153 - 154: 6.3 + "this is very important"

One of my very favorite paper stores in Berlin was Druckerei J. Müeller (Neue Schonhauser Str. 16) in Mitte. The shop is tucked away in a courtyard and offers a charming mix of very official looking rubber stamps, old metal type, and products they produce in-house. Here, three of my favorite. First, these blind press note cards that I sealed with some washi tape (bought at  R.S.V.P, a reader suggestion -- thank you Surfire!) for gratitude letters 153 + 154. Second, and not a product per se, the stamped bag they give you, in Fraktur font, to contain your purchase. The owner folds the flap, punches a hole and inserts a brass clasp. So thoughtful. And finally, they print these quittungen, or receipt books, on an old mechanical letterpress. I. and I ventured back to the printing area and talked to the man overseeing the production. He took a receipt, turned it over, held it toward the light and delicately stroked the back, where the impression could be seen. "For the people who use these," he said (and by people he means service people, business owners, shop keepers, etc.) "this is very important. Being able to feel these lines, and feel the texture." (And yes, the photo of this dear man standing next to his press didn't come out). The front of the receipt says "Original Letterpress    Druckerei J. Müller Berlin-Mitte." The man said that, even to his surprise, his customers refuse to use mass-produced receipt books because the seonsory experience, craftsmanship and paper quality is so important. This revered labor-intensive process for such an ephemeral product very much reminded me of the letterpress fax cover sheet Emily of EmPrint made for the YU Contemporary artspace (also the location of her studio). Emily, you have a septuagenarian kindred spirit thousands of miles away.

LA VIE EN ROSE

I am so beyond, beyond honored to share February's gratitude winner with you. Projects like these remind me of just how fortunate I am to do the work I do. Back in January I got an email from Stephanie, a 25 year-old cancer survivor who is getting her PharmD. We collaborated to create the design for her tattoo, pictured above.

Stephanie's story embodies all that I hope to celebrate with Project Gratitude and the gratitude giveaways. How lucky we are to be alive. And to have inspiring role models like Stephanie who face adversity with such strength and grace.  Thank you, Stephanie, for the opportunity to work with you, and for sharing these heartfelt words.

Four years ago, at the age of 21, I found out I had Extraskeletal Ewing’s Sarcoma, an extremely rare form of cancer which happened to be attached to a spinal nerve.  I had just completed a difficult semester of pharmacy school, and a tumor removal surgery revealed cancerous tissue.  The next year and a half would be filled with chemotherapy and radiation.  To put things into perspective, every other treatment consisted of six days in a hospital with a continuous infusion of chemotherapy flowing into my body.

I have numerous scars on my body: nape of my neck (from the tumor removal), left upper chest area (port site to administer chemotherapy) and under my left arm (previous collapsed lung).  I’ve had an incredible history of medical issues, including an additional spontaneous pneumothorax with pleural effusion, basically fluid in my lung cavity.  Yet, after all of it, I tend to feel like it was fortunate these things happened to me because someone else may not be able to endure the pain.

I believe in la vie en rose, the French equivalent of “looking at life through rose-colored glasses.”  There’s always a good side to events in one’s life, whether it be for your own good or someone else’s.  The events that have happened in my life may not be ideal, but I know I am unique and stronger because of them.  This tattoo means just that for me.  I wanted to remind myself to maintain my innate positive outlook, and I wanted to put my own mark on my body.  I also secretly insist I was meant to be Parisian, but that’s another story.  La vie en rose reminds me that these marks are beautiful, they are unique.  Some people wish they had interesting scars and marks on their body.. And, at the age of 26, I do - some by chance and one by choice.

Stephanie says she hopes hopes to share health and joy with others through pharmacy and event planning.

Special thanks to tattoo artist Kim Durham, and photographer Denny Kim. Your work is stunning.

As a reminder: I give away --for FREE!-- an expression of gratitude (a letter, a tattoo, a quote, etc.) every month. Please contact me if you have someone in your life who deserves thanks and recognition. I'm without a winner for March - May and would love to hear from you.  

And you can read more about tattoos here.

GERMANY, PART IV

Hello again and very sorry for the absence. Did you follow the stupendous national stationery show coverage? I'm excited to share a little collaboration that debuted there soon. Very sadly, my camera broke the second day I was in Berlin and I've been paralyzed without it ever since. To remedy the situation while there, I bought a Holga camera and used it with mixed results. There were some very key experiences and sights that went uncaptured. Today and tomorrow I'll wrap up what I do have, but I wanted to share this one photo that symbolized the revelatory experience that is Germany. There is a very fantastic chain of drugstores called DM. I. and I visited the one in Oldenburg, which is where she lives (more on that later). After you check out, and before you exit, there is this little wrapping paper station. As you see, it has three rolls of wrapping paper. There is also ribbon, scissors and tape. All free. Something about this was so awesome that I rambled on and on about it the entire day. Something about how generous it was, how the service wasn't being abused, how much happier I would be if there were free wrapping paper stations in the US. More broadly: is gift giving and free wrapping paper the mark of a strong civil society? This article in the NYT about Germany's Ordnungsbehörde, or Department of Order, speaks to some of these points. Are there generous customs in countries you've visited that you've been equally smitten with?

