I managed to resist the siren call of the new Liberty paper room for - oh, I don't know - at least a fortnight. It's been almost impossible - I have a fetish for notebooks of all kinds, and Liberty is a mere hop, skip and a jump from my office - and eventually the lure became too strong.
Sadly for my bank balance, it's an absolute mecca of glossy stationery, full of exquisitely chosen bits and bobs - there are shining gold pencil cases, Christian Lacroix notecards, a delicious new range of Pantone themed moleskines in all sizes, Liberty's own range of embossed leather-bound notebooks to which one can add one's initials for a small consideration, and a whole world of other paper-based loveliness.
I love it that Liberty is making a much wider use of its signature prints - these lovely pencil cases and jotters below would make terrific presents. I can't remember how much they were off the top of my head, but I remember thinking it wasn't demented.
In fact, the pricing is another thing Liberty have got absolutely bang on: Nobody wants to really invest in stationery - it should be all about spontaneous spoiling. There are some really luxurious things - the iPad and iBook cases, for example, but on the whole, it's the perfect place for a guilt-free retail pick-me-up when you need something to cheering after a tiresome day. I also saw a dozen things that might make thoughtful presents for friends, from the Archie Grand notebook series - Secret Agents I Knew & Liked and so on at £12 - to this gorgeous book, bound in gold metallic leather for £22, and Sarah Hough's urban notebooks at £6.95.
That being said, £5 to £10 here and there can really add up - I nipped in on the pretext of buying a quirkily elegant thank-you card for a friend, and left having dropped the best part of forty quid on a selection of treats for me. God knows what I'm going to fill these notebooks with - I wish I could say it might live up to their beauty - but fill them I shall, and then go back to Liberty for more. I particularly love the tiny notebooks based on the original designs for Penguin paperbacks. They're so lovely I don't even want to write in them, just keep them in my handbag as object of beauty.
Liberty. Great Marlborough Street, London W1B 5AH
Liberty.co.uk
It's soooooo lovely. I managed to resist the lacroix notecards in favour of some other, equally gorgeous (but less pricey) notecards. I fear that I may end up popping in every week though!
ReplyDeleteWhat is it about stationery, particularly notebooks, that makes them so irrestistible? I have bought enough notebooks to do several lifetimes. One of my all time favourites I found in Swakopmund Namibia, made from elephant dung. Nearly cried when it was full, so I have kept it and moved speedily on to an Il Papiro one I found in the IP shop in Sydney. Cant wait for next London trip and a visit to Liberty...
ReplyDeleteI currently have four different notebooks on the go, they get picked up and put down randomly, or retrieved from the bottom of my capacious handbag covered in crumbs. I'm not sure I deserve anything as lovely as stationery from Liberty, but it was great for a while to read your post and think about the cultured, well-decorated and disciplined writer I would be if only I could.
ReplyDeleteThere is absolutely no harm in having somewhere decent to write your lists!
ReplyDeleteOh, I am almost dribbling! What a beautiful selection! I am just worried that if I let myself go there I would a) spend an absolute fortune and b) never want to leave!
ReplyDeleteI'm a sucker for a journal, but I never want to deflower their white pages with anything so paltry as writing!
ReplyDeleteI bought some beautiful journal covers from a company in the US called Oberon Design - verrrrrry lovely.
The Liberty stuff looks wonderful and gives me yet another shop to aim for on my next trip down to Lahndan ;-)
Ali x
I remember the excitement a week or so before the start of a school term when I'd go in an pick out a set of matching stationery from WHSmiths. The shop is really not what it was any more but I still love beautiful notebooks. I'm ashamed to say that my handwriting is terrible (despite the fact that I always make sure the first page is used with a level of care that will not be taken for the rest of the pages) so I always use whatever notebook is to hand (often something that has come free with a magazine). These, however, look like they would look especially lovely in my handbag...
ReplyDeleteWhen in London last weekend, I made myself not go to Liberty because I knew this room would make me spend a fortune. I thought I was being V clever, and then I read this post and now I have ordered 3 things online.
ReplyDeleteI love those Penguin notebooks - we have the mugs in the book shop (Liberty's also stock them on the 3rd (?) floor). I'm also very partial to Moleskine notebooks - they now do them in any size or colour - I have a pocket sized one in pink for those important thoughts that you just have to jot down (and then promptly forget about).
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HI - you mention the costs of £5 and £10 but my experience of Liberty has left my pocket short of £60 a pop!!! It was a nice notebook, though, in pink embossed leather...!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like my idea of heaven - I'm heading to London at the first opportunity!
ReplyDeleteThanks for yet another great post.
I am definitely a sucker for stationery purchases. It's easier to swallow than a new bag purchase, which you have to steel yourself for.
ReplyDeleteHave just been having the same discussion with some friends about notebook obsession. So many people seem to have it. For me it's the possibility that I will write something truly wonderful on those virgin pages, plus as you say it's an affordable treat, and of course you don't have to pop to the changing room and be heartbroken to find you can't quite squeeze into a sexy new notebook.
ReplyDeleteYou can never have enough notebooks. I am so pleased I don't live near Liberty. I would spend so much money there I would have to start eating the paper to survive.
ReplyDeleteAlso love the penguin note books! Arg
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Liberty is definitely one of my favorite browsing spots . . . especially for scarves and stationery! I, too, am prone to buying lovely notebooks and then writing very little in them.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good thing I live in Edinburgh.
ReplyDeleteAhhh Liberty. As someone who lives a continent removed from London, this brings back happy memories. Great blog in general. I shall follow you in RSS.
ReplyDeleteI adore shops as these where you find something very special in every nook and cranny.
ReplyDeleteGreat papers and notebooks, journals all so lovely!!
Do come and enter my Artful Offering!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
Another stationary magpie here...I'm reasonably minimalist about though, trad Moleskin all the way...but Pantone inspired Moleskins? Yes please, purr purr.
ReplyDeleteHow lucky/appallingly unlucky to be so handily placed for the Palace of Loveliness. I would be bankrupt in a second. I work in the City. Or at home. Limited options for quick/not overly pricey treats in either place.
this is very lovely,so beautiful selection,Cant wait for next London trip .Thank you.
ReplyDeleteGood blog: You should start many more. I love all the info provided. I will stay tuned:)
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