Greetings, friends! And welcome to Caroline Finds It: my weekly newsletter where I reply to submissions from YOU for objects and products you need recommendations for.
Here we are again: in them most fun and also most arbitrary of stationery seasons. That’s right — it’s nearly Valentine’s Day! This is a niche I’m very familiar with, having hosted many valentine-making events during my tenure as a stationery slinger, but also one that I am personally ambivalent about. Sure, it’s a holiday made for greeting card companies, but if we’re going to buy into into it, let’s at least support some indie brands.
From Crisella in San Diego: “Where can I find great Valentine cards? It can be vintage or modern - just looking for something that I can mail!”
Dear Crisella,
Kudos to you for sending valentine cards! Every year I say I’m going to, but realistically, they only make it into the mail 50% of the time. Perhaps my scope is too ambitious. If you’re going to send valentines, why not send them to everyone! Your favorite single ladies, the widows in your life, the BFF fresh off a breakup, your mail person to thank them for delivering all of your valentines. I don’t know who you’re mailing to, but I’ve got something picked out for you in every possible category of valentine card.
Modern Valentine
Artist Chris Uphues is the king of hearts and makes a series of Happy Heart cards in different colors and expressions for $4 each.
If you’re in the UK, artist Saskia Pomeroy has several wonderful embossed cards for Wrap, which have a few US stockists.
Traditional Valentine
Cutesy reproductions of vintage valentines are always a hit. Laughing Elephant makes a variety of themes, available in packs of 15 for only $15! You can’t go wrong with these.
Silly Valentine
Who misses the tiny tiny valentines you’d pass out to your classmates in elementary school? Well, the kits for kids at Target this year were underwhelming to me, but I’d recommend these Scratch-a-Sketch ones (6 or $6) from Inklings Paperie if you’re looking for a nostalgia trigger. My brother and his girlfriend sent these out once and I was just ticked to receive one.
Actual Vintage Valentines
When I did a quick eBay search, I was surprised to find several lots of pristine vintage valentines that are actually affordable. My pick is this set of anthropomorphic fruits:
DIY Valentines
You can make your own out of anything, but my favorite thing to do is mount a tacky paper heart doily (red, pink, gold, anything!) on a contrasting piece of cardstock, cut out the heart and use letter stickers to write out my message. Hit the craft store and see what speaks to you!
Elizabeth in Brooklyn: “I think I need a new "go to" pen *and/or* a quick education on different inks/markers/etc? I've been a Muji gel black/blue ink mix in a lovely and thin 0.38 devotee for a few years now BUT I've been using markers or highlighters on top more lately to help color coordinate freelancing + kids schedule and it seems as though the ink always bleeds/smudges especially if I highlight immediately after writing. Is it the gel ink? Would another type of marker or highlighter help? Open to any and all excuses to try out some new (to me) writing instruments!”
Elizabeth, what you need is a better highlighter OR an oil-based pen. Muji gel pens are fabulous, but alas, they’re water-based. And I’ll let you in on a little trade secret — they’re actually made by Mitsubishi-Uni, so that’s a good place to start if you’re looking for a great pen that better suits your needs. Before I share some recommendations for you, I want to break down the basic ink types:
Water-based ink: fountain pen ink, gel pens, rollerball pens, and most felt-tip pens, fiber tip pen, and regular markers are water-based unless otherwise stated. Since they’re not waterproof, any ink over top of them will smudge them, especially if they’re not fully dry.
Oil-based ink: any regular old ballpoint pen is oil-based, are some types of paint market. They are waterproof and permanent.
Alcohol-based ink: This is the category that Sharpie or any other permanent marker or pen falls under. These inks are alcohol based, which makes them waterproof and quick drying. Most types of art markers are also alcohol-based.
Smudge-proof(ish) highlighter
Try Zebra’s Mojini Line highlighters, which have a special ink formula that bonds with water-based ink instead of smearing it. I use these highlighters regularly, and find them to be juicy, pleasantly flexible and not perfect, but more smudge-proof than anything else I’ve tried.
Ballpoint pen
The Uni Jetstream Edge ($16) is made by the same manufacturer as the Muji pens and also comes in 0.38mm, but instead has a waterproof oil-based ink. This pen is top of the line and my personal favorite. It’s will stand up to any highlighter, any writing surface, and is refillable. Look no further, because these are simply the best.
Ann in NYC: “I'm looking for a physical address book! I enjoy writing letters and postcards to my friends and family but I hate having to pick up my phone and search through it for their addresses. Do you have any ideas?”
I do have ideas and the most important one is that it must be refillable! Why should the manufacturer get to decide how many pages you need per letter of the alphabet? They certainly don’t know that 30% of the names on my address list are A-D. In the time since I last purchased an address book, a shocking number of models I remember have left the market. Your best bet is going to be something old school. How about a Filofax? It has binder rings so you can add pages and swap them out as you wish. Cobble together your perfect address book/organizer situation, but don’t forget the alphabet dividers!
FAVORITE PRODUCT OF THE WEEK
The Philadelphia Museum of Art has a new set of Blackwing pencils out ($40) that are packed full of details to do with their world-renowned collection of Marcel Duchamp works. The black and white scheme is a nod to Duchamp’s love of chess, the typeface is inspired by that of his Société Anonyme letterhead, and each set includes 12 pencils, printed with the names of the 12 artworks in the museum. An amalgamation of historically important modern art and cult analog product — perfect for the pencil user with niche interests (me!).
Is there a product you’re looking for? Submit your request here. See you next week for a fresh recommendations. xo Caroline
I bought scratcher Valentines from Inklings for the office after seeing this post - they were a complete hit. So many, “where’d you find these???” Thanks for making me the office hero, Caroline 😌
Another option for a pen that works with highlighters is the Zebra Sarasa Mark On. Its a gel pen that's designed to work with highlighters. I've ben using one on Tomoe River paper with highlighters and its working pretty well.