How Do You Write a Blog About Washi Tape?

Its a Wednesday morning, and fictionalized versions of myself and my coworkers are upstairs, doing various tasks in preparation for the day. I'm thinking about the store blog, because I always am, and because its one of the ways I can support my friends, (aka those nerds I work with.) Apparently while I've been thinking, my hands have stopped doing whatever they'd been doing, and my eyes look like they're trying to burn a hole through our Washi tape section.

"Hey Ben," says Fictional Tyler, "whatchya doing?"

"Oh you know, trying to figure out how to write a blog about Washi tape."

"There are less than two full containers of Washi tape on that endcap," Fictional Tyler says gently, "maybe there are better uses of your time?"

"I could include stickers maybe," Fictional Me replies, still trying unsuccessfully to warp matter with my mind. We're still 20 minutes from open, so I haven't given up yet.

"Good luck with that," says Fictional Eleanor in the way only Fictional Eleanor can. 

Whether her response is to me writing the blog or shooting laser beams out of my eyes, I will never know. She and Fictional Tyler leave to do productive tasks, and I continue to be vexed by the idea of the blog post you're about to read.

End Scene.

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After that preamble, you're probably wondering what a blog about tape would look like: that makes two of us. So I did some delving on the world wide web, asked some people in the know, and learned a little about what makes Washi tape like that in all interpretations of the phrase.

A great place to start might be defining what Washi Tape is.

Invented in 2006, Washi tape is a cousin of masking tape, in that it is a durable, low tac adhesive strip. Oftentimes contemporary Washi tape is printed with patterns and designs, and is often receptive to being written on, making it great for crafts and hobbies, and organization.

Fabled Creative Co - Mushroom Pattern

Washi paper was originally brought over from China to Japan in the 7th century, where the process was adapted with local fibers and additional papermaking techniques. Made with native fibers such as mulberry, mitsumata, or gampi, Washi paper is prepared in cold running water to prevent the deterioration of fibers and to prevent any bacteria from gaining a foothold in the material. Because this process was could only be done during the winter seasons, the paper became a valued good, and was incorporated into a number of Japanese traditions during the Muromachi, Sengoku, and Edo periods.

As mentioned earlier, Washi paper made the jump to being tape in 2006 by the Kamoi Kakoshi company, who combined the traditional papermaking crafts and colorful designs into a masking tape, which quickly caught the attention of crafters worldwide. The world's most beautiful tape has thus become a medium of expression in many ways, stewarded by artists from design, to production, to use, and repair, all because someone decided to use the adhesive in ways the Kamoi Kakoshi company had never intended. 

Shelley Couvillion Cryptid Washi Tape

Today, there are innumerable participants in the craft and organizational use of Washi tape, as well as those in the industry of designing patterns, maintaining traditions or production, and even spreading the good word of Washi via hobby blog and vlog, meaning that more and more folk get invited to the party.

I know that at the beginning I posited that writing a blog about Washi Tape would be a challenge, but it seems to have only a challenge for me, an unindoctrinated outsider.

Even though the purpose of tape is clear (this tape ranges from translucent to opaque, so please recognize my wordplay,) its sometimes daunting to imagine all of the possible uses one could have for a tape as beautiful as these. Obviously, you use the tape to make beautiful things or to make things beautiful, but we learn by example and experimentation, and by trying expressions that have come before our own. For your reading pleasure and my own edification, here's a handy list of things you could use Washi tape for, were you to start your own collection.

Creeping Moon Specimen Drawer Washi Tape

(Sidebar, yes, collection. People keep collections of their craft supplies, sure, but also these rolls of tape are as collectable as Magic cards, sometimes because its that easy to pick up more because you'll never not need tape, or because some designs and print runs are as rare as some of MTG's greatest hits.)

• mending paper and other objects
• weaving 
• collage
• scrapbooking
• journaling
• dayplanning
• bullet pointing
• crossing things out in an impermanent way
• decorating objects
• dividers and book markers
• making magic cards
• wait, what?

I could continue to list uses for Washi tape that I myself have not engaged with, but maybe that can be left to the other Washi-posting people of the internet dot com, and I could instead tell you a little about a Washi Tape application that is maybe a little less trodden (at least from what my research has indicated.)

Ladies and Germs, say hello to Birdcube

Last summer, I got really excited about Cubes, Bird Stickers, and Washi Tape. I had seen some very cool collaged Magic Cards on Instagram, and wanted to make something that would be entirely unique and completely left field.

(Here are some of the really cool ones that my Instagram buddies made.)

Cards by WhiteTigerTableCraft on Instagram

Cards by Nuke_Minis on Instagram

I decided to make the cube (a redraftable Magic the Gathering collection) themed around birds (security cameras,) and decided that to add greater visual interest and create depth of field, I would have to incorporate some kind of extra thin, visually vibrant layer to tie all of my elements together.

And that my friends is when I discovered Washi Tape for myself. 

With that said, I hope you're feeling empowered to make something beautiful, or to make something beautiful, and to begin a blog post without knowing where exactly it'll wind up. I believe in you, and in the fictionalized versions of yourselves, and I hope you all have excellent weekends ahead of you.

To peruse our Washi tape collection, visit us in person, or click here for our virtual catalog.

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Ben Doane has been a member of the Pandemonium Team since 2019, and has been playing wargames, rpgs, and tcgs since 2004 and earlier. When not blogging, Ben runs the wargames and mailing departments, and also makes the newsletters. Her Fictional Self missed Boston Cube Party this year, but maybe aspires to playing in a future one someday.