And then there is this — a perforation gauge used in stamp collecting. This is a thin metal plate measuring just under 2″ by 4.375″. Such a weird specialized item. But handy if you’re looking to decipher your collection. Available here.

My postman was holding out on me. He only pulled these beauties out after I begged him to show me any of the other odd stamp denominations he was hiding in his secret drawer. Everything old, really is new again.

How much better is the experience of using a rubberband when it is brilliant orange rather than putty tan? I’ll choose the orange one every time.

All this just makes me happy. I found a whole box of those white plaster letters!

It was love at first sight. I knew the very moment I saw this little clip that we were destined to spend the rest of our lives together. What I didn’t know, was how much this three dollar piece of metal and spring would alter my life. Having to search for a pen is the perfect impediment to committing an idea to paper. So the notion that I would always always always be able to find my pen, and that it would be attached to my sketchbook (!!) at all times, was a true game-changer. I spent some time trying to track these down online, with not much success. They seem only to be available in the UK, without any option to ship to the US. How can this be?