A Wonderful Stationer

If you're a pen/pencil/notebook enthusiast in the Kansas City area, or otherwise within driving distance of Lawrence, and you haven't been to Wonder Fair, then you've been missing out on the best stationer in the area. Their variety and selection is unparalleled by any store I've found in the area, and it's just a cool place to browse and buy. While on a recent holiday shopping mission, I took a few photos of some of their selection.

When you walk in, you immediately see a collection of locally-themed prints, postcards, pencils, and other items, highlighting the state of  Kansas, as well as Kansas City, Lawrence, and other Kansas cities. Just beyond that, there's a comprehensive rack of Midori Traveler Notebooks and related supplies. 

The display continues with a variety of notebooks, including the all-important (for me) Field Notes display. They carry all the latest Field Notes editions and usually receive the latest Colors release fairly quickly. Other notebooks I've been happy to see on their shelves include Clairefontaine, Apica (which I've never seen outside eBay and Amazon), and Rhodias of every size and shape. And that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the various brands they carry. They have a large assortment of greeting cards and notecards by printers such as KC-fav Hammerpress. They also had a huge table full of 2017 planner options the last time I stopped in.

Once you walk upstairs, the first thing you see is this beautiful display case full of Lamy and Kaweco products. As these make up most of my personal pen collection, I always stop here to drool a few moments. Helpfully, they also carry a variety of useful accessories such as Kaweco sport pocket clips, Kaweco and Lamy replacement nibs, and Kaweco and Lamy squeeze and piston adapters. 

Of course, a fountain pen is useless without ink, and Wonder Fair has you covered there, too. Pictured is their wide selection of Lamy, Kaweco, Diamine, and Noodlers inks, and there are others besides (including J. Herbin). 

Maybe you prefer pencils more than (or in addition to) pens? No worries: Wonder Fair has an impressive collection of these. I focus on Blackwings because they're my favorite (particularly the Volumes 24, included in the photo above, which I was happy to purchase to add to my stash). You can buy the boxes or singles of each edition, including the Volumes. There are numerous other pencil and eraser brands available, as well. 

You need something to carry these pens and pencils, so Wonder Fair also sells boxes and rolls designed for this purpose, including the new Blackwing pencil roll. 

The photos above are only about half of the offerings at Wonder Fair. They have a large selection of artist materials (including paints and various tablets), which aren't my focus, but I'm sure are as fun to browse for artists as the pens, pencils, and notebooks are for me. 

Beyond the selection of products available, the staff at Wonder Fair also are superb. The last time I was there, I saw one of the employees spend a long time helping customers select the best fountain pen for their needs, swapping out nibs so they could find just the right writer. They're always happy to respond to my phone calls or tweets asking when the latest Field Notes editions will be hitting their shelves. 

Also, they sell this pencil, which is awesome:

So if you find yourself within stopping distance of Lawrence, Kansas, do yourself a favor and stop by Wonder Fair. You'll also be doing me a favor by helping to keep one of my favorite stores going strong.

Four Days In Kansas City: Middle of the Map Fest 2015

After countless hours spent over the past few months discovering various bands and listening to their music, drafting and redrafting various schedules, accommodating cancellations, considering the capacities of various venues, and taking care of all the various details that go into planning for a multi-day music festival, I was exhausted...and I was only attending Middle of the Map 2015. I can only imagine how tired the MOTM organizers were. But it was finally Wednesday night and time for MOTM 2015 to kick off. 

Wednesday night was hosted at the Uptown and featured The Noise FM, the Republic Tigers, and OK Go. I was actually looking forward most to the haunting, bass-oriented harmonies of the Republic Tigers, so getting to take in the OK Go experience for the first time after that seemed like a bonus. And what an experience it was. Video-screens and confetti canons and GoPros and iPhone Apps and LED-strip-lit mic stands and lasers and set changes. Oh yeah, and some pretty fun power-pop. During Lord Huron's set two nights later at the Uptown, bits of OK Go's confetti were still fluttering down from the ceiling.

Thursday night toned things down, beginning with a too-short solo set from Sean Rowe (not his fault, he kept playing until they told him to get off the stage), who evidently played a house show  in KC the next night (while sporting a pretty sweet t-shirt). 

Following Rowe were KC-native breakouts Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear, my set-to-watch for the second night (despite the best efforts of the two guys in front of us who continued to raise the volume of their conversation to overcome that pesky music that was interfering with their tete-a-tete). MW and the MB did not disappoint, and they seemed pretty happy to be playing in front of what I'd imagine has been their biggest KC crowd to date.

