Sharing a Small Window of Life Story and Inner World // Wakako

Posted on Dec 15, 2024

On Saturday, I hosted the very first BK analogue meet-up at our studio in Altadena. Creating an opportunity for a community to gather in person has been on my wish list for this whole year… and something our team talked about. Right around mid-November, when the moving parts of my life started to settle down, I looked through the remaining calendar year and searched for a date and week that felt open enough to bring a small group together. From my past experience, I knew that my December days become overwhelming very fast because we usually ship more online orders during that time (it’s the month when planner season collides with holiday shopping for BK), and our in-person opening hours are full. Usually, I hesitate to book more on my December JIYU Monthly page, but I told myself that hosting a group was very important to me, and it was something I would do intentionally, not because I had to but because I wanted to.

I was also unsure if anyone had an open window during the busy December weekend to participate in gatherings with people they had never met. But over this past year, I heard from many BK community members that they long to get together with like-hearted folks who value time with their pen and notebook. So, I decided to rest my uncertainty and propose the idea to our website to see what happened. I knew that our analogue table had a limited space to sit up to eight people comfortably, so I offered seven seats to total to the community and asked Eunice to share the updates on our IG feed. Despite my doubts, I was so grateful that the seats filled up within a few hours of posting, and everyone who participated was excited to be there.

During our time together on Saturday, we shared our heartfelt notebooks and analogue artifacts. It’s interesting to me (but not surprising) that when we share our notebooks with each other, they quickly become so much more. A notebook becomes a small window into each other’s life stories and inner world. Of course, everyone can decide how much to share, but even a small window is still a window. I felt inspired by each guest not just because of how beautiful their journal pages were but also because of their bravery and vulnerability in living their lives.

Afterward, we turned on gentle background music and journaled in the community about our hopes and dreams for the upcoming year with a little help from our garden-inspired oracle cards. I pulled the card “A Cup of Tea” when I asked, “What will the energy be for 2025 for me?” - with its interpretation to be patient and to see situations from new perspectives. During the communal journaling time, I decided to take a moment to copy the page from the card’s guidebook so the meaning of “A Cup of Tea” could sink deeply. It was also fun to introduce the new self-inked stamp designs Frido designed for BK just in time for this gathering. The sound of those stamps being added to papers is so satisfying:)

We wrapped up our morning excited about what’s ahead for everyone and the idea of gathering again soon to continue our dialogues.

Thank you, Marina, Chelsea, Emily, James, Genevieve, and Judi, for making time to fully show up and share your energy so generously. It meant the world to me to listen to your stories and co-create the experience together.

My cup feels so full:) And I can’t wait to curate more experiences for the BK community in 2025.