"It's hard to say how I got here, beguiled by ruled paper and pencil shavings. I suppose it began with my love for school, which I associate with sparkly pencil cases and those folders with cuddly kittens that stopped being produced sometime in the 90s. As I got older, shopping for a new planner became an activity worth devoting hours to, and to this day, the sensation of a smooth pen gliding on a fresh new page pleases me to no end."
"We all aestheticize things we need to some degreeclothing, furniture, food. For me it's about the desk object. I can't remember the last time I needed a rubber Milan eraser (made in Spain), or a Coccoina glue stick that smells like almonds (made in Italy), but that's besides the point. I will go far and wide to seek the very best in office supplies, because there's something really special about finding the foreign in the everyday (those who revel in international grocery shopping would agree)."
"There are certain so-called stationery citiesFlorence, Berlin, Barcelona, to name a few. It was in London that I became obsessed with vintage wares, found at one-of-a-kind stores like Present & Correct and Choosing Keeping. But everyone who spells stationery correctly with an e knows the mecca is Tokyo. Like every other traveler who took advantage of the weakening Yen, I booked a trip to Japan's capital last year."
A lifelong affection for school supplies developed into an obsessive pursuit of beautifully designed stationery and desk objects. Smooth pens on fresh pages and nostalgic kit—sparkly pencil cases and kitten folders—drive hours-long searches for planners and specialized items. Sourcing foreign office goods, from a Milan eraser to an almond-scented Coccoina glue stick, becomes a form of discovery. Stationery hubs in Florence, Berlin, Barcelona, and London feed an appetite for vintage wares. Tokyo emerges as the ultimate destination, exemplified by Ito-ya, a twelve-floor Ginza store that warrants unhurried exploration for hours, even at the expense of accompanying travel companions.
Read at www.cntraveler.com
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