Next up was Strand of Oaks and then Iron and Wine. At various times during Iron and Wine's set, I closed my eyes and imagined myself at shows by The Jayhawks, The Decemberists, Gotye, and even Blues Traveler for a moment or two. It was a good cap to a good evening that fittingly took things down a notch before the frenzy of Friday night and Saturday.   

(Can't you hear some Jayhawks in this?)

Friday was the start of multi-venue fun, although the outdoor stage acts had to be moved to the Uptown due to the threat of a spring midwest thunderstorm. So it was that we heard Ghastly Menace and then Hembree at the Uptown, before taking a quick trip to recordBar for KC's own ATLAS. Then it was back to the Uptown for Lord Huron, the top set I had circled on my weekend schedule. My anticipation was rewarded with a great set before an enthusiastic audience. While I like LH's albums, they sometimes don't get played when I'm looking for something with a little more energy. However, the live show had as much energy as I could ever want. Heck, as I already mentioned, they even shook loose some of OK Go's leftover confetti from a couple of nights before.

Following Lord Huron, we stuck around for about 2.5 numbers in Atmosphere's set, until permanent hearing loss became a very real possibility. Then it was over to the Westport Saloon for a cuban sandwich by Eat Me Gourmet while listening to the Coyote Bill Boogie Band, who are normally a weekly fixture on Tuesday nights at the Saloon. The evening ended with a melodic hip-hop set by the Illphonics at the Riot Room.

Saturday afternoon began with high-school singer/songwriter Connor Leimer at Mills Records, followed by a stop by the outdoor stage for what was supposed to be the Westerners but, due to a cancellation, was Spirit Is The Spirit instead. Then it was a quick stop by the Riot Room Patio for the beginning of the El Rey-Tones' set before heading back to Mills Records for another high-school singer/songwriter, Gracie Schram. Leimer's backing band (guitar, bass, drums, in addition to his guitar) helped flesh out his varied sound, while Schram's simple accompaniment (herself on acoustic guitar and a guitar/mandolin accompanist) allowed her voice to shine through. Schram actually joined Leimer for the final, and perhaps best, song of his set. Although there were definite reminders that you were listening to a couple of high-schoolers (Leimer's shout outs to his dad and mom, who was in the audience distributing free CD's, and Schram's story of her quest for authenticity in high school), both singers demonstrated a maturity in their music and a knack for crafting a catchy hook. Leimer's influences can be overt at times: at one point, I turned to my companion and remarked "ya think he listens to Sublime much?" not thirty seconds before he worked the first verse of "Santeria" into the song he was singing. And as my companion noted, one would fully expect Schram to be featured on Grey's Anatomy were it not for that show's impending and timely demise (it's no surprise that Schram opened for Grey's fav Ingrid Michaelson at her KC stop a few months ago). 

After Schram, it was back to the outdoor stage to try to catch the end of the Westerners' set, but only two songs remained. However, we did receive some sweet Westerners swag from their drummer afterward. On to the Riot Room Patio for Anna Cole & the Other Lovers (and a reminder that the Riot Room may have the second-worst bathrooms in Kansas City, behind only Harling's facilities) before returning to the outdoor stage for PHOX. Unfortunately, due to the influence of Coors Original and the cheap-and-liberally-poured Jameson at the outdoor stage (shoutout to the cheerful Midwest Music Foundation folks who were tending bar as a fundraiser), the specific recollection of the Anna Cole and PHOX sets doesn't go beyond my general enjoyment of that portion of the afternoon. 

Following PHOX, much-needed pit-stops at Westport Coffeehouse and Char Bar were taken for caffeine and food, respectively. The plan after was to listen to Murder by Death on the outside stage, but a cold wind and mist soon sent our party scrambling prematurely to our final venue, recordBar. We had planned to arrive for Knox Hamilton, but due to our early arrival we also caught Pianos Become the Teeth. Unfortunately, their noisy screamo wasn't really the thing to lift our sagging energy, but we pepped up once Knox Hamilton took the stage and provided a perfect peppy prelude to our final set of the festival.    

As we sat in a booth after Knox Hamilton waiting for Magic Man to set up, one of my companions nodded toward a guy standing next to our booth in the semi-darkness and said, "Hey, I think that's (Magic Man lead singer) Alex Caplow." Sure enough, it was, and over the next 10 minutes a few other folks noticed and stopped by to quickly shake his hand or take a photo, with Alex graciously acquiescing in the requests. The highlight was a guy who was sent over to confirm Alex's identity for his female friend and then provide an introduction. 

