Like most (really, all) my Notegeist customers, I'm a big fan of cool, stationery stuff. And yes, there is always a constant battle in my head between the need angel and the want devil. Sound familiar?
But how much is enough? Arguably we've probably never had a better class and choice of stationery stuff than right now. The vintage nerds may shout "Yea, but a lot of it's not made as well as the good old days!" Sure, true sometimes, but between tech advances and ever-increasing interesting materials used, right now's a pretty sweet time to be a stationery nerd. Or stationery lover, if you prefer.
But...
Yes, there's always a but, isn't there?
Between *S.A.B.L.E.*, limited edition fatigue, and reinventing the same wheel with new bright and shiny things," we all get a bit overwhelmed with it all. Sometimes even I feel like the post-Thanksgiving-dinner feeling of "Maybe I ate one too many slices of pie." Okay, maybe it was two too many, but I digress.
As the owner of Notegeist, in my planning efforts to ensure I find and offer unusual items including hard-to-find things, said plans including increasingly being a maker to offer something new and different. But how many more notebooks can the market hold? The iconic makers such as Blackwing and Field Notes keep cranking out amazing products for us, not only in their production line work, but in collaborations and special limitations and other FOMO-inducing "things" we who are passionate about this wonderful world of stationery just can't keep resisting.
Which brings me back to "Just too much available?"
For years and years, I was a collector of many things stationery. A few years ago I made the conscious and intentional move from collector to consumer. Yes, that certainly made more than one shelf un-bow from the weight relief, but it hasn't completely stopped me from buying. I do, however, buy far, far, far more selectively in these current days where I continue to convince myself I'm no longer hoarding. Truth is, I am, it's just a teeny tiny hoarding gnome that eggs me on. I guess that's a victory... of sorts.
Sure, free will is in all of us, and as a #firstworldproblem, it's not like we're taking food out of our or our family's mouths.
So I leave you with just one question: are you consuming as fast as you are adding stationery stuff? Or are you ready to wear a t-shirt emblazoned with "S.A.B.L.E. is my kid's problem."
*Nota bene: S.A.B.L.E. stands for stationery acquisition beyond life expectancy
The following post is an older review I wrote when I had the Ink & Core review blog. I'll pull in the better posts and share here, plus new posts on views and fresh reviews.