[Jennie Hinchcliff] I get the urge to travel quite a bit. One could say all the time. Be it a car trip or plane flight, I just can’t seem to help myself: Travel beckons. Once I leave the borders of this city by the bay, everyday occurrences turn into exciting adventures. Heading out of town, I’ll carefully tuck my compact correspondence kit into a carry-on bag, along with a handful of need-to-be-answered letters.
All in a day’s travel. Artwork at the top of the stack sent to my P.O. box by Macy Chadwick of In Cahoots Press.
In the time it takes for the stewardess to say “Sit back, relax and enjoy the flight,” I’ve pulled out my good friend Dr. Ion (seen below). Unassuming and measuring a svelte 8 x 4.5 in. (and 3.5 in. deep), I found this carrying case while browsing around San Francisco’s stationery gem, Kinokuniya. “Compact” doesn’t even begin to describe the wonders of Dr. Ion; this baby is a magic trick with zippers, a carrier that can house a multitude of supplies.
Why yes, that is a vintage Girl Scout bookbinding badge.
One of my criteria when searching out candidates for a potential correspondence kit is the pockets: the more, the merrier! When traveling, I’m usually doing a variety of different things, artistically: taking notes about the day, pasting things into a journal of some sort, conjuring up missives to send back home. This means I need plenty of options when it comes to mediums. It also means that I need a lot of pockets to hold all of those options.
It’s a bit like a dream come true, the amount of awesome one can hide in Dr. Ion.
Dr. Ion doesn’t disappoint. You can see some of my “must haves”: scissors, glue stick, small size stencils (great for addressing letters!), airmail envelopes. Then there are the things I’m always glad I’ve tucked in at the last minute: red colored staples, a tiny wheel of watercolor paints and my “Il Presidente” rubber stamp.
Velcro and elastic straps (which I am usually NOT a fan of) are extremely helpful.
One of the most ingenious things about this particular case has to do with the fact that its double sided — an additional avalanche of pockets! There’s room for my paintbrushes (I modified these by shortening the handles), small size ink pads and double-stick tape (imperative). And where would I be without my date stamper?
I nearly expired from happiness when I noticed that the silver tag said “perf.”
The icing on the cake is this ladybug-shaped treasure; I discovered this goodie late one night at a Meijer’s Thrifty Acres in the wilds of Michigan (believe it or not). Under the buzz of fluorescent lights and dazed by the time change, I wandered down an aisle of clearance items, stumbling upon this handheld perforator. I ask you: What more does a mail artist need? It made that particular trip to Michigan worthwhile.
At the end of a long day spent gadding about exotic foreign locales, I love to head back to my hotel room (or a favorite café) and spend some time writing about the day’s exploits. Putting these adventures into words on a postcard is often one of my favorite experiences of any given trip. I know I can always rely on my correspondence kit. As they say: Have kit, will travel!
Jennie Hinchcliff of Red Letter Day receives odd items in the mail on a fairly regular basis. As a mail artist and co-author of the book “Good Mail Day“, she is constantly intrigued by the correspondence which arrives at her PO Box. Her blog chronicles the myriad adventures and interactions she has with the Eternal Network as well as the USPS.
Photos: Von Span, 2011
Comments (16)
I am almost – but not quite – speechless at all the excessories Dr. Ion can hold. He should have a column! And I can’t help but wonder whether you have ever had the little thrill of an airport security person asking you to unzip him? Thank you for the backstage tour! I am preparing you a piece of mail right now – no kitting!
Wow!!! Miss J — this is just what I am asking for in my Call For Entires on my blog. I love this! Hope you will respond to the “call”……
PS Love Von Span’s photo too, of course!
What a kit, now we all have something major to live up to, quite spectacular…..xox Corrine
I’ve been trying to come up with a travel kit. Of course now that I’ve seen the dream kit here, I won’t be satisfied with anything less and I’ll probably never find it myself. Crossing my fingers….
Sharon
Sharon – you can buy it online at Kinokuniya’s sister store, Maido.
http://www.mymaido.com/277-pencil-cases-and-bags
I’m not quite sure which of the two sizes Jennie has though. I am really tempted to get one of those.
Hi:
I am new to mail art, I have your book Good Mail Day. But where do I get the postage stamp set that I saw in your posting for 10-07-11. Wasn’t sure if you wanted my e-mail or my mail addy (to send me good mail). lol
Please send me more info on mail art.
Thanks
Judy
Kara, thank you so very much! I just saw your post and and now I’m headed over to pick one out!
Sharon
I have this bag (largest size which is what it looks like Jennie has) as well and I adore it. It holds a ton of stuff and is very well made! It was one of the best purchases I’ve made!
Love the photos, all the things you can take on the road for when creativity kicks in..
Ooooooooh. (<—That's organized drool.) Wow – my first travel mail art kit to St.Louis needs an up-do! Thanks, as always, Jennie, for the great tips!
Love that perforator. Wow.
Ditto everyone. This kit rocks. Possible to divulge the perf source?
Wow — thanks everybody for your wonderful comments! And thanks to Felt and Wire for inviting me to share my travel kit…
Some answers:
@Pam: as mentioned above, the bite-sized perforator came from Meijer’s Thrifty Acres in Detroit. However, I have seen similar (but bigger) things at big box craft stores such as Michael’s. I’m always on the lookout for “portable” tools, and often, scrapbooking aisles/stores will have things that are small sized (for use in the classroom, I suppose…)
@Judy: glad to hear that you’re enjoying “Good Mail Day”! I’m not quite sure about the postage that you’re referring to, but if you get a chance send me an email: [email protected]
@Kara: awesome! Thanks for linking to Dr. Ion…
–JH
Thank you for posting the links for the Dr Ion case, Kara. Was able to order a case, and it arrived today. Love it!
Thanks for the fabulous peek inside your kit. This is my favorite kind of voyeurism!
As for the ladybug tool, I found a very similar tool except that mine does not perforate but its a scoring blade. Not as effective as a bone folder but a bit finer edge. I found it at Archivers scrapbook store. If I’d only known to look for a perf one!
I once worked with someone who used old pie crust trimmers to perforate so that’s another option.