Part workbook, part guide and part creative journal, The Book That Takes Its Time, An Unhurried Adventure in Mindfulness is a hardcover containing paper-based goodies, such as booklets, postcards and whimsical little notes you can write to yourself.
Written by Irene Smit and Astrid Van Der Hulst, the creative directors of cult creative magazine Flow, The Book That Takes Its Time, An Unhurried Adventure in Mindfulness has embossed and engraved drawings on the cover and exquisite illustration and typography throughout. Unlike the Book for Paper Lovers or the Flow Mindfulness Workbook, this book has a lot of text, which lends it more of a novel-like feel. The exquisite illustration makes it highly collectible.
As it proclaims on the cover, the contents are separately into chapters which celebrate slow living. There is a Joy of One Thing at a Time Notebook” tucked into the pages. Following their piece on the power of slowing down, there are cut-out designer notecards for creating a Beautiful Moments jar. You can also delve into your Beginner’s Mind and embrace a writing cure.
Flow magazine, originates in the Netherlands and has French, Dutch, English and German language versions. There is a reason that Flow’s formula for paper based goodies works so well in the digital age where paper magazines are going bust left right and centre.
The Flow Book for Paper Lovers 5
The Flow Book for Paper Lovers is likewise another treasure worth mentioning. It’s a highly collectible book that you will want to keep forever and contains an abundance of paper goodies like note books, postcards, paper dolls, buntings, 3d mobiles, pop up dioramas and so forth. It’s the whimsical, dreamy retreat from the world, where arty and quirky types such as myself can enjoy the pure pursuits of playful creativity.
I created a whole series of creative projects out of this book including dioramas, mobiles, affirmation cards, postcards, collages and paintings.
There is something overwhelmingly positive, wholesome and joyful about Flow. In the short space of a few years, the Flow magazine series has expanded to incorporate special editions such as the Flow Book for Paper Lovers and the Flow 19 Days for Mindfulness, among many others. Their books and magazines give adults the permission they need to be mindful and to take a breather from their busy lives.
Whenever I pick up and read the FLOW magazines and books I get the feeling that I’m treating myself to some much needed self-love and inner nourishment.
If you have never heard of Flow magazine, then I recommend you try and hunt it down at your local specialty bookstore or newsagent. They may be able to order it in for you. I’ve tried to order the magazine and special editions online but have found that postage from the Netherlands is prohibitively expensive.
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