It was just after midnight when Magic Man took the stage, but you would never have guessed it from the high-energy performance they unleashed over the next hour, edging out Lord Huron for my favorite act of the fest. At times it seemed all five members were bouncing up and down impossibly high in unison, with the criminally-undersized crowd bouncing right along with them. Once they finished and the harsh recordBar lights were turned on, we all filed out on the same post-show/post-fest high I experienced in the same spot two years before when Tennis closed out MOTM to a capacity crowd.    

For me, MOTM 2015 was another success. With only a couple of exceptions, I was able to fill my four-day schedule with artists I enjoyed and was able to see a great mix of established and up-and-coming local, regional, and national acts. However, attendance did seem down from what I remember in years past, at least at the venues I visited, and I wonder if organizers will have to make some changes in response. Extending the festival to Wednesday no doubt allows it to bring in some headline acts on Wednesday and Thursday that wouldn't be available on the weekend, but it would be interesting to see attendance numbers for each day. If changes do need to be made, here's hoping they are and the festival continues, because it's a highlight of each spring for me and many other music lovers in KC and beyond.

MOTM 2015 By The Numbers

16: hours of live music heard.

19: full sets seen.

$3.94:  cost per full set seen.

9: man buns spotted.

20: pairs of Chucks spotted (grossly underreported).

Redundant Everyday Carry Is Redundant

Somehow this site has been in existence for six months without a detailed description of LPP's EDC. We apologize for the oversight and provide below the relevant information so that you, too, may demonstrate your individuality (and excellent taste) by carrying exactly what we carry.

(On a less tongue-in-cheek note, my EDC is obviously dominated by writing instruments and accessories. While these appear redundant, each does serve a specific purpose, as detailed below, for my writing at work and play.)

1. Filson Original Briefcase, tan. Rugged and good looking, like LPP himself. Also like LPP, carries an assortment of useful dry goods that are popular with the hipsters and the creatives and the new urbanists. Acquired at a substantial discount through an authorized (but unexpected) Filson dealer who shall remain nameless, due to the Filson-policy-violating discount at which the briefcase was sold.

2. Field Notes, Shelterwood edition. More detail on why I settled on Field Notes can be found here. This notebook serves as my all-purpose creative writing notebook to jot down anything from a phrase to several paragraphs as it may strike me.

3. Pocket Journal Cover, Sandlot Goods. Also discussed in more detail here. Very happy with it so far, and glad to have supported a KC business in buying it.

4. Moleskine plain notebook - pocket. Although I've moved from moleskine to Field Notes for almost all purposes, I still keep this hard-backed, plain-paper notebook for sketching when I need the hard-back surface for support.

5. iPhone 5s. Planner, DJ, administrative assistant, phone, e-mail terminal, reference librarian, camera, mobile publishing platform.

6. Clear poly snap envelope with blank Hammermill color copy digital paper (28 lb., 100 brightness). Learned this trick on a fountain pen forum: this is an excellent low-cost paper that works very well for writing with a fountain pen. I carry several pages to use for sketches, scratch paper, etc., that won't fit in (or aren't ready for) my notebook.

7. Ray Ban 5150 2034. Disguise/instant cred accessory for spur-of-the-moment visit to the vinyl store, pour-over coffee house, or Buzzard Beach. However, loses cred points for having Rx lenses.

8. TWSBI Mini Classic Fountain Pen -- Fine. I use fountain pens when I'm going to be writing anything of any length, as the motion of writing with a fountain pen fatigues my hand and arm less than if I use a ballpoint pen. The TWSBI is well made and a great value, but I think I would buy with a "M" nib instead of a "F" nib if I were purchasing again--the TWSBI Fine nib is finer than the Lamy Fine nib, which is perfect for the way I write. However, the finer nib of the TWSBI does work better for writing in the narrow rules of the Field Notes notebooks, so it finds quite a bit of use there. The smaller size of the TWSBI as compared to the Lamy also makes it easier to carry in some situations. Filled with Waterman Serenity Blue ink.

9. Lamy Al-Star -- Fine. This Lamy Al-Star and its Lamy Safari cousin are my two favorite pens. Cheap, rugged, dependable, great writers. Each was bought on Amazon for about $26. This is the fountain pen I would recommend. Filled with Sailor Jentle "Grenade" ink, a unique shade that has the added benefit of providing a contrasting shade to the blue in the TWSBI and ballpoints when needed.

