Image: Design Soda

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Some kids at school are studious, some are disengaged and maybe rebellious. Until I suddenly got interested in academia at 15 (when I became a part of a tribe devoted to a slightly intellectual teenage band) I was pretty disengaged at school. As such I was all about the stationary –  erasers, covering my workbooks, drawing on them and playing with my latest favourite pencil case. If you are going to spend the majority of your working week at a desk, not allowed to interact, feeling bored, you may as well have nice things to look at, right? Stationary is rightly the domain of self expression for schooldays but appreciation of truly beautiful stationary shouldn’t end there. I love stationary. As an adult it is not so much about collecting zany fruit erasers (I buy these kitsch items for my son now though!) but really beautiful stationary that adds a little happiness to otherwise boring tasks.

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Image: Design Soda

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So it was with great joy that I finally visited Present & Correct during the London Design Festival to see their erasers exhibit (above). I have bought from Present & Correct online a number of times but have never quite trusted myself within touching distance of so many real life goods! Now having visited this fabulous emporium of stationary sundries I feel I need to share it with you alongside some of my own favourite stationary collectibles. All of the items in the main picture above (except the spotty coasters by Swedish firm By May) were bought on my visit to Present & Correct, I love all of these items (the notebooks just beating the Dolce Vita biscuit card!) but will you just look at the detailing on their paper bags? I’m not, generally, someone who holds on to bags, but this one is a definite exception, it’s kitsch librarian in the best possible way.

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Image: Design Soda

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For those that don’t know Present & Correct, they are a graphic design duo whose store is a curation of objects, both new and vintage, inspired by homework, post offices and school. They sell sundries which hope to “spark a distant memory, make you smile or look at the most mundane in a new, and fonder, light”. I would wholeheartedly recommend this store to anyone with a love of vintage or typography in London, it’s a must-stop. For something so niche it straddles the line between being a space for the seasoned collector and an emporium of beauties anyone can appreciate, so, so well. They sell so many commonplace items with massive charm, I’m sorely tempted to frame some of them when I get round to completing our study. The pink rubbers (above) are a classic example of the ordinary showcased at Present & Correct which is truly beautiful. The colour, the shape, those type fonts, even the name, all so evocative of 1950’s America, and utterly desirable.  Also, If you haven’t seen their Instagram, Pinterest or blog feeds then you really must, it is filled with quirky and inspiring design that catches the eye of these two style mavens. 

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Image: Design Soda

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First stop on my personal stationary horde are these vintage (and vintage inspired) postcard books (above). The two French ones (at the top) are vintage pieces, I saw some amazing ones on the Present & Correct site three years ago and shared them here, sadly those sold out fast, but after a long eBay & Etsy hunt I got the ones pictured above and I love them, not only are the designs beautiful but I also enjoy thumbing through the photos of old areas of France. The modern yellow Rio De Janeiro one (at the bottom) has a cute vintage flair, it was picked up in the brilliant lifestyle store Etcetera on a recent visit to Margate. 

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Image: Design Soda

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These are pieces I class within stationary for grown-ups (!), perhaps because some of it was quite expensive. The travel journal (in the middle) based on a hotel interior design by Danish architect Arne Jacobsen, was a moment of totally unreasonable but unavoidable lust buying. I’ve wanted a blanket in this design for quite some time so when I saw it could be bought in notebook form, however expensively, I knew I needed it in my home office, I bought it for £27 from Scandinavian Design Center. The leather notebook is lovely and came from Urban Outfitters some years ago, the artists drawing folder was a present from a friend and the fabulous striped Hay ruler was purchased through Present & Correct years ago but still available now. The gorgeously sophisticated Tom Pigeon mini notebook in navy & gold was bought through the Tom Pigeon webshop.

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Image: Design Soda

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I just love everything about the composition of this notepad designed by Hay and sold through Smug (another Islington design staple that holds a multitude of hoardable beautiful designwares) I love it so much that I am afraid to use it, so it is solely for display purposes in our house and it makes me smile as I pass it on my way into our study. This pen is probably the most kitsch item of stationary I own, this Pinocchio pen was a purchase in Venice and it screams tourist-tat in a way that I am entirely at home with. 

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Image: Design Soda

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Finally, more a piece of office accessory than stationary but it’s produced by stationary brand Hay so I’m squeezing it in here! I believe that I bought this for my son when he was still tiny in my tummy, but it quickly became hard to relinquish, so it is a bit of fun on my desk for when I need to zone out of thought. I bought it from Unique & Unity online. What are your favourite pieces of stationary? Does anyone else have my zeal for amassing it? And do you use it, or keep hold of it? Top of my current wishlist is the new terrazzo-inspired Stone collection from Normann Copehagen, you can see some of it on their site, here.

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