Postal Play Day

Friday was the long awaited all-day-all-fun play day with my mail art pal --
Kelly P the Fearless Mailer.
She had just one day in San Francisco to visit me and we intended to make the best of it!
First stop -- SCRAP.
Always a good place to start....

We each filled our bags with lots of great ephemera and there was no fighting.
Really.
There were multiples of just about everything and we shared. We are good like that.
It is fun to use these inter-office envelopes and see what's in side peeking out through the holes.

I found a whole bunch of these cards -- with stamps printed on them. I can't resist stamps.

Kelly found this rather grungy old envelopes and I said look inside to see if there is a cool pattern -- score!

After Scrap we went over to my studio where we met up with the wonderful S Wurlitzer --
maker of fabulous artistamps and mail art and a correspondent of Kelly's.
(I am under strict orders to use small photos of the people involved!)

S Wurlitzer gifted KSP with several sheets of her fabulous artistamps.

Me with Kelly P --

I might have been jealous of those coveted artistamps but Kelly gifted me with -- are you ready? -- this amazing small portable typewriter -- to bring on all my road trips from now on.
She carried the typewriter on the plane. What a pal.

Itchi-ban-kan
It almost like they knew Kelly way coming to town, doesn't it? Just look at this fun display.
Lots of tape,,,,

.....and this nice display of little origami paper envelopes. I will have to try making some of those.

Right in the middle of all the shopping and oohing and ahhing there was a sighting of
Miss Red Letter Day ...

What a treat!
We couldn't have planned it any better. And what else is funny is, Kelly also ran into Red Letter Day in in NYC when they were both visiting there.
Small world.

After lunch (sushi) in Japantown we went over to Chinatown to look at the paper in the joss shops. Made a stop at the shop where S Wurlitzer and I both found so many treasures in the past...
most of the vintage paper inventory is gone but we managed to pick up a couple of things.

Cappuccino
We had to make a stop at Caffe Puccini for a cappuccino. Needed a bit of  caffeine after running around all day long.
And, well...you know, it is part of the name of my blog. 

LAST STOP
Last stop, back to my studio for a little mail art. KSP & I worked on some mail for the postal pals we have in common.
We had a little wine and a few olives too.

Now that was a GOOD MAIL DAY.

Thanks to S Wurlitzer for driving us around and being such great company and to Red Letter Day for the surprise hello.
I'm just a little sad they aren't all in my studio right now so we can play.

That was one fun day.

Coming to SF for Ex Postal Facto?

Chinatown SF
If you read my blog regularly, you know how much I love walking around in Chinatown.
On a recent day with blue skies and 75" weather I took a walk on Grant Avenue
and I'm sharing some photos I took with you.
I just hope it's raining by the time you all get to SF because we really, really need rain.
It's OK, you'll still have fun.

This post isn't just about Chinatown though...I will throw down a few names of places for you mail artists and paper ephemera fans to check out while you're in town.
You can use the names to Google the spots and also go to the Search Box for my blog because I have already posted about a number of places to go to in SF.
Ready?

CHINATOWN
Well, of course....you can't miss Chinatown. There are shops entirely full of joss papers, incense, books to practice cursive writing, tea, air mail envelopes, Chinese language newspapers, old coins....and food!
Hit the Search Box and put in joss paper for some ideas.
Two fabulous joss paper shops are on Jackson Street between Grant and Stockton Streets.
One is called Exquisite Buddha and the other is across the street.
Just remember -- these shops are selling religious papers and be respectful. They usually do not want you to take photos of the inside of the shops but I have gotten some good shots from the doorway.

Old Coins for Sale in Chinatown

Besides Chinatown, there is also Japantown near Geary and Post Streets. You can ride the 38 Geary bus. (Search the search box for this too - I did a post). There are two really wonderful "Dollar" stores there called Diaso and Itchi-ban-Kan as well as Mai Do stationery. Washi tape for sure.
Lots of interesting stuff to look at -- including a Japanese supermarket (with a cool, free magazine in Japanese that would be great for mail art).
And did I mention the food?
Sushi, ramen, undon.....
(There is also a Paper Source within walking distance on Fillmore Street)

Some tin boxes in Chinatown

My personal favorite art supply store is called FLAX. They have an entire huge room of beautiful sheets of paper. And they carry the Cavallini line of papers, washi tape and various other products. Some rubber stamps and loads of art supplies.
FLAX is on Market Street at Valencia Street. You will have to look this one up.
I think it is worth a trip. And it is pretty near the ZUNI restaurant if you are inclined to stop in for oysters at the zinc bar or have lunch.

Chinatown

Another favorite of mine is SCRAP. I've blogged about Scrap before so go to the Search box for pictures and a link to the website. This is a very fun place. It is completely hit or miss but I usually always seem to find some treasures there. A bit tricky to get to on public transit so look up directions online ahead of time.

Funny...I was just drooling over these metal UK post boxes online the night before my Chinatown walk.......

