For me, the most exciting part of going back to school was purchasing brand new stationary. At that time, there wasn’t anything more satisfying than adding fresh, sharpened pencils and untouched pens to a shiny new pencil case. Not to mention the thrill of filling up the first page of a notebook with your neatest handwriting.
So when I was given the chance to review Katie Leamon’s brand new stationary range my inner school girl jumped at the chance.
Katie Leamon is a luxury card & stationery brand based in London. Everything is proudly made is England at a design studio in the heart of London, and a family run production studio in the English countryside.
The brand launched in the summer of 2011 and is a reflection of Katie’s love of typography, stationery and vintage curiosities. In other words, it’s perfect for a grown up who is still obsessed with stationary.
I can see that the utmost care and attention to detail is paid to each item as all of the products are hand-printed with an delicate finish. This is especially true of the notebook and sketchbook that the ladies over at Katie Leamon were kind enough to send me.
As soon as they arrived, I couldn’t wait to start scribbling and note taking. I’ve been using the Kraft Zig Zag Sketchbook to doodle some new designs I’d like to make into prints and I’ve been really impressed with the grain and quality of the paper. Never has doodling looked so good in this sketchbook. The navy zig zag design is crisp on the kraft paper front cover and the paper inside is 120gsm so there’s no chance of lines bleeding through onto the other side.
I’ve also been using the sketchbook to create some new bow tie designs for RagnBow, my online bowtie and accessories Etsy store.
The Kraft Pink Notebook is just a little smaller than A4 sized, expertly bound and contains 32 sheets of 120gsm paper. It’s lightweight but sturdy so there’s no chance of it bending oe creasing if you take it with you in your luggage this summer (which is what I plan to do!)
I’ve been using the notebook to plan RagnBow’s social media strategy and experiment with some new text based prints for an upcoming project. I’ve used a stamp and ink set on the paper which hasn’t shown up on the other side.
As well as the notebooks, team Katie Leamon were also kind enough to send me three sheets of gift wrap which I’ve been using to wrap international shipments of my bow ties.
My favourite by far is the “Hello Deer Wrap” featuring a stag and a robin within a round crest. The design is digitally printed but manages to retain the charm of Katie Leamon’s hand printed style. As it’s my most favourite piece of Katie’s range, I’m almost too sad to use it, but I love sending my bow ties wrapped in a unique outer layer as it makes a great first impression and a memorable experience.
Katie Leamon’s stationary is so refreshing in an industry which has become saturated by consumerism and conventional gift giving. For these reasons I shied away from giving cards or even wrapping presents for birthdays and Christmases for many years. But on seeing Katie’s range and appreciating all of the effort and attention to detail that goes into the manufacture right here in the UK, I’m starting to warm up to the greeting cards industry once more.
I’ve got my eye on the new marbled range, so once I fill up my sketchbook and notebook I know where I’ll get my next set from.
If you’ve fallen in love with Katie’s designs too, you can follow her updates on Tumblr and Instagram.
*Katie Leamon kindly sent me the sketchbook, notebook and three gift wrapping papers to review. All of the views expressed here are my own.
Gorgeous stationery pieces, I’m a bit of a stationery add it too x
Heather | Of Beauty & Nothingness