Geez...could we have picked a hotter, more oppressive day? It was even an ozone action day. Today it was registering 95 degrees on my car's thermometer...it was absolutely blistering. And yet, we survived...LOL. (It is supposed to reach 100 at mid-week with storms every other day -- wow, do we EVER need the rain!)
ANYway...
Today Carla and Juana and I went to Ann Arbor to go to Hollander's, a store of nearly indescribably fabulous decorative and artistic papers. They also have classes there for various bookmaking and printing techniques. And this week there are artists in residence showing demonstrations. Hollander's has open studio time for their students, as well. Just a magically marvelous place! EVER color and pattern and texture of paper you can imagine...ANYthing you could need for bookmaking, cardmaking, collage, gifts, origami...all things paper!
Here are some of the photos...I was trying to give a sense for the vast amounts of paper displays and the endless racks and stacks...but the photos don't really do it justice...this is a must-see place!
Carla outside the door at Hollander's
waaaay cool spiraling paper display
just a sampling of some of the luscious orange papers
these are for bookmaking
Carla looking at some textured handmade papers
The papers for printmaking are behind a table -- you need help to see them...Carla and I were both at Hollander's mainly for paper for our relief printmaking class.
Sarah is so friendly and knowledgeable and patient. She had many suggestions and enjoyed showing us so many papers for printing and told us the differences and showed us color variations within the different papers we chose.
Carla starting to make some choices while Sarah pulls more to show us.
Sarah helping Juana with a paper Juana saw in a binder
wandering back through the never-ending racks of glorious papers
oh...and another weakness of mine...ribbon...although I managed (somehow) to stay on track and only purchase paper (and a pair of scissors) today
Juana looking at the huge array of origami papers
We were going to go to Zingerman's Delicatessen but the line was half-way around the building (pretty much) waiting to get inside...it was just too much with the heat and everything. We will definitely go back sometime soon and hit Zingerman's on a weekday!
The three of us piled into my car and headed back to Northville. We ended up at Tuscan Cafe for lunch instead and had delicious sandwiches, coffee (me), ice coffee (Juana) and iced chai (Carla) and yummy desserts (Tuscan Cafe features breads and desserts from Zingerman's). Then we stopped back at my house so Carla could take a look at some Magic: the Gathering cards/decks to see if she might want to learn to play. (Fingers crossed!)
Then Carla went home and Juana and I went to Ferndale (where Juana lives) and made a quick stop at Rust Belt Market. Here are some pics from that excursion:
cool black sheep doll
yikes...wild pine cones in a cage
the owls are not what they seem, you know...
neither are the penguins
gigantic floating skulls
THE most wonderful chandeliers!
oooh
isn't this way wonderful???
Then we trudged back out to the car which seemed about twice as far as when we went in. On the way back we passed this intense periwinkle wall with greeeeen ivy on it. I am glad the camera caught the striking colors.
All in all a really fun day filled with so many wonderful colors and textures and things...and stellar company!
