If you know me at all, then you would know that I’m borderline obsessed with stationeries. And I’m not just talking about my obsession for fountain pens—I love all stationeries equally. Want to make me happy, even during my worst days? Just introduce me to some unique, cute stationeries, and 9 out of 10, I would snap out of my bad mood instantly.
I know, I know. With me being a writer, and a stationery addict—pssh. Painfully obvious and common. But I’m okay with that. There’s just no helping it! I just love the feeling when I find a brand new stationery product I could marvel over all day long—be it a new pen, notebook, or anything.
And if you clicked on this blog post, chances are, you’re a stationery addict, too! (Or you would just close the page after reading this sentence because I have just generalized my audience. Or because I sound weirdly jollier than usual. I don’t mind. I’m on a happier mood by default whenever I’m talking about stationeries.)
So anyway, here’s a short list of all my favorite stationeries in early 2020, not sorted in any significant order:
Uni Style Fit Meister
I have talked about this in one of my recent posts. Having a multi-pen is super useful during busy days, since I can just carry one pen for all purpose writing. Be it color coding in my planner, taking notes in a meeting, and even jotting something fun on a sticky note for my colleague.
Granted, not all of the Uni Style Fit barrel are work-appropriate. And that is why I upgraded to the Meister lineup, which features better build quality and more professional look to it. I personally use the white meister barrel with gold accents, which I think look super cute and stylish.
As for the refills, I am using a mechanical pencil refill and 0.38 mm gel ink refills in black, blue, red, and green.
I use black for all purpose writing and for noting day job-related tasks in my planner. I use blue to accentuate informations and for noting personal tasks in my planner, while red inks are strictly for writing-related tasks. I rarely use green inks, but I keep it on hand since it’s my go-to ink color for editing or annotating documents (I find red to be too obtrusive and strangely offensive when I use it to annotate).
The mechanical pencil is just an icing on the cake. I don’t really get to use it that often, because I largely prefer writing using pen to pencil. But it’s nice to have for the rare moments when I’m doodling on the page during a very boring meeting (don’t tell my boss).
Myntydori Leather Binder A5 in Navy Blue
So this is a new thing. You know I’ve had experience with Myntydori’s product in the past, and I’ve had zero complaints about the quality of their traveler’s notebook and their service. But i’m not talking about their traveler’s notebook this time—I’m here for their leather binders.
Why a leather binder? To put it simply, I use this leather binder whenever I have a manuscript I’d like to personally hand-edit. In such case, I just print it on blank, A5-sized loose leaf refills and put it in the binder for easier access.
I used to print these on regular A4 sized papers and lugged around heavy A4-sized file ordners around, but I’ve decided that the setup didn’t work for me because it takes up too much space. Not to mention that it was awkwardly heavy and painful to bring around as I commute.
Downsizing to A5 size means the manuscript will have to be adjusted to a smaller font size, sure. But if that also means better portability, I’m all game. And why did I choose a leather binder, of all the materials in the world, you ask?
Because I like it, that’s why! And I trust Myntydori to make my leather everything anytime, judging from their reputable traveler’s notebook lineup.
Kraft Sticky Notes
I’ve talked about my obsession of this little product quite extensively in one of my recent posts, so I’m not going to repeat myself.
Get yourselves some kraft sticky notes. It will change your life forever.
Pilot Iroshizuku: Shin-Kai
I love myself some good quality fountain pen ink, because I do write in one. Of course, the pen itself makes or breaks the smoothness and color production of the ink, but I’m not here to talk about the pen. (Although I must say I love pairing this ink with my Platinum 3776 Century in Chartres Blue)
Obvious fact: I love Japanese culture. Not so obvious fact: I love the color blue. Even more obscure fact: I love the concept of ocean.
So what do I do when I find a fountain pen ink, made by one of the most prominent pen manufacturer in Japan—which turns out being the color dark blue, and having a product name that literally means “deep seas”?
Pilot Iroshizuku: Shin-kai is that product, and being a very well-behaved ink that it is, I fell in love with it instantly. I mean, just look at that color. Or the bottle. Or both.
This is actually my absolute favorite ink color out of all the Iroshizuku lineup. And that is saying a lot, because they do have an impressive lineup of beautiful fountain pen ink colors. But I have a strong inclination to the shades of blue, so that may or may not have influenced my judgment.
Where to find
Goodreads | GPU | Gramedia Digital | Grobmart
Alicia Lidwina 2020
Alicia Lidwina 