BRITAIN ALONE

I had forgotten about this awesome stamp I picked up in England last summer. I think it's a good counterpoint to two patriotic stamps that have recently been released: William + Kate from the UK and the Statue of Liberty in the US that actually depicts the faux statue in Las Vegas. Let's remember more substantive philatelic decisions, shall we? This series commemorates sacrifices made during WWII, and the quotidian triumphs that led to victory. Including:

"Essential to the war effort thousands of unmarried young women were conscripted to replace men called up for the armed services on farms."

"Local volunteers, often First World War veterans were ready to fight in the event of an enemy invasion. Shown here is Doncaster’s ‘Broomstick Army’ still awaiting their uniforms and rifles."

"Essential to the war effort thousands of unmarried young women were conscripted to replace men called up for the armed services on farms."

And, pictured above: "As on the farms women stepped into traditionally male roles in industry to release men for the armed services."

BERLIN, PART III

I stumbled upon an adorable stamp shop, Reinhard Heinemann Philatelie (Kollwitzstraße 93), where I pawed through their first day of issue covers to add to my collection. The Netherlands really takes the cake for this visit. Above, some favorites. The bottom envelope is just perfect to my mind: the font, the font of the cancelling stamp, the thatched house illustration. The middle one commemorates the lower house of parliament. The top envelope highlights such a wonderful historical statistic: "Erasumus spent 10% of his income on postage." I know the feeling, Desiderius.

BERLIN, PART I

I spent the weekend in a delusional haze in Berlin, dragging my friend from one hole-in-the-wall philatelist to yet another art supply store. In turn, she introduced me to some incredible food and neighborhoods. It's going to take a while to organize my thoughts (and images, thanks to a dead camera) about the design mecca, and about Germany in general. This is because most of the time here I've had an internal monologue that goes like this:

"I think I like Berlin more than Paris. What a horrible thing to say."
"That is horrible. You should stop comparing the two."
"But isn't this what the Germans are known for? Their design?"
"Still, you should be impartial to these two great cities."
"Oh look, another paper store."

For now, let me hone in on Meirei, the first restaurant we went to for lunch, in Prenzlauer Burg. It specializes in Alpine delicacies, which include all sorts of dumplings, bread puddings, oxtail stew, baked goods, sparkling juices. It was impossible to count the thoughtful details, but I'll start with: the Alpine murals of cows and goatherds from 1905; that announcements are written on oversized doilies; that "private" is hand drawn on the door, as is a little heart for no apparent reason; that the newspaper's "Z" is so very elegant, and it publishes historical photos from WWII on the front page; that the savory bread pudding is so very pretty. Tomorrow: cake + blankets.

BERLIN BOUND

I'm headed to Berlin tomorrow to visit my dearest, oldest friend. I've had barely a minute to give any thought to this trip (suggestions welcome!). This morning I reflected on what I know about Berlin, and the atmosphere and images I associate with it. I came up with exactly three points of reference, all related, and all crucially important to my nostalgic aesthetic and development as an admittedly sentimental person. The first is the video for U2's Stay (Far Away, So Close!)-- the song's opening bars catapult me back to being 13. The next is "Wings of Desire," the heartstoppingly beautiful Wim Wenders film that inspired this video (which Wenders in turn directed). And finally, Mark Doty's poem "The Wings," which refers to the film.  The entire poem, which is worth seeking out (as is the entire book) is available here (and starts on page 39). For now, I'll excerpt the paggasge that, thanks to Ellen, has been etched in my mind. I find myself refering to it constantly, like some mantra. The image above, of the angel and the reader in the library, is from the scene Doty describes, and which you can see here.

...Some days things yield

such grace and complexity that what we see
seems offered. I can't stop thinking
about the German film in which the angels
--who exist outside of time and thus long

for things that take place--
love most of all human stories,
the way we tell ourselves what we dread or wish.

Of all our locations
their favorite is the library;
the director pictures them perched
on the balustrades, clustering

on the stairs, bent over
the solitary readers as if to urge us on, to say Here,
have you looked here yet?

-From "The Wings" by Mark Doty

SMALL BUSINESS CRUSH: GREENSAW DESIGN & BUILD

This weekend we were honored to attend a ceremony celebrating Greensaw's transformation into an employee-owned co-op. The idea is this: the good folks who work for Greensaw will now own a stake in the company. It marks the first such arrangement in Philadelphia in a long time. I don't think I fully appreciated the concept until I heard Judy Wicks talk about how increasing ownership is a vehicle for sharing wealth and resources. Her article "Local Living Economies - The New Movement for Responsible Business" offers a good introduction to the socially responsible business movement. And it was John Abrams'
"The Companies We Keep" that inspired the notion in the first place. Imagine where you work. Now imagine yourself and your co-workers as shareholders. The very idea feels revolutionary and audacious, and also exactly what our economy needs. True to form, Brendan organized a bang up party with homemade venison stew, charcuterie on salvaged wood cutting boards, home brewed beer, and a feast of Armenian delicacies contributed by one of the owner's mothers. The ceremony culminated with Brendan calling up each employee to the rustic stage-- from furniture maker to finisher-- to sign the company's guiding principles as the crowd cheered and applauded. And then I teared up. It felt, in the best and most unexpected way, like a wedding. Greensaw's beautiful work speaks for itself so please check it out, and read about the co-op process on their blog. It's been a joy to observe Greensaw grow over these last five years and I can't wait to see what their future holds.