! It also meant stopping in to a Columbus stationery store, On Paper, which was conveniently/dangerously close to my hotel.

For the conference:

My main stationery for notetaking at the conference was my Plotter Bible size with a CW&T Pen Type B in Brass. These weren't tools specifically chosen for the conference; they're my everyday carry writing tools that are never out of reach. They weren't perfect for the job. I could have used a gel pen to write more quickly and a larger page to expand my notes, but these were handy and portable--which were essential features for running around a massive conference.

Columbus was awesome. I got to explore a new city, reconnect with some local friends, and hang out with roughly 7,000 colleagues who were doing brilliant and amazing things. I visited two bookstores, Prologue Books and The Book Loft. Both were lovely, but I think I could live at the Book Loft. You know a bookstore is good when you're at a conference where publishers are literally throwing free books at you, but you still end up buying two books. Oops? No regrets. Okay, one regret. I regret not buying some of the cool t-shirts, too.

One highlight of Columbus is, of course, the stationery shop. On Paper is located right on the High Street, with lots of fun boutiques and coffee shops and restaurants nearby. The shop's interior is quaint and tidy, with antique furniture for displays and a fun assortment of cards, papers, notebooks, wax seals, bottled inks, and desk accessories. They had some lovely Retro 51 pens and some Kaweco fountain pens, but the majority of the focus was paper. They are my people. The vibe reminded me a lot of Papier Plume in New Orleans, minus the gothic flair of its distant cousin.

While I exercised an immense amount of self-control, I could not resist the "Hexes and Vexes" list pad from Open Sea Design Co. I mean. Who could? It was also the perfect opportunity to pick myself up a postcard souvenir. And I would like praise for resisting the recycled book cover journals, please and thank you.

If you're a PenAddict and find yourself in Columbus, I definitely recommend visiting On Paper for your stationery souvenir fix.

For the writing retreat:

I used my current story draft notebook, the Pebble Stationery Liberty Fabric notebook with Cosmo Air Light paper. For the pen, I used the Visconti Mirage Mythos, which I'm reviewing for next week's post. They were a great team, and between the lovely tools, the restful setting, and the quiet of the retreat center (and probably also the unlimited coffee and muffins of the retreat center), I knocked out about six thousand words of the best stuff I've written this year so far. Magic. The llamas also helped.

The two settings could not have been more different. A bustling city with far too much to do, oceans of people, and countless distractions--to a remote farm with a monastic room, an abundance of silence, and only a few other quiet writers. Okay, there was also a quilting retreat happening there, and they were... boisterous. But there were plenty of quiet corners to hide in, away from all humans. Which was exactly what I needed between a week of work travel and a week of solo parenting while my spouse travels.

April has been wild so far. Thank goodness for the writing tools that keep it all on track. Tomorrow I'm taking the day off just to write. Well, and taxi the kids around and pick my spouse up from the airport, but between those things...WRITING. I have goals, lists, deadlines, and empty pages to fill.

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Posted on April 11, 2024 by Sarah Read and filed under Writing, Travel.