The simple joys of stationery

Last weekend, I bought a little notebook.

A6, black, 192 pages, cream paper, quadrille.

I was killing an hour while waiting for a teen school event to finish, and felt I could retire to a coffee shop and spend the time dreaming up topics for future blog posts. (Obligatory Covid-19 disclaimer: the coffee shop observes all protocols, I wore my mask, I sanitised my hands.)

So I wandered into a stationery shop and purchased the aforesaid notebook, after hovering over lined versions. Something about quadrille just seemed right for a grey Saturday morning.

When I had finished the coffee, and put my mask back on, I stowed the notebook in my handbag.

Dear reader, this will shock you: Only at that point did I notice that I already had a notebook, with matching pen. Kept in my bag for the very purpose of opportunistic note-taking.

My name is Renee and I am a stationery addict.

New possibilities

I buy a ruinously expensive Moleskine planner every year because I like the feel of the paper.

I use only a particular range of Bic pen, in a particular shade of purple. It also comes in pink and blue, which can be used for highlighting different aspects of lists. (I am addicted to those too).

I have piles of unused and half-used notebooks. All of them, one day, will be useful, I just know it.

As addictions go, this one is relatively harmless. No one else if affected if I mindlessly buy yet another notebook.

But it is interesting to try to understand the source of it. What is it about the clean crisp pages of a new notebook that is so entrancing?

For me, its about hope, about a sense of new possibilities. And an anchor to reality: pen and paper tie us to the generations of people who have used them to navigate the world. In a world of online nastiness and IRL fear and uncertainty, there’s something consoling about the solidity of a new notebook.

I give you stationery, a simple pleasure in a complicated world.

Contact me if you would like to chat about how I can help with all your organisational or communication needs (coaching, editing, writing, social media).

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

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