With gift guides, fairy light-adorned, retrospective (and indeed, introspective) posts rife in the blogosphere, it only seems right to bring a diary ideas list into the arena. If you’re anything like me and several hundred other bloggers, you’re probably also either a) obsessed with stationery and the process of organising, or b) perennially striving to become an organised person. I rest somewhere between the two. Don’t believe all that you see on the ol' Instagram feed, you should see the state of the sofa just beside me!
I’ve already picked out my diaries and calendar for 2016. What can I say? I reside in the land of stationery HEAVEN. In case you were wondering, I have the Sailor Moon scheduler in this photo, this kikki.K wall calendar and this The Happiness Planner tucked away for 2016 goodness. They hide all of my secret thoughts (cats) and plans for the upcoming months.
kikki.K
My all-time love. While I adore the adorable, imported kawaii paper stock and stickered-up goodness of the diaries and notebooks here in Hong Kong, I’ve fallen hard for kikki.K. This Swedish brand has stores in Australia, arrived in Hong Kong earlier in the year and are opening stores in London next. My beautiful British blogging girls, you’re welcome. Their style is beautifully minimalist and chic, all sugar hues and dreamy palettes. I particularly adore their themed journals, their copper foil pieces and their dedicated wedding and baby ranges! The highlights for me are these 2016 planners though: this binder-style one almost made it home with me, it’s full of little dividers and cute pockets, plus this soft-cover one that is wonderfully illustrated inside.
The Happiness Planner
I saw these all over the Internet last year and didn’t quite hop aboard the bandwagon because I was failing at getting my shit together. Once I’d read Becky’s post about hers, though, I immediately got my preorder in and mine is awaiting me back in England. It’s a hardback, spiral bound journal with pages designed to help you help yourself. There’s pages to inspire you everyday, pages to help you cultivate your own happy, pages to set goals and reflect, and of course, daily pages to help you get organised. I’ll share a post on mine in January once I’ve got to grips with it all!
Rifle Paper Co.
Confession: I’m not really a Rifle Paper Co. girl. That rustic kinda look isn’t quite me and I just didn’t quite ‘get’ it. That is until I came across Angela’s beautiful new diary. SWOON. She has this 2016 Birch Floral one, a soft binder with the most dreamy pages, minimal typeset and seemingly buttery-soft, crisp pagestock. I can imagine lots of my readers old and new becoming besotted with this so I figured I’d include it. If I hadn’t settled on The Happiness Planner, this would certainly be my second choice.
Etsy Sellers :: eedensdesign and Not Only Polka Dots
On one of my Etsy evening browsing sessions, I came across eedendesign, a boutique that sells handmade stationery. I’m completely obsessed with their monthly planner, something you self-date and that’d be good for the gal that wants to plan ahead but often abandons diary-ship for weeks on end. It’s a great desk companion and is oh so aesthetically pleasing as well. I also like Not Only Polka Dots for their quirkier, more colourful designs!
Sticker Stack
One of my favorite stores to have discovered through the blog is Sticker Stack. They stock some of the most covetable Korean and Japanese stationery brands - hand on heart, some of the most loved brands even here in Hong Kong! - and I wholeheartedly adore and support their site. I really recommend the Iconic diaries (I’ve kept one of their The Planner ones all year!) and these larger soft-cover ones that I used throughout 2014! Everything is SO adorable and it’s all shipped from within the UK, too.
Frankie Diary
A fairly obvious inclusion but for newcomers to the blogosphere, one of the rites of passages seems to be getting a Frankie Diary and for good reason! These annual hardback tomes are delicately scattered with signature illustrations, flecked in pastel hues and with just-enough space for your daily musings. It’s photogenic and makes for a truly darling blog photo prop as well.
A Beautiful Mess
Last but not least, of course I had to include the ABM planner! Designed with love and creative wit by Emma and Elsie, this one is a great choice for bloggers and creatives. The covers are awe-inspiringly beautiful and I really like the space they’ve designed for each page. It’d be a great all-in-one number to stash daily, blog related and social life notes!
Let me know which is your favourite! #StationeryPorn
