here’s one I made earlier :: I love stationery

I need to start with a confession… I haven’t actually made anything, but somehow “here’s one I’ll make later” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it! What I have done, is found a book that will inspire me to make lots of things in the future, so I thought I’d share it with you in the hope it will inspire you too.

Pattern used on the front cover is by Emily Portnoi.

I Love Stationery is by Charlotte Rivers, author of design blog, Lottie Loves. The books defines stationery as greetings cards, notecards, writing paper, envelopes, wrapping paper, gift tags, calendars, journals, notebooks, diaries and stamps – I love a book that defines its terms!

The work featured on the spread above is by by Sukie (left hand page) and Swiss Cottage Designs (right hand page).

It covers hand-drawn illustration, screen printing, letterpress, block printing (my current obsession), digital illustration, calligraphy, paper cutting and mixed media.

Close-up of one of Ruby Wren‘s paper-cut cards.

For each technique Charlotte includes a short section explaining how stationery is created using that technique, as well as a list of tools that might be used. She then goes on to showcase the work of a wide variety of artists and designers working in that field.

As you’d expect, the book itself is beautifully designed, again by Emily Portnoi, (although I may be slightly biased when it comes to the use of luggage tags!) and features a comprehensive resources section including suppliers, blogs and online communities and trade shows.

Work above by Alison Cole Illustration.

I read this book from cover to cover in one gloriously geeky evening and would definitely recommend it to anyone with a fully fledged stationery fetish. And while we’re on the subject, two other lovely books that will get you reaching for your stationery supplies are Print Workshop and DIY Design - both of which will give you a bit more detail on the how-to side of things, once you’ve been inspired by all the lovely work in I Love Stationery.

Further reading for the especially geeky:

• here’s one I made earlier :: party bags
• http://yellowowlworkshop.com/
• http://presentandcorrect.com/
• http://iheartnancyandbetty.blogspot.com/