WORKING HANDS: Jaymin Khansmith

As a stationery brand, we are always curious how and what people use our stationery goods for. With this blog series, focusing on the hands at "work" and beyond, we ask five questions about the usage and meaning of the stationery tools to our friends in Los Angeles.

For the thirty-fourth post and very first Working Hands of 2026, we had a delightful visit with Jaymin Khansmith. We would see Jaymin at various pop-ups at our DTLA location, like Engawa Kissa or Yoka Goods. He has been sharing his tea knowledge as well as wonderful cooking content through his social media.

With our recent visit at his home in North Hollywood neighborhood, Jaymin generously showed us his Japanese tea set-up (also served us a few excellent teas from Kyushu region, where Hightide is also originally from!) and his bento-making tool collection.
After preparing a bento with the most delicious looking grilled mackerel, Jaymin then took us to his favorite park for a casual Nodate, a tea picnic to eat the bento and have a flavorful sencha from Miyazaki.

Jaymin Khansmith in a diamond-print jacket kneels on a lawn beside an outdoor table with a cast iron kettle.

Q1. How do you use your 2026 Weekly Planner Iris B6, (We see that you personalized your planner cover by putting the photos–so nice), Hightide Receipt Holder, Hightide Hourglass in Small and lastly, Single Layer Italian Steel Tool Box?

I use my planner not only as a planner, but as a documenter. It’s like my own personal memory archive! If I want to remember a good week in my life or a vacation I took a while ago, I’ll look at my planner and remember what I did each day!

Orange photo album holding black-and-white photo booth strips, beside an open ruled notebook and two pens.

Open weekly planner with handwritten notes in colored ink and an orange pen resting on the page.

My receipt holder helps to keep all of my purchases organized and categorized. I used to stuff all of my receipts in a shoebox so this is a huge step up! Especially useful for this upcoming tax season.

Tattooed hands opening an accordion-fold notebook full of tucked-in receipts, at a dark table with pens.

The hourglass is actually an important piece in my daily tea rituals. I use it to track my steep times to make sure my brews come out uniform and perfect every time. I also appreciate it’s analog aesthetic as opposed to a phone timer.

Green glass hourglass with sand running through it, set on a mushroom-patterned cloth outdoors in a sunny park.

The toolbox is my main method of transporting my picnic and tea supplies. It holds everything I need for a lovely day at the park!

Open green Penco Storage Caddy holding a yellow case, floral washi tape, white tape roll and printed cloth.

Q2. In our technology driven world, what does it mean to make things by your hand to you?

My whole motto for life currently is “Bring Back Ritual” making things by hand to me is the embodiment of this phrase. To make something by hand requires an immense amount of detail, precision, knowledge, feeling, and love. That energy helps me feel more human and keeps me more connected and grounded to anything I’m doing in life.

Hand holding an open ruled notebook on grass, listing bento box contents with food stickers and a pink pen.
Jaymin's Bento Box contents directory, accessorized with New Retro Planner Stickers - Food. Perfect example of the sticker application.

Hands pouring green tea from an orange teapot through a strainer into a cup on a wooden tray outdoors.

Q3. Pencil or Mechanical Pencil?

I am team mechanical pencil because I can get quite sentimental when it comes to certain stationary. Knowing that my favorite pencil has a lifespan that depletes with each sharpen kinda makes me sad. With a Mechanical pencil, I just have to switch the lead or go in for a refill. I still have a mechanical pencil that I owned since middle school (14 years ago) and each time I write with it, I can feel all the love and memories of what we’ve been through.

Q4. What’s in your Nähe General Purpose Case - Wide?

I keep all of my bento artistry tools in there! I got tiny tweezers. Nori scissors, food hole punchers, tiny scoops, and precision knives in that pouch. Anything I could need to give a bento box a little fun detail!

Hand lifting an orange pen case from a blue metal toolbox filled with silicone lettuce cups and bento food picks.
Jaymin keeps his bento tools organized with the Nähe General Purpose Case Wide.
Look at the lettuce cup dividers!!! Also he uses on one of the most popular tool boxes we used to carry – Hightide USA Work Mate Tool Boxes in two sizes.

Bento prep: a red case holding scissors and utensils beside a metal tray of flower-cut carrots, snap peas and broccoli.

Home-cooked meal on a dark table: grilled mackerel on a steel rack tray, vegetables in a divided tray, rice in a pot.

Man in a white tee scooping rice from a black pot, with grilled mackerel and vegetables on metal trays. Two open wooden bento boxes filled with rice, grilled mackerel, broccoli, lemon and carved carrot, lids beside them. Ta-da! The perfectly balanced bento – veggies, grilled mackerel and rice.

Q5. What is your most favorite stationery?

Right now I would say my planner is my favorite. It holds memories, plans for the future, fun stickers, and a bunch of colors. Just a whole compilation of things that inspire me are contained in that planner and it gets me excited every time I use it!

Hands turning a page of an orange planner filled with red handwritten notes and a small dog sticker.

Hand holding open a ruled MD Notebook, showing a small orange fox sticker beside a handwritten date.

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Jaymin Khansmith is an LA based tea & food blogger on Instagram and TikTok. He is a huge advocate on "bringing back ritual", his contents creation is with a full of intentional living, like cooking Japanese meals and bentos as well as taking the time to make a cup of tea. They are very educational and informative.
We don't recommend watching his contents when you are hungry!