And look what I found in Chinatown! A newish shop selling metal models of all kinds of things including these post office boxes.
I want one so much. They are kind of pricey but if you need a special treat, go check out
Krystal Rock 515 Grant Avenue SF.
Tell them I sent you!
(BTW Grant Avenue is the "main street" of the tourist part of Chinatown. Stockton Street (which is parallel is for the natives to buy food, herbal medicine, etc. Portsmouth Square is interesting to walk through too).
Right next door to Krystal Rock is a tea shop where you can sample and buy all kinds of teas.

CHINATOWN

Another personal favorite of mine is the Ferry Building and Ferry Plaza Market. Easy to get to right at the very end of Market Street on the Bay.
Think local olive oil and chocolates and the fabulous Acme Bread. The outdoor Farmers Market is all day Saturday. If you are an early bird, you could go by real early for Peets Coffee and  an Acme treat before heading downtown to XPF.
But the food markets and restaurants inside the Ferry Building are open everyday.
You get a beautiful view of the SF Bay.

LUNAR NEW YEAR PARADE
Now, I don't know if this is good news for you or not but the same weekend at Ex Postal Facto is the BIG Chinese New Year's Parade. Saturday evening, starting at 5:50 is the parade and Chinatown will be absolutely MOBBED with people. In fact, it is going to be pretty mobbed all day Saturday and Sunday that weekend so I suggest, if you have any choice, try to go on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday if you are arriving in town early. Or the following Monday or Tuesday.
Otherwise, prepare for major crowds and lots of firecrackers and lion dancers.
The Chinese New Year Parade is a big SF event and it's free if you want to try to see some of it.

You can pick up the Year of the Horse envelopes and lots of postcards in Chinatown too. I liked these postcards because the pictures look like stamps.

So -- hope this helps you guys out in your planning. This is by no means a comprehensive guide to SF but lots of people have been asking me about places to go while visiting and these are a few spots I enjoy.
You will have to do some research on your own to get addresses, directions, etc but I told you about some of the fun stuff!

I hope some SF locals will add suggestions in the comments in case I have left out anything good.  
Maybe I will get a new idea or two.
Can anyone recommend some good lunch spot downtown for the Saturday XPF event?
I can't think of any good spots to eat downtown.

Start packing those mail art kits!
See you soon in beautiful San Francisco.

Let's Go to Japantown

Back--to--school shopping in Japantown. OK, I'm not going back to school but I still like the supplies.
I snapped a few photos to show you.
People often ask me what to see and where to go in San Francisco if you are artistically inclined...
I highly suggest a visit to Japantown.

Washi tape
There are two -- yes, two, "Japanese Dollar Shops" in J-town.
This one is Ichiban Kan and they have some pretty fun washi tape and stationery
among many other things.

Yes, the washi tape is only $1.50. Not the most wonderful designs but for $1.50 I can work with it....

Pencil cases
The other shop is Diaso. Much bigger. No washi tape there (that I've ever found) but they have just about everything else.
Loads of pencil cases......

.....and stuff to put inside them....like these nice cutting tools. These are great for travel. I always have a stash to tuck into my mail art travel kit. And I like the colors too.

There are always lots of nice plastic cases to organize your stuff.....

Cool little mini index cards with graph design on both sides.....useful, no?

Origami paper in loads of colors and patterns...and it's not just for making origami, is it?

Notebooks come in all sizes...

Put Double-stick tape from Diaso on your shopping list. This is the best tape around. I use it all the time. Super-sticky, big roll -- handy for all kinds of things. ($1.50)

Dots and labels..
Did I mention almost every single thing at both Ichiban kan and Diaso are only
$1.50???
Yes, that's right...

Kinokuniya Bookstore
Don't miss Kinokuniya. You may not be able to read the books that are in Japanese but you will marvel at the number of magazines they have. And there are books in English too.
A great place to browse.

Mai Do
Definitely go to Mai Do for the best washi tape selection. Great stationery shop. Beautiful sheets of Japanese paper for bookbinding. A must-see shop.

Another nice thing about Japantown is there is all sorts of free and interesting paper ephemera to pick up. I use it to write letters on (the blank sides) and cut up for collage. The Japanese supermarket had stacks of terrific free magazines with Japanese recipes and food photos that are great.

Lunch is a must -- but you may not want this one since it's plastic. But there are loads of great spots to eat. Hand-made udon and ramen noodles, sushi.....

Or just pick up a box of fresh sushi at the supermarket and eat on a bench.....

Hope you enjoyed the little visit to J-town with me. Start packing your bags and making your shopping list. And go in the morning when the parking meters are
25-cents and hours before noon. An unheard of bargain here in SF. The going rate is about $3 or $4 an hour at a meter.

I can put up some SF travel posts every once in a while if you are interested so let me know what you think?
Shall we stick to mail art or do you want some travel tips too?

Now back to working on cleaning my studio and making mail art.
(I've been posting lots of photos on the Facebook page)

Send Good Mail -- Get Good Mail