What does stationery mean to you?
To me, stationery is an outlet to express my ideas and thoughts. It’s to transfer thoughts and experiences to paper, and to make it look nice by using various stationery like stamps, stickers, washi tape, ephemera… There are no rules, everything goes!
What do you use your stationery products for?
Mainly for writing, but sometimes also drawing. I write a lot and I’m what you call a pen enthusiast! I use all kinds of pens; fountain pens, dip pens, gel pens, ballpoints, markers, you name it. In my journal, I switch pen and ink on a daily basis. My books used to be pen only, but nowadays they’re full with stickers and stamps too.
What materials/products do you use?
I try to mix & not match stationery in my journal and planner spreads. While I admire other creators who excel in putting together cohesive and matching spreads, my personal style is to mix different materials and products (and brands and styles) to create contrasts. I never recreate spreads, and every weekly spread should be something new. I also use pouches (my favorite is from Delfonics), pen cases (favorite from Yuruliku), storage boxes (Toyo Steel), basically everything related to stationery. And by the way, not everything needs to be useful, for example I have a pen rest in the shape of a cat and it makes me happy just looking at it!
What are you most happy about and why?
My favorite stationery item is my Hobonichi Cousin, which is my ride or die that holds all work and personal planning as well as one page per day journaling. I love the composition of this book and Hobonichi’s Tomoe River paper is the best. It’s personal so I don’t post it on social media, but that’s my number one. I’m also very happy with my Traveler’s Notebook, I keep it just for fun and I love to create weekly spreads and share in the community.
What tips do you have to other stationery fans?
I would recommend to get an Instagram account, it’s a great way to find inspiration and connect with other people in the community (if that’s what you want). If you don’t have irl friends who are interested in this hobby, it’s really nice to have a group of people to talk to who share your passion for stationery. This community is so supportive and friendly!
Just remember, it’s easy to get fomo and to want what you see other people have, but try to keep in mind that you create things for yourself and not for social media.
If you had to recommend one product, what would it be?
It’s very difficult to pick just one! But, regardless if you use a pre-dated planner, a bullet journal, or any other kind of notebook: Choose a book with good paper, for example Tomoe River or MD paper. It’s easy to get carried away and jump into the deep rabbit hole of fountain pens (been there!), but try to focus on the basics first. Not even the best fountain pen will feel or look good if you don’t have the right kind of paper to use it on.
