The Stationary I love…you cannot beat a good notebook and a nice pen!
It isn’t really a secret that I love stationary. For as long as I can remember, having good stationary has been important to me. You’ll not see me writing with a cheap biro if I can avoid it!
So, below I wanted to share with you all of the best stationary of different types that I use as I work, make notes, study and plan my life. Yes, I do a lot of this digitally these days, but the tangibility of pens and notebooks can never be beaten by any digital application.
n.b. some of the links in this post are affiliate links. These means if you make purchase using them, it won’t cost you any more, but I will get a small commission from the seller.
Notebooks
I have draw full of empty or half empty notebooks. I need a notebook which guides my writing without making it look messy. For me, that means it needs to be dotted, not ruled, squared or plain. I also need paper that minimises bleed and is fountain pen friendly. There are a lot of expensive notebooks out there that fit the bill. These I have found on Amazon to be excellent and reasonably priced.
I use the Rettacy A5 Dotted Notebook at the moment. If you click the link below you will see that you can also buy the same notebook in B5 size and in ruled, squared or plain. You can also get a variety of colours. It’s a fantastic notebook with a decent number of pages and sells in packs of 2 for the same price as some others sell individually. https://amzn.to/3vDV3C6
I use these notebooks now for everything and tend to have everything all in one place rather than different notebooks for different purposes. I plan my day here, make notes as I read and as I read the Bible and write down all the random thoughts that have been going through my head. The past 2 years have been the hardest and most confusing of my life. Having a place to write down some of my thoughts and questions has been invaluable.
Pens
Workhorse Pens
My workhorse pens are the ones I use all the time, every day. I prefer black pens for this but that’s a personal choice. I like to write with a thin line.
At the moment, my favourite is the Uni-Pin 0.1 Ultra Fine Fineliner. It writes really well and has a narrow line. I tried the 0.05 but it was too fine! https://amzn.to/3VPaNNw
I also love the Staedtler Tri-Plus Fineliners, you will see. The black 0.3mm is one of the best pens to write with. I am using the Uni-Pin at the moment as it is finer and has chunkier body which I prefer. But the Staedtler is a solid buy. https://amzn.to/3VOvoS5
Lastly here, I have a pen that crosses to categories. The Platinum Preppy. This is a cheap fountain pen. I have tried many different fountain pens that would be considered ‘budget’ by pen enthusiasts but the Platinum pens write the smoothest lines. The Preppy comes in many colours and line thickness options. I prefer the extra-fine. https://amzn.to/3CoreJy
Fountain Pens
I love writing with a fountain pen — especially when I am grappling with big thoughts and confusion…or am attempting to write ‘romantically’! For this, I actually prefer blue ink.
Two of my top fountain pens are the Parker Jotter (https://amzn.to/3icJWxc) and the Pilot MR Animal Collection Pens in Lizard Bronze (https://amzn.to/3vCEgQ6). Both of these I had and then I left my entire pencil case in a hotel bar. When I went back it was gone. This was a devastating day!
My current fountain pen of choice is the Platinum Plaisir. I switched out the medium nib for an extra-fine one. You can get it in multiple different colours. I am loving this pen as a replacement for those I lost in an act of idiocy! https://amzn.to/3WUUMHi
Fineliners
Need I say more?? You cannot go wrong with these. Of all the fineliners I have used (including the popular Stabilo Point 88) these are by far the best and easiest to write with. They also produce the smoothest lines. Available in various different sized multipacks with different colours for each. https://amzn.to/3WUUMHi
Marker Pens & Pencils
To Continue the Staedtler theme, I expanded my collection some years ago with the Tri-Plus Broadliners (https://amzn.to/3VPft62) and the Tri-Plus Fibre Pens (https://amzn.to/3VPft62). These give a few different thickness in all the same colours.
Getting all 3 Staedtler sets leads to a nice desk:
Then we have by far the best fibre tipped marker pens I have ever encountered. The Papermate Flair pens. I love these! I once bought a set and posted them through a friends door anonymously just because I thought they were so good and she would love them. Of all the pens of this kind, with these you get a thick line, but still writeable with, no bleed and the line is very smooth. I cannot recommend these to you highly enough. https://amzn.to/3VPft62.
Lastly, I have found the Staedtler Norris Colouring pencils to be excellent value and a good enough colour set for my needs. I don’t use these so often but my son often borrows them and loves them. https://amzn.to/3iiBuMO. And yes — I was tempted by the Tri-Plus colouring pencils but figured as I don’t use them much, the cost was too high!
