The Paper Seahorse Academy

Way back in 2015 we launched The Paper Seahorse as a haven for those who love creating and expressing by hand.  Inside our first shop, a light and airy restored 1917 craftsman bungalow in Tampa, Florida, you can find beautiful Japanese stationery, Traveler's Notebooks, fountain pens, Blackwing pencils, restored vintage typewriters and oh, so much more analog goodness. The response from around the world was amazing!  The feedback from our customers told us that we are way more than a paper store; we are helping people take a much needed digital detox, stepping away from our phones and screens so we can reconnect with ourselves and others. With this social benefit in mind, we grew.

From the very beginning we held live classes and workshops both in our shop and also in venues across the country. They were and are very popular.  We have been very fortunate to be able to do things like: bring over 30 vintage typewriters to Las Vegas for a typing experience for nearly 3,000 people, facilitate a "Finding your Ikigai (Life Purpose) workshop in Atlanta attended by one of Hollywood's only female studio heads, and our founder, Tona Bell was invited to teach paper craft at Epcot's Festival of the arts, in the heart of Walt Disney World.  

In the beginning of 2020, our classes and workshops were ion track to become our biggest offering; the way we could help the most people...and then... well, we all know what happened then.  With all of the restrictions and safety concerns we knew we needed to do something different, something creative to meet the needs of our community who were spending more time at home. Over the years, so many people near and far asked us if we could please create online courses so they could participate on their own schedule and no matter where they lived around the world. 

Finally, it was time to build our own vision of an on-line school - one that still promoted human connection.  We also knew that we needed to be true to our analog roots and reinvent online learning to some degree.  We set out to make our online classes and workshops more personal and collaborative, and more entertaining. And of course, we would find a way of bringing the joy of receiving snail mail by incorporating the famous Paper Seahorse kits into our academy.

That's our story.  Now we want to help you create yours!