Berlin native Florian Bartelt has worked throughout the city using different outlets to express his art. In 2005, his work was displayed at the large ceramic exhibition, "Der helle Wahnsinn." He used a red Kolo Newport photo album to illustrate his interpretation of the city where he was raised.

As the subject of his book, Florian illustrates the varying and everyday cultural influences which are present throughout the city. The city's complex diversity of culture is brought to the reader’s attention by the combination of pictures, lino-prints and photocopies collaged together.

To see other Berlin books, go here and here.

-Kate

While it’s typical for Chinese families to keep a genealogy, world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma knew almost nothing about his family’s past. Then Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and his team of genealogists discovered that a past cousin of Ma's in China had hidden the family genealogy in a wall to save it from destruction during a time of political turmoil.

When Gates presents Ma with his archival Kolo Newport photo album filled with historical golden nuggets, he points out that they've traced his line back 18 generations to the year 1217. In fact, all the people with the surname Ma, through Yo-Yo Ma’s paternal line, can be traced back to one common ancestor who lived in the 3rd century BC. The more Ma learns of his past, the more he struggles to hold back tears.

Gates shows Ma his place on the family tree, and that of one of Ma’s ancient great-grandfathers, born in 1435:

There you are. There he is.

Ma laughs:

That’s amazing! I feel I’m in a Dickens novel!

Ma makes a gesture as if handing over a photo album, playfully mocking Gates for the profundity of his research, saying:

And here are your papers…

This series is worth time in front of the tube. In the U.S., the last two episodes of the four-part mini-series air tonight (Wed) and next Wed (March 3) on PBS. Check your local listings.

- Ugo

Michigan art director Cheryl Oz recently decided to pursue her passion for illustration by putting together a portfolio of her work to distribute to prospective clients. She chose a chocolate Kolo Trivino three-ring binder.

I've used Kolo products for years, for personal and business use, and the Trivino is perfect for making a portfolio.

The Trivino is a 3-ring binder style album, which makes it easy to pop pages into the right place so I can always keep my work updated.

I really like the square opening on the cover so I can display my logo. The Trivino also has a lot of options to customize your album. I used the top-load pages for all of my content.

Additionally, the envelope works great for resumes, leave-behinds or even business cards.

Learn more about Cheryl Oz's portfolio or keep updated by visiting her blog.

-Kate

Kristin Rees, blog editor and co-owner of Blonde Designs (an invitation and stationery company), shares three simple steps for creating a beautifully designed Kolo Catalina photo album:

Step 1: Buy Kolo Catalina photo albums. These are my favorite because I like the size, the 2-photos per page layout, and the extra cardstock pages in the back. I use the cardstock pages to display birthday invitations, family Christmas cards, ticket stubs, etc. (anything special that happened during the time frame of the album).

Step 2: Edit and order photos. This is the hardest part for me. To make it less overwhelming, I try to do this every 4 months or so. I upload the images to be printed and have them shipped to me.

Step 3: Put the photos in the album. Once the pictures are in, I make a custom label for the front of the album with the dates of the photos.

Click here to download a custom label template designed to fit perfectly into the window of a Kolo Catalina. Or visit Blonde Designs blog for more stationery tips.

-Kate

If you’ve been following the Winter Olympics, you know that NBC correspondent, Japanese-American Olympic gold medalist figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, can get pretty excited when she sees a beautifully executed triple toe loop.

But the stories about her ancestors in her archival Kolo Newport photo album move her to tears.

Among pages of old black-and-white photographs and papers in her Kolo book, is a New York Times newspaper clipping about the promotion of her grandfather, an American soldier during World War II. It was a difficult time; he was the only Japanese-American in his entire combat unit, serving his country proudly in the 100th Infantry Division while his family members in America were held in internment camps. A quote from the article shows he earned the respect of his commanding officers:

He is, unquestionably, the company’s best soldier.

Upon seeing this for the first time, Kristi takes a Kleenex and few moments to collect herself, then speaks softly, with reverence:

I knew he was a special man.

Kristi’s archival Kolo Newport photo album helps to bring the stories of her ancestors to life. It was presented to her by the distinguished genealogist and Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., as part of a four-part mini-series called “Faces of America,” airing on PBS stations across the United States. Well worth watching. In most markets, it airs on Wednesday evenings through March 3rd, but check your local listings.

In this photo, Kristi's grandfather is third from the right in the first row.

For more about Kristi Yamaguchi’s genealogical discoveries, go here.

- Ugo