Something new and something blue

For those of you that know me, you'll already be well aware of my addiction to, sorry I mean love of all things stationery. It can be a notebook (oohhh, yes - I love a new notebook), a particularly beautiful stapler (I have my eye on the one in rose-gold by Kate Spade - we all need something to aspire to) or some fun paperclips that make me smile.  If it falls into the category of stationery, you can pretty much assume I'll like it.

And of course, I love a good stationery shop - large or small, niche or generalist. I can very easily lose an hour or two browsing amongst the loveliness; running my hands over the paper of a journal or testing out pens writing messages on those adorable little pads that are put around the shop especially for people like me. My enthusiasm for these shops and for the temptresses people who carefully curate them was recently captured in my article 'Stationery Encounters' featured in Issue 12 of Breathe magazine. You can read all about it, as they say, by following the link to the PDF.

Breathe Magazine Article - Stationery Encounters

I loved the illustrations the creative folk at Breathe added to the feature too - so pretty.

Anyway moving on from my act of shameless self-promotion, I took a trip to the lovely town of Hay on Wye last week. In my opinion a trip to Hay is not complete unless you spend time in one of my most favourite shops ever - yes, I'm talking about Barturms the Stationers (who I mention in my article - see what I did there!) They are always on the look-out for new and exciting stationery items to make folk like me squeal with delight. Just so you know this can be a little embarrassing and can easily scare others so please be aware. After a good browse around the shop, I came across the little beauty above.

It's a Japanese brand called Ohto which is new to me. This model is called Rays Flash Dry Gel pen! It has a stylish brushed steel upper barrel and you can choose a coloured plastic bottom. I chose this lovely Tiffanyesque blue but Bartrums had it in black, red and yellow too and Cult Pens also have it in white and pink both of which are calling out to me.

The flow is good and it writes easily and smoothly. It clicks into action like a regular ballpoint and the writing tip is so fine, it looks like a pencil lead. When I first picked it up, I actually thought it was some kind of propelling pencil.

It is a very light and narrow pen so it might not suit those with larger hands, but it is immensely pretty. My only disappointment is that when I asked about buying a refill, the only colour choice available was black. When there are some amazing ink colours to chose from, it seems a shame to limit to black. However, that aside, I think it looks rather classy and elegant and is a lovely pen to pull out of my handbag and use and it definitely has the appearance of looking more expensive than it is. It was less than a fiver and so a perfect pocket money treat for me.

Do you have a favourite go-to pen? If you love stationery, that's probably an impossible question to ask. I know that I tend to go through phases or it may depend on what I'm writing. If I want to slow down my thinking and writing, for example when I'm starting something creative, I tend to use a fountain pen. However, once the flow takes over and I want to write something fast and furious and I just want to get the words down before they fade away, I generally swap to a gel pen or a good old-fashioned ballpoint.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and your recommendations.  I don't need much of an excuse to seek out new pens so let me know your personal favourites.

If you can't get to Hay on Wye, Bartrums have an online shop. You can browse from the comfort of your own home and then when you do squeal with delight over something, you'll be saved the anxious stares from other shoppers.
Bartrums Stationers

I think I may be visiting Cult Pen's site soon and adding a white and a pink Ohto to complement the blue.
Cult Pens

Breathe Magazine has a wide range of features that fall into the categories of wellbeing, mindfulness, creativity and escape. It's a lovely magazine to sit down with and dip into to help you relax and unwind.
Breathe Magazine

Have a good week all and be seeing you...