I am so excited that there is such a thing as National Stationery Week (by the way, if you ever have bother remembering the difference between stationEry and stationAry, think of E for Envelope and you've got the right one for lovely papers and pens and pencils). Anyway, I've loved stationery ever since I was a kid. I had an uncle who worked in the local paper mill (sadly now closed) and he used to come to our house with reams of coloured paper. I swear, I remember salivating at the even thickness of each colour, set into a neat stack and just for me to play with. Even then, I remember the pure joy that came with getting pretty, new things, and the First Page Fear that follows everyone with a new notebook through school and into adulthood.
So why do I love stationery so much? I really don't know. All I know is I can't resist washi tape, I'm obsessed with buying new notebooks and I love, adore, covet, writing sets. Oh my god, writing sets. I can't help myself. And who doesn't love getting some personal mail through the post? Even if it's just to say 'hi', it adds a spring to my step for the day.
Stickers. Oh...stickers. Who remembers collecting them at school? And swapping them? I still get a stocking at Christmas (I am 30) and my mum put stickers in there for me last year. I swear, I was more excited by that than any of the other things in it. But I never use them. I never use my new notebooks and I struggle to break into a new stack of post-its or use a new pencil. What if it runs out? What if the idea I started writing down is rubbish? Then I'll have a notebook with just...garbage in it and it'll be spoiled forever! And what if...what if...what if...
As regular readers will know, I really like to support small businesses and am fully behind buying handmade. I've been wanting to feature the 'Just A Card' campaign for a while, as well as other campaigns striving to encourage the teaching of crafts and garner support for small, handmade companies. Of course, you can go to Paperchase, but you can also go to any number of small designers on Etsy and get a better product for the same price that helps put millions into the economy. So buying small is really buying big.
So I've got a tonne of stationery I haven't used. And I really want to use it. So I will. I pledge, on this day, the first day of National Stationery Week 2015, that I will use my wonderful washis, my pristine pens and my nude notebooks. Beautiful things are there to be used, and use them I should. Over the next few days, I'll be featuring my favourite stationery designers and hopefully you will be inspired to buy 'just a card', or treat yourself to something else. Who knows the possibilities of that first blank page of a notebook?
Enjoy this week! Follow the hashtag #NatStatWeek on Twitter and you will not be disappointed with the range of beautiful products being showcased.
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