Stationery shopping may be the finest form of procrastination – but who can resist the joy of a perfect pen? | Jodi Wilson
Jan 15, 2025
It’s back-to-school time, which means nostalgia for covering books in contact and spending way too long in the notebook aisleAs a child of the 90s, my summers were spent splashing in the neighbours’ overly chlorinated pool and flicking through the back-to-school stationery catalogue. I circled the essential items, categorised my needs and wants, and cross-referenced them with the list the school had provided. I marked “stationery shopping” on my calendar – an annual highlight – and counted down the days.Despite the heat and humidity – the least conducive weather conditions for covering exercise books in sticky contact – my mother would take deep breaths and carefully coat each one in whatever print I’d chosen. She used a ruler to remove the bubbles while I dreaded the very real possibility that I’d have to live with ugly folds on my school books for a whole year. I’m the first-born daughter – that kind of imperfect would never do. Continue reading...