Stationery Loves in 2025
I write this from my phone at my family’s house, so apologies if the format is wonky! I will also have to go back and add links when I’m on the computer. Anyways, I hope everyone is having a pleasant winter holiday. But in case you are taking a break from eggnog overload or too much turkey, I bring you some of my favorite stationery objects and moments I captured on camera this year. I am so very grateful to be part of this hobby and enjoying these special objects. Without further ado…
I really leaned into decorating this year. One of my favorite sticker makers was Sterling Ink, the vintage vibes were making me want to lay down stickers. I also had a Stickii subscription (vintage, of course), so I now have quite the backlog of stickers for 2026. That didn’t, however, stop me from picking up more stickers from Sterling Ink on Black Friday…
The all star lineup of pens for 2025. At times these were the only three pens I had inked. From left to right - Kaweco x Galen Leather Sport Carmine, Kaweco liliput copper, and Kaweco liliput fireblue. While the Sport had the same nib in it all year (a 14K BB ground to a journaler by Custom Nib Studio), the other two had a cycle of different nibs. One of my favorites was my B imperial grind from Pen Realm. The imperial is a angle-forgiving italic style nib that I might have to get a M or F sibling for in 2026.
My water brush saw a lot of activity this year as I got back into coloring and doing doodles. It’s really fun to both shift ink that is already on the page or, if I need a deeper color, touch the brush to the nib to pull more ink. Another winner for me was printable coloring pages and puzzles. I printed them out on Kokuyo business paper which works really well with fountain pens.
My Life x Kleid Noble Note (the teeny tiny 2 mm grid on display here) was such a delightful year long notebook. I wasn’t sure if it was going to make it to the end of the year, but it carried through for an entire year’s worth of weekly and monthly self check-ins that take about 2 pages each.
Shout out to my repurposed Hobonichi Weeks filled with ink swatches. I created a master this year to compliment my ink passport which is moving into a new Weeks starting in 2026. It’s always a delight to enjoy all of the different colors.
This was the status of my desk this year, lots and lots of stationery objects everywhere. I made a point to process through things that I have and rediscovered a lot of favorite ephemera bits.
Since 2025 was so hectic in the outside world, it was nice to slow down and sometimes just appreciate the little things around my writing desk. I bought the little stained glass butterfly at a craft fair last year and it makes me smile when I look up to see it dangling out of my miscellaneous pen cup.
I really enjoyed playing with my Fujifilm Instax printer. I got it to replace my Canon Ivy that kicked the bucket. It was fun to take it along so that I could add photos that I’d taken during my adventures.
When I went on a cruise to Alaska this past fall (and brought stationery along of course), I really took the time to slow down and puzzle through some big ideas. The notebook in this picture is a lined Hobonichi A6. I really enjoyed this notebook and hauled it around most of the year.
I was very proud of myself for going out on a limb and creating a junk journal to submit to an art exhibition. It was accepted and was even sold! It was so much fun to create. I really should do more of this in 2026.
One of the iterations of my shop at a workshop I taught at the Duluth Folk School. It has been so fun to being fine writing and notebooks to my town and I am planning to do even more of it in 2026, stay tuned!
Is there anything better than a handful of pens? I put my collection to work this year with a lot of pens getting a workout. I also worked on my nib tuning skills this year and many of them write perfectly for me.
What were your happy stationery moments in 2025? Please share in the comments!
Also, if you’re interested, I would love to hear what posts you liked best from me this year. I am planning some new things for this site and that would be super valuable feedback.
Currently Inked
I refilled Colorverse Strelka in my Kaweco liliput fireblue and Diamine Dusted Truffle in my Kaweco Sport Carmine before heading to visit family.
Ferris Wheel Press Mechanics of the Stars - Kaweco Sport Macchiato M ‘monoline’ - This is a very cool ink. It’s a bright turquoise with shimmer and I’ve been enjoying how it just pops off the page. I’m glad that the monoline appears to be keeping up with shimmer really well.
Sailor 280 - Esterbrook JR Paradise Purple B - I inked this up as a demonstration at a recent workshop. This pen works so well for showing people how to use a converter. It also gives folks new to the pen hobby a chance to see a $100+ pen (since I am still working on building up my shop stock). I chose Sailor 280 because it’s such a good example of how cool fountain pen ink can be. I love the overall green tone with the brown shading. This and 272 are my favorite of the ink studio line.
Bonus pic of my roommate’s kitten Hermes dominating my desk chair while I was rearranging artwork (he is super helpful like that, haha). I love this letterpress design by Warrior Printress Letterpress in Duluth.