PAPER THINGS

I love paper! I love paper that is flamboyantly decorated, paper with a great hand, paper that is deeply wrinkled, paper that is lacy and thin as air, paper that is old and stained, paper that has a beautiful watermark, paper that is discarded and left in the gutter to die.

I do much of my paper buying when I am in Tokyo. In addition to checking out colorful chiyogami  and crumpled momigami at my favorite paper stores, I hit up the local flea markets for bargain-priced old copy books and receipt ledgers filled with beautiful calligraphy. 

Paper is still valued in Japan, despite concerns about the destruction of trees and pollution.  You can still find specialty department stores with multiple floors of paper and writing goods ranging from hand-made washi paper to hand-made inkjet paper, to calendars, journals, pens, inks, pencils, origami, postcards and letter paper. You can still find shops specializing in gorgeous handmade papers and origami paper. And you can still purchase paper wallets like the one above, that are gorgeous and sturdy enough to stand up to daily use for years. You can find barrettes made of paper that has been knotted and lacquered to adorn your upswept hair. Paper traditions carried on from centuries ago still persist today. 

I've also noticed a stylish trend in paper goods that are fashionable and useful. My recent favorite paper vendor is SIWA, which means "wrinkle" or washi spelled backwards. In checking their website, they seem to have dialed back on some of their whimsical items, such as hats, slippers and suitcases but they still offer an array of imaginative goods. SIWA products are made of naoron, a water-proof paper made of wood pulp used for washi and recycled plastic bottles. My wallet, pictured here, is almost a year old. It has developed the characteristic siwa or wrinkle on its surface and has taken on a lovely patina. I love compact wallets with a billfold that opens easily. It has  a sturdy elastic band that keeps my bills, cards and gray change purse from slipping out.

In addition to SIWA, I've collected paper tote bags from a variety of vendors, including the Shimanto Newspaper Bag and Daiso.  The Shimanto Newspaper Bag is made of recycled newspapers and makes a lovely rustling noise, like the sound of newspapers being opened. All of these totes, as they age, will wrinkle in the most charming way, just like us humans. 

Left: Shimanto Newspaper Bag, Right: SIWA tote, Middle: Daiso paper tote

SIWA Rollup Ipad Case