Tools of the trade

I love pens.

I love Post-its and Sharpies and notebooks and paper clips.

It’s not quite an addiction; let’s call it an appreciation. I love the smooth flow of ink from my fountain pen and the tiny giddy rush when I use the special corrector pen to change something I’d written in erasable ink. There’s the satisfaction of colour-coding my work with highlighters or the gratification of corralling my piles of index cards with binder clips. There’s the quiet thrill of cracking open a brand-new notebook and smoothing down the glossy paper, inhaling the faint chemical fragrance of glue as I lean in to inscribe words on the faint virgin page.

Heady stuff, right?

I have been known to make the occasional pilgrimmage to stationary stores in other countries, picking up cheap Waterman fountain pens in France or stocking up on Muji products at MOMA in NYC. If supplies are running low and there’s no trip planned, I can always rely on eBay. I’m not a big shopper, but I can easily lose an hour browsing in a decent papeterie, filling a basket with various writing implements and adorable desk accessories.

You may be shaking your head; you may be dubious or baffled by my fascination with the tools of my trade. Or maybe you’re nodding in secret understanding. Maybe you’re a stationary appreciator, just like me.