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“As the number of studies increased, it became clear that writing was a far more powerful tool for healing than anyone had ever imagined.” - James W. Pennebaker

"The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best". – Henry Van Dyke

I have a confession to make.  For years I didn’t do much creatively because I compared myself to others, thinking I just didn’t have the “artist” gene.  “Who am I to think I can do this?” I would ask. “I’m not an artist”.  I hear this a great deal in the Shop. The thing is we are all artists!  Think back to when you were young.  Everything was a world of imagination.  A leaf poked onto a toothpick which was then stuck in a twig suddenly became a boat sailing down the river in the wake of a rain shower on your street.  Don’t you yearn for those carefree days?

You can have them!  The youthful imagination still lives in each of us.  I encourage you to have some fun with this one big beautiful life of yours.  Do something that scares you a little bit.  Take those classes you wanted to take.  Get your hands full of ink and paint.  Find your creative voice, the voice that brings you joy and peace.  Even if you are judging yourself or comparing yourself, do it anyway.  You will be so glad you did.  But, if you need a cheerleader come talk to me, I’ve got your back.

Creativity is different for all of us.  It may be writing that sets you on fire.  Perhaps it’s singing or sewing, dancing or drama.  Being an artist isn’t about drawing or painting, not with a brush at least.  It’s about exploring your imagination and expressing it in whichever way you desire.  Every voice singing in the woods comes together to create a beautiful song.  So, yes, you are an artist.

Our fall classes will be up on our website www.soulpaper.ca soon to inspire you.  And don’t forget to feed your soul every day.  You are so worth it.

Original (unedited) article as seen in FLOW Magazine - Saskatoon.

(untitled) 2 year - Community/Open Workshop Project - This was all you Saskatoon! Thank you!

February 21st - California Typewriter

We love our city, community and tribe!

You and your love of what we do, is what gets us out of bed every morning.

We have always been drawn to anything old school.  Stationery, pens, paper, typewriters and going out to the picture show, just to name a few.

Is there a better way to celebrate all our loves, than with a movie about typewriters!?

So ... as a way to pay it forward…On February 21st,  Soul Paper, Paved Arts and the Broadway Theatre are proudly presenting a nostalgic look at our past with the special screening of California Typewriter at 7pm.

Tickets are only $10 - available at the Broadway Theatre box office or swing by Soul Paper...we will have a few for sale as well.

But wait, there's more... Soul Paper will also be raffling off not 1 ... but 2 – “The Typewriter” books (by Janine Vangool – editor of Uppercase Magazine) in the lobby right before the show!  What?!  Yes, you heard right. 

What is the Typewriter book?  Check this out...so cool…

Raffle tickets are 1 for $2 or 3 for $5, and the winner will be announced and the end of the movie along with another surprise from Paved Arts!

But this is the part we are most excited about.  ALL Soul Paper raffle proceeds will be given to the Lymphedema Association of Saskatchewan!  Win, win, win.

Please, take a moment to find out what Lymphedema really is and why we need to get behind this!.

So, who's up for a movie?

We are honoured and humbled by being featured on the Italian Stationery Blog.  Follow the link here and check out the rest of the site for tons of extra goodies!

Looking at the blog, website, Facebook & Instagram, I realized that the last blog post was on March 28!  I know!  Right!?  What the hummph!?

Okay. I know there are no excuses, but here is why we neglected our duties on the blog.

1. Write_on.

This was our first year partnering, participating and promoting this incredible event in Saskatoon.  To say we were prepared, may be a stretch.  Yes we held our own and supported the campaign, but it left us stretched thin and the blog suffered.  Actually, so did our sleep.

2. Arrivals.

April, as it turned out, was one of our largest months ever - for new product arrivals from around the globe. The shop became stuffed with all the papergoodness for Easter, Mothers Day, National Letter Writing Month, Graduations, Spring arrivals and Limited Editions.

3. Limited Editions.

Our favorite pen & pencil companies (Lamy & Blackwing) released their Spring Limited Editions in the same month.  Almost within the same week!  Organized Chaos! Enough said.

4. Workshops.

The Write_on Kick-off, Mid-month Stationery Swap and the Wrap-up all took time to set up and host. We were unprepared for the overwhelming support and participation from the YXE community.  We also learned the maximum capacity of our workshop. Maybe next year, we find a school gym.

5. New Hires.

As crazy as it sounds, we also conducted a hiring blitz, to find our next victim, er, rockstar, er, family member/employee of the month. I know, crazy.

Now, with all the excuses and fussing out of the way, let us move forward and spring onto what is important in May.

The new May calendar is online (check it out here) and with that, so is the Workshop schedule.  However, for the month of May, NO workshops will be scheduled until our return from New York.  So look forward to something towards the end of the month.  Our Thursday Meetup is still scheduled. 

Yes. I said New York.  It is that time of year already.

