PAPERWORLD RECAP

Susan and I just returned from what I believe was a fairly

successful trip to the Paperworld Trade Show in Frankfurt, Germany. This show is about a lot more than paper, and it's huge! The best part of the show, other than renewing acquaintances with many of our friends and customers, is the variety of new products we've planned to add to our inventory - soon.

For the paper connoisseur, we've seen some amazing papers that will soon grace our shelves - and your studios. Our freinds Nancy and Peter from the Japanese Paper Place have introduced us toMr. Moriki of the world famous Moriki Paper Company. The pride that he shows in his product is remarkable, and rightly so. Moriki has been making fine relief papers for generations. We have ordered some remarkable sheets that hopefully we'll have to show at the upcoming Southern Graphics Conference in Chicago (mark your calendars - it's just around the corner).

Some of these new papers are limited availability, but they are well worth the effort.

We also visited with Barbara from Lascaux Colors in Switzerland. After a lengthy and very productive meeting, we're adding a couple of color ranges to our already large inventory of these products. In addition to the Sirius Acrylic, Sirius Watercolors, and Gouache lines already on our shelves, we're adding the Studio Acrylics and the Resonance Gouaches. These products are great for painting, monoprintinhg and screen printing.The Resonance line is also ideally suited for art therapy applications. Lascaux refers to this range as "a colour filled with lifew impulses.These colors support and encourage the soul's expressive potential and have a harmonic effect on both the individual and his or her environment."

These unique colors with 28 hues can be used in all applications in which color should be realized as a sensuous quality beyound its visual presence. Look for these also at SGC. We'll be offering a special on the 85 ml Studio Acrylic set buy three colors and get a fourth one free!

We weren't done yet, however. We stumbled across a new source for brayers, barens, carving tools and much more. This source from the U.K. has safety cutters, innovative hand guards,and bench hooks. These products are affordable - especially with the Dollar showing some signs of strength right now.

It wasn't all work, we were able to sleep on the plane - sort of. In the middle of all this, the great State of Illinois chose that exact moment to throw the Governor out of office! We couldn't get much in the way of news from the U.S. but they all know about Blagojevich (even if they couldn't pronounce his name!)

Finally, I've talked a lot about showcasing all of the new products at SGC, but the other thing that we fully expect to do is to host an Open House following the conference on Sunday, March 29 at Graphic Chemical & Ink Company.

Come on out and join us for a few minutes or a few hours between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm. We're located at 728 North Yale Avenue, in Villa Park. Just 17 miles west of downtown Chicago, convenient to major highways and public transportation, and if we get enough people willing to commit to the trip, we'll look into hiring a bus to make the trip easier for you.