What is a deco?
A deco is a variation of a friendship book. Friendship books, at their most basic, are small booklets that are mailed from penpal to penpal. Usually you see little 3×5 pieces of paper stapled together at the corner, with the front sheet decorated with stickers, and a bunch of writing that will tell you who made the book, who it’s for, what the maker is into, if they’re looking for new penpals, etc. A lot of this is done in code (NPW=new pals wanted). The emphasis is on learning about people and finding new penpals, and not necessarily on making something beautiful. Decos, on the other hand, are all about making something beautiful—the booklet is the emphasis, and finding new friends comes from finding booklets that are made in a style that appeals to you. Some of the decos I’ve seen are almost mini altered books, using many of the same techniques and materials, along with bookbinding, collage, calligraphy, etc. Decos travel the world, going from one decorator to another. Each decorator