Every May, we travel to NYC to attend the National Stationery Show or NSS. This tradeshow gathering, in it's 70th year, is a meeting of vendors, makers, suppliers & retailers of all things stationery!  As a paper shop, you know this is our paradise!  We train by drinking lots of water to keep our saliva glands at a high performance level. (drool). 

We have attended for 5 years, and have grown to appreciate it as a time to meet new friends, find great undiscovered goodies and review what we are bringing to YXE the following year.  But really, it is our only chance to meet face to face with all the incredible souls that create, make & share their world with ours.  We preach that 80% of our store are independents and it is.  This is the only chance we get every year to actually see half of them, in one place. 

So if you would like to see what we find, follow our Facebook &  Instagram for updates from New York.  We may even have a few live Periscopes from the show this year!

Each year Lamy creates a new special edition, limited production run, of their bestselling AL-Star series.

This year the latest colour is (drum roll please) – Charged Green!

And although it seems as though the Lamy designers are caught in a “green” loop after releasing the Safari Neon Lime last year, the Charged Green is already becoming a favorite on pen blogs and the internet since it was announced in December. The green is subtle, stylish and since it is an anodized aluminum, the green has been described as olive, pear, green apple or lime leaf. Either way, it is beautiful, and will certainly become a collectable as are all of the special editions.

The AL-Star is an aluminum pen with a semi-transparent barrel grip, a patented exchangeable nib (hot-swappable) and a spring-action metal clip. The original design dates back to the sixties but was truly re-introduced to the public in 1980 and has remained one of the best pens on the planet. The pen is extremely light weight, but very stout and robust. The little brother to the AL-Star , the Safari, shares the same nib and ink cartridge system and is given to grade schoolers in Germany. So for everyday use, they just keep performing.

This year, Soul Paper will be Pre-ordering and stocking the AL-Star Charged Green in fountain pen and roller ball, and of course, we will also have the limited edition inks in cartridge and bottles.
The AL-Star ’s and Safari’s will accept the Lamy Z24 converter or Lamy ink cartridges, and each series are sold with converters. We love how easy they are to fill from bottles.

Last year’s special edition sold out before production and this year is bound to be no exception. With this in mind, we are accepting pre-orders until January 29, 2016. So if you are looking to add to your Lamy collection, are in need of a very special gift for someone this year, or are thinking of Christmas gifts (it is only 353 days away!), give us a call and reserve yours today.

As a curated stationery shop, we have an opportunity to hand pick all of our products. We also bring in what we can upon request. One of the requests was for the Blackwing series of pencils from Palomino and with pleasure, we have them in stock. Available individually and in full boxes.

We also stock the Blackwing Limited Editions, but only while they last.
- Limited Edition Chuck Jones (of Looney Tunes fame) available (only 5000 boxes were produced).
- Limited Edition 211 in honour of John Muir.
- Limited Edition 1138. The most unique to date.

For everyone at Soul Paper, having Blackwing in the store is a bit of nostalgia, as we all have been using them since our days in grade school, college or in our previous careers. The fact is, before the store opened, we had been ordering them online and using them sparingly. They are a staple in our personal studios and still dear to our hearts. And as soon as you pick one up, you remember something from your past, because they are so familiar.

The list of people we want to thank for coming out in the rain and cold to celebrate our First Birthday is truly endless. Less it to say, thank you everyone, we love all you and we couldn’t have done any of this with without you. And if you follow on Instagram or Facebook, you would see the pictures, links to videos and fun everyone had. Please take some time to follow the links to others in our community too, as their posts on yesterday’s festivities are incredible.

Yesterday was also the opening of our workshop space! After a full year of threatening to open the space to the public, we finally have. This was a major milestone at Soul Paper as it signifies a real need for a space for our community to share, learn and grow. We are super excited for the first classes in calligraphy and mixed media. Watch the Workshop page here on our website for the October calendar.

We really hate ending our little blog posts with apologies, but to everyone signed up for a Newsletter … Sorry, it IS coming soon. We needed to focus on the build of the workshop and ensuring the great finds for the shop kept rolling in. We also have a few new faces around the shop and with the added support, will be focussing on Newsletters and Workshops. We may have now started a rhythm.

Thank you again for your Love and Support.

Yesterday (August 29) marked a very important day at Soul Paper! We turned 1! Can you believe it? One. Uno. Edg.

Happy Birthday! Happy Anniversary!

This past year has gone so quickly. We have diligently worked on building our stock, supporting you the community and having fun.  Thank you for your support, love and kindness!

To celebrate this milestone, and to thank everyone, we are inviting you to our party on Saturday September 5, 2015. There will be treats, grab bags, libations (non alcoholic of course), an incredible in house prise draw and mini demos! We should also mention, that this will be the soft opening of our newly renovated workshop space!

We hope to see you!