Have you ever been to Paper-Ya on Granville Island? Better question, have you ever been to an arts and crafts store that inspires you to make ambitious goals and take on big projects that involve fancy paper and hand-spooled string? That’s Paper-Ya for me.

For some back story as to why I love paper, books, and stationary, I was once in visual arts at UBC. At the time, I loved print-making (and still do, which is why I belonged to an off-campus print studio when I went on exchange to Australia) and I’ve always been a fan of paper cranes. As well, there was this one point in my life where I was a contributor to the Sketchbook Project. Basically, I was given a single Moleskine sketchbook like thousands of other people in the world, I filled it, and then sent it back in the mail to have it end up be a part of a giant sketchbook tour across America, kind of like a concert tour for art. It was at this point that I began dreaming of putting together my own books or expanding/replacing pages in existing sketchbooks. Now, I’m reinspired by a recent trip to Paper-Ya to get started on some wicked summer projects that possibly involve binding notebooks.

What did I purchase during this trip? One of my coolest finds at Paper-Ya was a set of wooden postcards (as pictured above). You can get a small set for about $25 as a way to send a unique message through the mail. Next time? I think I need to go for the wax seal supplies and start sealing my letters to friends.

PS. I encourage you to check out their website, because I just recently discovered they maintain their own blog to help inspire others in their endeavours!