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saimabooks29-1.jpg

mo(u)rning light

July 24, 2011

When the sun rises the shades of white change from cold to slightly warm. The curtains are old white sheets with plenty of lace at the top edge and the initials KK. I do not sleep after having slept too much in the evening, the whites are now ivories. My grandmother's trousseau? my trousseu, of a shade of morning (a brief visit to marriage it was, but not a failed one). I am very happy, very sad. I hoped for a storm and I got thunder after thunder and they didn't help one bit. I am frustrated by all the anger, too. I am excessively sensitive; I always react before I understand. My mind is slow, my emotions quick. When will I have the time to stop and understand something? Not that it's possible to understand what happened in Norway.

It feels as if I'm experiencing love and happiness for the first time. Maybe I am. Maybe I am free now. Yet a feeling of guilt lingers in the background: I should not be happy at a moment like this. Of course it's not true. My happiness does not make those who lost someone any less happy. My unhappiness does not make strangers any happier. Often I just try to bear the weight of the world on my shoulders. Always failing.

Somewhere far the thunder rumbles again.

When I was a child my other grandmother had cotton wool and dried rhodanthes between her windows. All we have there now is the black dirt the city breathes into our home. I should do something about it.

In everything else
← reluctancystormy, I hope →

Welcome to Paperiaarre!

Kaija Rantakari / Paperiaarre in her Helsinki based studio

Hello, my name is Kaija. I'm a master bookbinder / mixed media artist / accumulator extraordinaire / poet from Finland. This website is where I share my creations to fellow paper enthusiasts.

Paperiaarre is Finnish for a paper treasure, and I hope you find many of those here!

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Hello you, just a quick note that I'm spending May in Edinburgh at a writing recidency, so the Paperiaarre shop will be closed from April 30th. Any orders placed by Wednesday afternoon will be shipped as usual ❤️❤️❤️
Another great day for this bookbinder! Thank you all for your many orders - they really make my day every time ❤️
This golden floral kimono silk is one of my all time favourites. I love how beautifully light plays with the weave even on a cloudy day like today.

This notebook with semi-flexible covers is one of the five still left of yesterday's shop update. All
New books in the Paperiaarre shop! Four hardcover notebooks with heavier weight paper, and ten notebooks bound with the sewn boards binding style that results in semi-flexible covers. All made with repurposed vintage kimono silk.
On my to-do list is to add this stack of vintage kimono notebooks to my shop. Some time next week, I hope!

I made these using the sewn boards binding structure that creates lovely semi-flexible covers.
Wrapping a lovely order today 🤍🤍🤍

We've now made it through the darkest moments of winter, so maybe soon I will finally get to my stack of journals waiting to be photographed. Read: New books coming soon-ish!
New blog post and new books now available in the Paperiaarre shop at www.paperiaarre.com. There's postcard-sized watercolor journals perfect for travel journal use, too, and a small lot of the popular adorably tiny notebooks. All covered with repurpo
Watercolor journals and mini kimono journals for sale through my IG stories for the next 24h. Any remaining books will be available at paperiaarre.com in a few days 🤍🤍🤍
Every now and then I get requests for notebooks suitable for watercolors, and even though I don't do custom orders in the traditional sense, every now and then I hear your requests! This lot of six lovely A6 landscape format watercolor journals will
[Edit: We raised a total of 630 €! Thank you so much for your participation and support! A winner was picked at random in my stories ❤️]

Time for a fundraiser!

I'm raffling off this handbound vintage kimono journal to raise money for Doctors W

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