I grew up infatuated with all the stationery and office supplies. The family business was office machinery, and with all adults in my home working, I spent vacations hanging out there. It was bliss for art and creative efforts. Paper construction with odd bits trimmed off the huge paper cutter, watercolor pencils for drawing. Large pieces of brown wrapping paper off the roll & objects created out of the brown paper tape that came out of the hand cranked dispenser with a bottle of water to wet the glue. Plastic lettering templates that required a technical pen. Rubber stamps made to order. Sheets of carbon paper, in typewriters or transferring designs on craft projects. Typing Paper in colors!

Fluid duplicators were the main part of the business, and the smell, and chilly feel of freshly printed sheets lasted well into the Xerox copy years for me. Red and green were added to the common purple for us.

Burroughs was the local stationery supply store, a favourite place. Paints and brushes, fountain pens and ink. Pads of watercolor paper, blank books, folders, page dividers, hole reinforcers, hole punches, staplers, markers, erasers for pencil and chalkboards (still have a slate board in use in my kitchen) When Burroughs was gone, art supply stores took the place of much of it. Still have drawing templates (circle, square, oval, hearts, alphabets) French curve sets, see-through rulers in 1/16 inch grids, Exact-o knives and replacement blades. Rub-on lettering in interesting fonts (still have vinyl glue on letters on my bowed psaltery marking the notes) used for making fancy flyers and spiffy presentations.

The smell of paper and ink, paint, boxes of new crayons, all ambrosia to me; a big part of the charm of these repositories of supplies was the POSSIBILITY of wonderful things coming out of their use. Still feel that way.

Joanne in Cleveland