10. Parker Jotter ballpoint w/ Schmidt P 900 M purple refill. The Parker Jotter is a classic. Affordable and dependable, and the availability of many refill alternatives means you can customize color and ink type to your heart's content. This Schmidt refill is less purple than dark blue, but the classic ballpoint and ink of the refill is perfect for writing carbon-copy checks or on smudge-prone surfaces.

11. Waxed Canvas Utility Roll, Bradley Mountain. This roll holds two pens/pencils and up to two Field Notes-sized notebooks, making it useful for protecting a spare notebook in the briefcase as well as the bend-prone tip of the Rotring 600. It also serves as a mini-briefcase that can be undocked from the mothership and used when carrying the full briefcase would be unwieldy. Purchased on sale from Huckberry.

12. ACE pocket comb. For taming unruly hair or as a prop for impromptu stagings of "Grease."

13. Field Notes, graph paper. Provides redundancy in the case of power or memory failure of the primary Field Notes unit. (Or may be used for specific projects: currently, a notebook compilation of cocktail recipes.)

14. Rotring 600 mechanical pencil, .5 mm. For sketching or writing when mistakes may be made.

15. Parker Jotter ballpoint w/ Schmidt easyFLOW 9000 M blue refill. This refill is smoother than the P 900 M and more useful for extended or precision writing.

16. Horween Chromexcel #81 flap wallet, Chester Mox. A beautiful wallet bought at a significant discount, but it appears this model is no longer made. Carries an ID in an outside pocket with two additional cards (or more if needed) and cash inside and still presents the slimmest profile of any wallet I've used, about 3/8 of an inch.

17. J. Crew Factory bottle opener key ring. Comes in handy surprisingly often (so many craft brews to open) and doubles as a hook for hanging the keys in convenient locations.

Dreaming in Black and White

One of the frustrations I've found in shorter-term rental living is the ubiquitous white walls. Landlords sometimes don't allow painting, but even when they do, the effort required to paint a particular space may just be too great for the limited length of time it will be used.

I reached a bit of an epiphany last year, however, when I realized how much of the design I favor features white prominently. I say "epiphany," but it was really one of those moments when I slap myself for missing what had been sitting right in front of me. I think I like the cleanliness and "blank slate" of white, but most of all, I appreciate its relationship to light, and the fact that only translucence or transparency does more to help light reach the darkest corners of a space. And light--especially natural light--is perhaps my highest priority when it comes to evaluating a space.

Several months ago, I ran across the following photograph on one of the style blogs I follow. All the elements I describe above were present. Moreover, I knew I needed to buy new bedding for the oncoming summer anyway, and the photograph looked so cool...figuratively and literally. It wasn't difficult to imagine waking up on a bright Saturday morning and feeling the coolness of those cotton sheets.

Photo from:
http://www.lily.fi/blogit/likainen-parketti/pallukka.

So, at the beginning of the summer, I decided to use the photograph for inspiration. I bought new Egyptian cotton sheeting and a cotton throw in the whites, greys, and blacks. Due to space constraints, I couldn't use a trunk for a nightstand, but I found a laddered bathroom shelf that fit the space available, and a black architects lamp to place on top. Finally, I printed off a few favorite photographs I had bookmarked in my web surfing to hang above the bed. The result:

Now, these photos were taken at night, and I don't have quite the natural light available as in the original photograph, but I can report that waking up on Saturday mornings this summer has been every bit as good as I'd imagined. Even too good, perhaps--the light around the room has created a cheerfulness that makes it difficult to stay in bed once day fully breaks, even when the night before is not long past.

Mayer Hawthorne: Maybe So Maybe No

In honor of summer's arrival, here's some Mayer Hawthorne. Nobody does the summer music video better. And that cardigan/skinny tie/plastic frame glasses retro style is pretty great, too.

Bonus! "Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin' Nothin'," another great summer video by Hawthorne.

Field Notes: Arts & Sciences

The latest Field Notes edition arrived today, and it's a doozy. It's two larger-than-normal notebooks...one devoted to Arts, and one devoted to Sciences. The covers are filled with fantastic information, and I've already ordered another couple of sets.

Liz Vice: There's a Light

(When I share music here, it's because it's good. So check it out. Particularly track #2 here.)