In mood for something merry to give? [For your designer friend/husband]

Frido was my source of inspiration when I was putting this category together. What would he use? What will bring him a smile? What would be unexpected but perfectly him? Timeless materials, function focus, and very straight forward designs. 

Of course many of the items I picked in the category are very unisex! So definitely appropriate for your female designer friends as well as your significant other who appreciates great design:) 

1 Roterfaden / Black
I like how this Roterfaden cover totally fits in designer's office as well as a boardroom with a kick of red. And we have a lot of refills to make it perfectly personalized so it can start to work very hard from the day he opens the package! (also available in dark brown and light brown leather cover) 

2. Michael Sans Berlin Shoulder Bag and Belt
These are items I see my customers purchase for themselves saying that they are the gift for them:) And the quality and craftsmanship of Michael Sans brand is definitely one of the kind and meant to last for a very long time. 

3. The Superior Labor iPad case
If you know that your friends/family needs an extra protection on their device, you can pick the perfect color match to his style!

4. The Superior Labor Pouch
Toiletry case, digital tool organizer (battery, external drive) or simply a pouch in the bag to keep things organized. It's a fantastic item that can really fit in many people's lives seamlessly. If you are just getting to know him but are looking forward to sharing something wonderful, this is a good one! 

5. The Superior Labor Brass Hanger
There is something about unpolished brass. A place for his favorite shirt or jacket? 

6. Mjolk book 
A great read for long holiday to inspire creative endeavors for 2015. 

7. A perfect paper twine color for gift wrap!
Who said that everything has to be red and green for Christmas? We have so many sophisticated paper twine color that will make your gift pop without it screaming so loudly by Christamas tree! 

(alternative) to the way we give.

We love joining the celebration of friends' birthdays. Especially the little ones. They are so cute, festive and extra magical as the birthday girl (or boy) blows her candles surrounded by her little friends and family. 

Then there is an inevitable question of "What should we share as a special something to celebrate the birthday?"

We definitely don't want to show up empty handed... but at the same time... getting "things" to little friends who already probably have enough of everything feels outside of our comfort zone when it comes to the relationship with commercialism. So we have been twisting our heads for last couple years... There were some successful "alternative" gifts that did not fit on the gift table but brought a lot of smiles... and there were "others"... 

This weekend, we have been invited to two special birthday parties for Satchi's girlfriends. So I had this idea to make special head pieces with wild flowers using the colorful paper twins. (it feels like flower head piece is taking over the whole world lately!! at least Pinterest world:)  I had a blast making them and this afternoon before I rushed to the store, I tied a flower bracelet on Satchi's arm and gave another one to Frido to bring for a birthday girl. 

Well... I got a text an hour later that flowers did not make it because Satchi accidentally crushed them in the car while they were driving to the party. But watercolor cards with a mini bouquet tied to it made it to the gift table. Apparently I need to make sure that I accompany our (alternative) gift or need to make them away sturdier. 

We have to keep trying, right? 

Signature gift giving...

Recently there have been a lot of happy occasions to wrap gifts for. Some for our Roo... some for our friends...

For our Roo..., I tend to take products out of original packages to wrap them. (often we find vintage toys for her so I rarely have to think about it.) Somehow... a product that comes in a commercial box feels little "off" as a gift for my daughter. It is perhaps my reaction to the world of consumerism and materialism... and wanting to protect her from the influence... I know it won't be forever but for now... I indulge...

It's fun to see what we can wrap and adorn the gifts with even using simple materials such as kraft paper, linen towel, Paper Twine... and my recent favorite, found feathers!

Our choice of Paper Twine tie tends to be red... because the color red signifies "celebration" in Japanese culture. It is one of our signature colors for the shop too.

Do you have a signature color? Any thoughts and ideas in wrapping gifts?

Add colors to your spring!

Just in time for the first day of spring...
We added a whole new palette to Paper Twine collection by Paperphine! Photographing pretty things must be one of my favorite parts of the shop duties... I had a lot of fun getting lost in these colors and finding different ways of capturing their pretty.

I know it's still cold and wintery at many parts of the world (Frido just talked to his family in Germany and they told us that they are still very deep in the winter... and Susan!! You know I am thinking of you and your soon-to-be spring garden when I see these colors!)

I hope they will bring some brightness to your day and whimsical creativity to your imagination:)

Enjoy!

new colors at shop:
Orange (sun flower!!)
Dusty Pink (think muted cherry blossom)
Pure Blue (I dream of Hawaii beach... when I see this color)
Grey Blue (gentleman's spring suits)
Dark Blue (when you look up the sky after sunset)
Dark Green (spring moss)

Hello, Paper Twine!

If you check our Facebook page regularly, you might have noticed some new updates about our brand new collection, Paper Twine from Paperphine!

We fell in love with these paper strings wrapped around the beautiful vintage braider's bobbins when we stumbled upon a very small stationery store while we were traveling Berlin. We knew instantly..., that they will make such a nice addition to our shop. The combination of the bright and vibrant colors with rustic bobbins... I can stare at them all day long.

They come from the passionate textile designer of PaperPhine in Vienna, Austria and I am thrilled to share some of our favorite colors with you!

I know we are getting really really close to Christmas. If you are looking for something to wrap your gifts or to give as a unique and unusual (and colorful!) present to someone special, please take some time to browse the collection:)


Available colors at Baum-Kuchen

• Coral
• Fresh Green
• Magenta
• Natural
• Red
• Turquoise
• Ultramarine
• Yellow
• Jeans Blue