Feathering vs bleed-through: a deep dive into
We dosed twelve papers with the same brush pen ink. Two cracked under load. The rest told a quieter story about sizing, fibre length, and surface tension.
9 min readRead entry
The Journal —
paper, slowly,
and on the record.
In this issue
Currents
Six entries in motion this month. Some are short tests. One is a three-year story about a mill in Echizen. We file them as we go.
Tomoe River vs Midori: which paper for which
Both are loved. Both are misused. We mapped each one against alcohol, water, fude, and gel — then noted where each paper quietly excels.
7 min readRead entry
How to set up your hand lettering studio on a
A working desk does not need to cost much. We list every tool we still reach for after years, and the items we wish we had skipped.
6 min readRead entry
Alcohol markers on specialty papers: what you
Alcohol ink wants a tight surface. Some specialty stocks fight it. We tested four families against six papers and recorded what bled, what bloomed.
8 min readRead entry
Journaling paper guide: from budget to premium
Not every page needs to cost a small fortune. Here is the ladder we walk customers up — entry stock, mid-shelf, then the rare stuff worth saving for.
5 min readRead entry
Our Hexpaper №7: what makes our limited-edition
Three years of mill visits, four reformulations, and a lot of failed sheets. The story behind our first house paper, in plain prose.
10 min readRead entry
We do not hide technical details behind marketing fluff. The paper either holds the ink or it does not. We say which, and why.
— The studio, on house style
House practice
How a sheet earns its way onto the shop floor.
- 01Receiving
Every shipment is opened by hand. We log the date, the mill, the lot, and the condition of the wrap. Damaged cartons go back the same day.
- 02Sampling
Three sheets from each lot leave the box and never reach a customer. They live on the wall and meet our standard set of inks, markers, and pens.
- 03Logging
Notes go into the studio binder. Sizing behaviour, ghosting, dry time, and tooth. The binder is older than the storefront.
- 04Listing
Only papers that survive the binder reach the shop. The ones that do not get a quiet email back to the maker, with our notes attached.
Running series
Threads we keep pulling.
The Mill Visits
Travel notes from Echizen, Hahnemühle, and a small studio in Jeonju. We write these slowly. The makers deserve it.
Marker Logs
Short, dated entries on how a marker behaves on each new stock. Less essay, more lab notebook. The kind of writing we wished existed.
Reader Letters
We answer paper questions in long form when one good answer can save a hundred wasted sheets. Send us the messy ones.