National Stationery Week Spotlight: Chroma Stationery

It's National Stationery Week in the UK (yes, this is a thing!) and I am the biggest hoarder of stationery ever.

My obsession started when I was five. My dad took me to the little stationery shop below my grandma's apartment in Happy Valley, Hong Kong, which was every little girl's dream because they stocked every single Hello Kitty product imaginable. With the pocket money my dad gave me, I'd buy sticker books, journals, pens (SO many pens!), erasers, pencil sharpeners, pencil cases (SO many pencil cases!), and basically whatever I could get my hands on. 

In junior high, I'd buy stationery from Borders and by high school, I was into Papyrus. College was all about creamy, white monogrammed card stock (so East Coast, so preppy!) and as an adult, I love anything quirky, pretty, or just a little bit fabulous (see here for examples - I'm especially a fan of Rifle Paper Co.).

But after arriving in the UK, my love for stationery waned: I couldn't find any indie shops I liked (although Paperchase stocks some fantastic indie designers and artists) and "proper" stationery (think Smythson) was totally out of my price range. So I stock up whenever I go back to the States.

But then I heard about Chroma Stationery and their notebooks were a game changer. Specializing in personalized notebooks made with good quality materials, Chroma is all about color and the personal connection we have to stationery. After all, its founder, Gabi, named all the notebooks after her friends and family!

It was so difficult to select from their beautiful colors and bindings, but I chose the unlined, spiral bound "Daniel" notebook with silver embossing to jot down all my blog post ideas and thoughts.

And it's gorgeous - a refreshing step away from my usual array of black, boring Moleskines.

If you're a stationery fanatic like me and want to support an indie stationery designer, then Chroma is a great place to start.

What about you? Do you love writing letters as much as I do? Do you carry a notebook around with you? What are your favorite stationery brands?

The gorgeous Daniel notebook was generously provided to me by Chroma, a company that I love. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Angloyankophile. Stop by their online shop to see more pretty choices!