Paper’s a worldwide obsession: Japanese paper dangles delicately from racks in Darlinghurst, Sydney
I wonder who uses paper these days, and why?
* Are you using paper for anything today? [toilet paper excepted]
* Do you use it often? What do you use it for?
* Is there a particular kind you prefer? i.e. handmade or machine-made, a certain thickness or color, plain or lined or gridded
* Has your paper consumption changed over the last 10 years? How?
And speaking of paper, here’s a tale of trickery and toilet paper:
Trading Toilet Paper for Treasure
From the memoirs of a British physician at the 19th century court of Siam
One day he was attending an antique lady of 65, one of four who remained from the harem of the deceased Second King, in the Wang Na Palace, Bangkok. In one of her drawers there was newspaper, all carefully torn into pieces of the same size.
’What is that?’ said I.
’Toilet paper,” she replied with a peal of laughter.
She did not of course call it that, for [manufactured toilet paper] was unknown to her…When I explained to her what toilet paper was she became interested.
‘If you bring me some,’ she said, ‘you can have a piece of pottery.’
So on my next visit I took her six fat rolls and came away with a beautiful vase of the K’ang H’su period (circa A.D. 1700) worth at least fifty times as much. Exchange is no robbery, I thought; she will enjoy my paper as much as I shall enjoy having her vase.
p. 100-101, A Physician at the Court of Siam
1/ Rarely, sadly.
2/ Only in my Moleskin notebook.
3/ Every day.
4/ To makes notes for log post ideas.
5/ I love thick, embossed feeling paper.
6/ It’s gone down dramatically – I’m living the paperless office ideal
Freudian? “log posts” should have read “blog posts”
Thanks Mike, didn’t know you were a Moleskine kind of guy. Though I should’ve guessed once I saw your gorgeous house.
Here’s what others had to say on Facebook:
David C – using paper which book im reading is made from.
Mary B – Post-its, journal, case notes for work, all on paper.
Anne-Sophie H – yellow paper for my kids to draw on, paper from my notebook to make lists, New Year cards and envelopes, and a LOT of pattern paper.tracing paper.
Elysia G – I use more paper at my job than any person should. : (
Mary B – Elysia, I do too. We recycle every little scrap, so that helps a bit.
Elysia G – Yes, we recycle too, but it’s too bad that our office is set up on paper…if I want to transmit a manuscript to a production editor, I need to give them a hard copy of it as well as the digital copy they’ll be making changes to. Even double sided, this means hundreds and hundreds of pages all the time.
Carrie Vi G – All my notebooks and journals. My favorite is a smooth textured notebook sized with Magritte clouds on it.
David O – A-4 photo-copies, hand-outs
Ben E – Print outs for editing some documents… Still can’t proof-read my work on a screen after all these years…
Falcon R – Who uses toilet paper? I certainly haven’t in a very long time…
Cat T – I keep several journals and love writing in long-hand. there is something soothing and healing about writing with a pen, my journal and my coffee.
Elizabeth Briel Thanks guys! This is part of research for my book, getting an idea of who uses it and how (I may post versions of it again)
@David C What books are you reading these days?
@Anne-So Do you use tracing paper for your patterns or more for the kids?
@Elysia arrgh is that for accuracy or redundancy?
@Carrie are the journals handmade paper inside and out, or just outside? (I’m looking at journal designs for products)
@David O For teaching or also personal use?
@Falcon You gone native in Burma…I’m jealous.
@Cat Absolutely. Thanks for your input.
Rachel S – making crafts with children – nothing more versatile than a sheet of A4!
Michelle R – Thinking – then I transferred my thoughts into a spreadsheet. Does that make me old?
Janet B – Lists in notebooks and on backs of edited pages–I do that on paper too! Don’t write letters anymore and that is sad–oh! and I adorned my bedroom door with paper from Lampang in Mondrian fashion today.
Mark P – I still use a paper diary…. it doesn’t need batteries or a wall socket.
David T – Lyz, dans ma compagnie nous sommes PAPERLESS
Non, non, on est pas treehuggers…
Elysia G – @E to answer your question…editors often have a previous version of a manuscript, and it is important to make sure they stop using that version when the revised one comes in, so I give them a hard copy of the new one. And apparently, a lot of them do the bulk of their editing on the hard copy rather than on the screen.
At the moment I’m using a ring notebook of A4 paper, it’s called project paper and is 50 sheets of 5sq mm blocks. It’s Japanese and seems to be slightly thicker than normal. It’s wonderful to practise my chinese characters on, I think because of the thickness and the gridlines which means I can write neatly and the ink doesn’t flow through to the reverse side. As it’s ring bound (and thick) you don’t have the issue of only wanting to write on one side (the thick side) of the double page … a left over legacy from school days!