Thank You London!

The Relay 10th Anniversary event went off without a hitch. Well, other than my team getting stomped in our game of Fortunate Families. Fencing? Really???

We had blast making fun of ourselves on stage in front of an amazing audience, and it was great to catch up with so many Relay hosts in person. The entire event was a great success!

I’m traveling back to the US today, and hope to get right back into it the rest of the week, and through the weekend. Check my podcast and streaming schedule on my Status Page, and watch for a lot of stationery content from my travels.

Thanks again to everyone who stopped me and said hi this week, or followed what I was up to on Instagram. And stay tuned, because there is much more stationery travel happening in August.

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.)

Handmade paper.

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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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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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!