Five Best Stationery Products Spring 2016

Because I write, I love stationery. Sometimes I love stationery so much I wonder whether it’s the other way around. Did I start loving writing all those years ago because I loved pens, and paper, and all of the things that accompany them? I’ll happily spend an afternoon browsing the latest fieldnotes books just as much as I will goodreads. Right now, I think I love both equally and you’ll note I love them so much I think I can only reasonably do a spring edition of my favourite stationery items rather than a yearly edition so early in 2016 when I probably haven’t bought all the pens I am going to buy.
Anyway! If you’re looking for the top stationery must-haves of any writer, reader, blogger, or dewy eyed wayfarer look no further than this list! Top Five Stationery Must Haves Of Spring 2016 here we go!

1 Leuchttrum Notebook

So the thing is, as a writer of words I use a lot of notebooks. Recently, I’ve been most in love with Leuchtrum notebooks. They’re leather bound, hardbacks, with super thick paper (this comes in handy if you are either a) a writer prone to scribbling things out and then causing weird bleed-through on the backs of pages b) a consummate doodler or c) just somebody who likes to colour in things after you’ve completed them on to-do lists), and perhaps most important of all they have this feature called dotted paper.

For the longest time I loved graphed paper, honestly because colouring in the squares when I’m bored is a passion of mine, until I discovered dotted paper. Dotted paper frees me from the confines of boring things like margins and ‘writing the right way along a page’ while still giving me a vague guide of lines in case I suddenly need to act professional in life. You’re probably thinking dotted paper more than likely existed before Leuchttrum Notebooks. Well, maybe it did but Leuchttrum is where I discovered this fantastic technology.

2 TWSBI Diamond 580

When I was a kid I had this obsession with spending pocket money on cheap fountain pens. Those pens were not the best. They scratched when I needed ink and they bled in my pocket. They were hard to write with, and everything that came out of their nibs looked somewhat reminiscent  of the kind of things you see scratched into walls and buildings (in hindsight, this could have just been my lack of technical skill at writing words). This TWSBI (say it like you see it: tuhwuhisbee) is a far cry from the pens of my youth. This pen will take you places. There’s real joy in writing with it. Ask to try out my pen if we ever bump into each other on the street, you’ll love it.*

3 Sketches

Okay, so, this maybe isn’t technically stationery but prepare to be amazed anyway! Free on the app store, with some in-app purchases that I currently have no interest in or need of, this app is a joy to use. At it’s simplest, it’s just a sketch book for your devices, but somehow the watercolour brush (I mean, it has other equipment I just fancy myself as a Bob Ross) is just great to use. I’ve used many other sketching apps in my time — I’m no pro painter but there’s something v relaxing in drawing the issues of your day away before bed — but this one if by far my favourite. It has intuitive swipes on iOS, and even a ‘redo all’ swipe, which is handy for when you accidentally delete everything on the page. In any given session I use the ‘redo all’ feature 50, 55, times.

4 Pilot Iroshizku Orange Fuyu Gaki

Here’s the thing. If you’ve just read a load of unpronounceable syllables that’s okay. A few weird words here and there in life if what makes things fun and exciting! Here’s the other thing: Pilot Iroshizku isn’t just a mishmash of letters, it’s some of the best ink in the world.

Often, the ink makes the pen. I know that sounds super pretentious but… well… idk it’s true. I treated myself to a bottle of this when I got my TWSBI. I’d bathe in this ink if it weren’t so expensive and, well, permanent because it’s ink… Orange being my favourite colour I opted for that. They sell tonnes of sensible colours too like black and blue and grey and blah but I figured life’s too short not to write memos in bright orange and so I went for it.  I’m no ink expert, but as far as I can tell this ink is great. It dries fast (resulting in fewer smudges on my face in any given day) and I love it. So if you’re looking for some swish ink, or for a gift for a stationery fanatic I’d say this is a great option.

5 Um, I feel like I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my own planner that I made for free download at least once here

Firstly, it’s free so, like, come on yeah? Secondly, I genuinely still love the organiser I made during a particularly weird whim over the festive break. Its quirky quotes keep me going through the months and I’ve actually started writing down to-do lists (a big step-up from, you know, never ever doing that).

What stationery have you been using this year? What’s caught your eye in the world of pens, paper & planners?

* since writing this post I have misplaced my TWSBI, don’t ask me about my TWSBI unless you want an emotional breakdown during which I relate to you how I lost it