Pushing the Envelope

Stationery definition: materials (such as paper, pens, and ink) for writing or typing (Merriam-Webster)

Stationery etymology: In Medieval Europe, monks transcrbed by hand at scriptoriums, also known as “stationaria” or “stations,” derived from the Latin word “stationarius,” meaning “a stationary position or place.” (OriginOne)

Last year, my dear friend Kayla sent me a postcard from the LA Independent Stationery Store crawl on Stationery Store Day (yes, there is such a thing). I immediately committed to flying to Los Angeles for this year’s event. Which was yesterday.

I arrived to LAX on Friday afternoon. Over dinner, we mapped out our route for the next day (well, Kayla mapped it out and I watched; I have no concept of Southern California geography). There were 16 stores participating, in multiple neighborhoods in Los Angeles, Culver City, Hermosa Beach, Pasadena, and Santa Monica. Kayla estimated the time to travel between locations, and the ideal amount of time to spend in each store. We debated whether our goal should be to attempt to visit every store (there was a passport, and raffle prizes to be won depending on how many store stamps were collected) or to enjoy the journey (and still try to visit as many stores as possible). We opted for the latter.

We left shortly after 10 am on Saturday morning – bottles of water, snacks, sunscreen, and enthusiasm in tow. Giddiness enveloped us. We were on a stationery adventure! Kayla and I write to each other regularly (really write, not email) and we were excited to see what we might add to our stashes. All of the stores were independently owned, and most were tiny, and with bespoke collections of all manner of stationery: cards, paper, pens, ink, journals, stickers, and so much more! In many of the locations the owners were there, and the people working there were delightful. We had conversations about letterpress and printing methods, cardstock weight, pen silkiness, graphics, postage. We ran into many of the same shoppers throughout the day. We geeked out on how much we love stationery – the tactile pleasure of choosing just the right card for someone, of slowing down and taking the time to write a message, knowing that you won’t receive an immediate response (or maybe no response, and that’s okay), of picking just the right stamp, of physically dropping it in a post box.

Many of the stores had free treats or giveaways. Grab bags of individual cards or card sets or paper. Pens in various colors. Stickers. A Plinko token for a game to see what prize you might win.

And the inventory in each store! Oh my! Artistic cards. Funny cards. Beautiful cards. For birthdays. For bar/bat mitzvahs. For sympathy. For engagements. For weddings. For anniversaries. For new arrivals to the family. For new homes. For friendship. For giving thanks. For holidays. And then all the blank ones that you could send for whatever occasion you wanted. Gift tags. Stationery sets. Envelopes. Journals. Loose paper. Bound paper. Pens in the entire rainbow of colors and more. Ink wells. Pen holders. Pen stands. Pen pouches. Stickers, and stickers, and more stickers. Washi tape. Special Stationery Day merchandise (bags, journals, pencils, notepads, postcards). And the aesthetic was different in each store. I was surprised that we didn’t see much overlap.

We arrived home around 7:30 pm; a full day of all things stationery, lots of giggles, and priceless friend time. We were tired, but the good kind of tired, the kind where you’ve spent hours doing something you love with someone you love.

A recent fortune in a fortune cookie I received said, “Collect experiences, not things.” While there were some things collected on this trip from the 11 stationery stores that we visited, it’s the experience of making a somewhat crazy plan (flying to LA for 36 hours for a stationery crawl), seeing virtually all of Los Angeles in a day, and spending the day with a dear friend that will be forever etched into my memory.

Now, time to write some letters!