Let’s not leave all the fancy new kit to the back-to-school kids. Treat yourself to stylish stationery and sleek office accessories to help you ease back into that post-summer routine.

The best thing about starting school is most definitely the new stationery: the pencil case, the pens, pencils, notebooks and everything in between. It feels like a fresh start. Anything is possible. So why, tell me, as a fully fledged adult can we not experience the same unfettered joy before clocking on? We’re not talking flashy hitech gadgets. No. We mean the basics; the simple everyday must-haves, like a four-colour rollerball pen, a crisp unmarked diary or classic weekly planner. Bliss. 

Apparently we’re not alone in our love for real life creative tools, as cult stationery stores across the globe are answering to the call for physicality in a digital age. Papersmiths, ‘ the stationery shop of your dreams’, is exactly that. The Journal Shop serves up an impeccable curation of desk essentials and organisers. Present & Correct in Angel, North London, is a treasure-trove of design-led staplers, ballpoints, journals and vintage trays. Founder, Neal Whittington, says ‘ people are getting increasingly bored of being on their phones and computers all the time, so we are seeing a reversion to physical things. Book sales are up and it feels that stationery is having a resurgence.’ 

So once you’ve sorted your work bag, maybe give your desk a little TLC with a touch of newness from our faves below…

A nice notebook is affordable and feels like a treat too. Downloading an app is never going to have the same resonance.

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