My Stationery List
As you probably already guessed - I love stationery. Over the decades I’ve bought and been gifted various pieces: pens, pencils, notebooks, pencil cases, rubbers, sharpeners the list goes on. Some have been great, some… less so. In this article I want to tell you what’s worth the spend and what isn’t.
Pens/ Pencils etc
There are almost too many brands and pieces out there to choose from when it comes to items with which to fill your pencil case. Some are expensive, some are cheap. Some are worth the investment… and others unfortunately are not.
Parker Fountain Pen
A stylish, classic brand. Parker is amazing, it is a brand that has again and again rethought the idea of what a pen is. Personally I have found the fountain pen which I was bought as a young girl not only heavy (perhaps that was because I was too young for such an instrument) but also irritating to use. You can only replace Parker ink cartridges with Parker ink cartridges. Which means that owning such a pen is an expensive endeavour.
Unfortunately I lost it. Do not give expensive rather heavy stationery to children who like to use such pieces every day - including at school.
Parker Ballpoint Pen
This was again a piece given to me as a gift. And it was far lighter, far more usable than the fountain pen; I can assure you!
There is nothing wrong with this piece - but I would not say it is necessarily worth the cost… that is of course my personal opinion. But a biro is a biro, even one so light and pleasant to use as this. However again as with the fountain pen you can only replace the biro ink with a Parker biro ink.
Cross Fountain Pen
Compared to the Parker fountain pen, this is one that I chose myself. I love black fountain pen pieces, I love black especially matt as a colour for pieces in general. I find black to be classic; beautiful… enduring through all of the fashions which society throws at its consumers. And far too sparse in the playing field of stationery pieces.
The fountain pen is light, it moves beautifully and the nib is flexible enough to create thick lines while maintaining a thin & sophisticated hand. It also ages very well, not picking up scratches and not engaging issues with the nib.
Tombow Brush Pens
My favourite brand for brush pens. And I say that without any sort of bias. This is not the first brand I have tried but it will be the last. The Fudenosuke hard nib brush pen is a staple in my pencil case and I have several at any time; the soft nib is also very good but for myself I prefer the harder one. These are disposable, as far as I’m concerned anyway (if you know different ping me an email!) which means they are not very sustainable. But they are beautiful and my unethical non-guilty pleasure.
Not only do I use them for my pointillism artworks, I also use them for writing in my nature journal and for any black-lined calligraphy projects. They are beautiful pens, light and easy to use.
The Works Ink Pens
These are so light, so pleasant to use and very, very cheap. Which is not a bad thing. While I now use Tombow there was a time when I hadn’t uncovered them. And these ink pens were my choice. Not only did I use them every day in my journaling practice I also used them in my pointillism artwork. They are great pens for the price which they are, and well worth taking a risk on. But bear in mind that the price does sometimes reflect the amount of ink in the pens.
Zebra
If you are going to buy a ballpoint pen, please let it be one that uses proper ink rather than the sticky oil-slick stuff found in most. Zebra do a wonderful range of ink-filled ballpoint pens. They have a great grip, glide across paper and have a nice nib. However I would always advocate for using an ink pen versus a ballpoint pen.
A L’aise Oblique Calligraphy Pen
If you are going to buy calligraphy pens make them A’Laise. This independent business is beautiful, and the handmade ink is a great way to compliment your pen. The Oblique is not only light and easy to use but also incredibly functional. It doesn’t have the usual metal grip found on so many calligraphy pens which means that the grip which the pen has on nibs never gets weaker. These do go out of stock very quickly as soon as they’re re-stocked so you will want to get one as soon as possible. You will not regret it.
Also get a packet of the blue pumpkin nibs while you’re at it.
Derwent
Pencils galore… and so many to choose from! Watercolour pencils, graphite, artistic. My oh my you have got your work cut out exploring them all. My advice is not to buy a tin with masses of different colours inside, the cores are soft and easy to blend so you will have no trouble creating a huge range of options with which to adorn your creations.
Notebooks
Ohh Deer
If a notebook could ever be sassy I believe ‘Oh Deer’ have made it possible. Their notebooks are brightly coloured and sectioned with lovely titles, columns and boxes. I had one as my journal for a time and it was fun to use. It also helped me to feel more organised, but personally I prefer not being told how much I should and should not be writing for each area. I also found that some of the sections made me feel incredibly introverted and unexceptional such as the ‘timetable’ part where most of my day-in-day-out routine consisted of 9-5 office work and then a walk home followed by a meal and more work. Perhaps that makes me contrary. The paper is of good thickness and the notebooks themselves are wonderfully thick which means they last for a good amount of time. I still have mine though it is now full and on my shelf, ready to be reminisced over.
These are stylish, fun notebooks that stand out on the desk and - if you are not a daily notebook person - make keeping on easy to do.
Moleskine
A range of colours, page styles and sizes. Moleskine are in every shop that even considers selling notebooks - and that’s for a very good reason. These notebooks are great, they’re versatile, can go anywhere and are offered in a range of cover options - but the paper is very thin. They wear well initially but after daily use the spine of the cover does get weaker. However love the end pocket and elastic band to close the cover as well as the array of colours and paper styles. I bought Moleskine’s for years both hard and soft-covered so can attest to their usability. However I would not use them for art, these make great journals and note-taking books but they simply aren’t up to multi-media standard.
Legami
Designed in Italy, these notebooks are not only beautifully covered in a range of colours; the paper is also good for ink. It’s not thick by any means but it supports it without bleeding through too badly. I really enjoyed using mine and would recommend if you’re looking for a notes or journal notebook. It wears well and doesn’t weaken in terms of the spine and cover. However again it’s simply not up to multimedia standard… sorry fellow artists.
Beechmore
Got to hand it to them, these notebooks are really good. The pages are thick, they come in a range of colours AND they come shipped in a cute box with a lil quote inside. I really enjoyed using mine and they last a good amount of time. They’re also vegan so tick that ethical box.
Kamili
My utter favourite when it comes to machine-made notebooks. These notebooks are chic, they have a gorgeous cover and you can use ink in them without it showing on the other pages!!! Ta dah! Like Beechmore notebooks these lil cuties also come in a box and they last forever. I bought them for ages and utterly adored them. They wear well, have a good thickness of line without making you feel like you’re at school and look great on a desk.
Pencil Cases
W H Smith
Perhaps a tad cliche but these pencil cases last for years and are really great. I had mine for around 8 years and it was used every day. Agreed this style is not huge and definitely not made for carrying tools around. But if you want a pencil case that holds your favourite pieces along with a 15cm ruler, a rubber and pencil sharpener then I really can’t recommend this one enough. Unfortunately it is plastic lined so not very ethical - and they no longer stock them.
DASPREZ
Small business supporters get on the band-wagon! I bought a pencil case from Dasprez as a gift for someone who is - shall we say - a tad picky about their pencil cases. It was a huge hit and has stood up to regular use really well. It’s also big enough to fit in a whole range of items from paint brushes to pens and pencil, while still being petite and squash able enough to fit in your bag and it’s chic so looks great out on a desk. Would totally recommend.
Looking for stationery that is handmade, unisex and 100% ethical? Check out the range of notebooks, pencil cases and greeting cards across the SOLEMNIKO Store - or commission your perfect piece and work with me directly x